Google announced a policy change under which its AI tools and Google Search will be switched off by default for K-12 student accounts, requiring school administrators to actively enable them, Yahoo News reported. The products covered by the new default-off setting are Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search.
If a school does not enable Google's AI features, students will be unable to use Google Search and will instead see a message from their school indicating it is unavailable. Google published a blog post announcing the policy change, which the company said was driven by educator feedback received over recent months. The company committed to continued engagement with educators toward more choice, more controls and better Search for learning.
Google said the new default-off approach is designed to give schools control over whether and how students access AI tools, framing the change as expanding school choice rather than restricting it. The company also said it is updating Search specifically for school use to support learning, with AI features in Search designed to guide students through problems rather than deliver direct answers. As part of the update, AI Mode and AI Overviews in Search would be adapted for schools to offer step-by-step guided learning rather than quick answers to schoolwork questions.
The announcement follows a prior episode in August, when Google activated its Gemini chatbot for Google Classroom students, drawing significant criticism. Prior to the August change, the Gemini chatbot could only be enabled for students aged 18 or older.
Following publication of a report on the policy, politicians including Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly criticised the approach on social media. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley launched an inquiry the previous month into Google's push of AI into classrooms.
Lina Khan, who led the FTC from 2021 to 2025, wrote on X that Google was leveraging its search monopoly to pressure schools into adopting AI, and that this illustrated the risk posed by an unregulated monopolist controlling an essential service. Khan also said on X that as public opposition to AI in schools grows, Google was signalling it would penalise those who do not comply.
Lila Byock, founder of Schools Beyond Screens, described Google's announcement as a hostile ultimatum and said educational value rather than shareholder value must determine which products students use, calling on regulators to intervene. Mamdani said on X that Google was deploying monopoly power to push AI into public schools against schools' wishes.
Google has maintained a broad presence in US classrooms by offering low-cost and free products including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Classroom and Google Chromebooks. By 2021, Google had reported that its tools were used by over 170 million people in education worldwide.
For K-12 students, Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will all be switched off by default, with administrators required to take active steps to enable any of them. Where schools do enable Search, the AI Mode and AI Overviews features will be configured to walk students through problems step by step rather than providing quick answers to schoolwork questions.
Reporting: Yahoo News, CNBC, The Guardian, Yahoo Finance
Background: Yahoo Finance
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
