Google Switches Off Auto AI Features for School Kids

Google is revising access to its AI services for schoolchildren, giving education authorities greater control over which tools students can use. The decision affects a company with a major presence in American education, where its email, document-sharing, and classroom applications, alongside Chromebook computers, are widely adopted. 

Google announced that Gemini, NotebookLM, AI-powered Classroom features, and related Search functions would be disabled by default on accounts belonging to kindergarten through Grade 12 students. Administrators will have to activate these services if they wish to make them available. 

Google noted that the revised settings would eventually apply worldwide, with the U.S. first in line. However, the company has yet to announce when implementation will begin. 

The decision also creates a challenge for schools seeking conventional internet searches without AI features. Google will no longer allow institutions to provide students with Search while excluding its AI functions. Chris Phillips, the company’s VP for education, noted that AI is now closely integrated into Search. Consequently, schools prohibiting AI could leave pupils unable to access the search service, with a notification explaining the restriction. 

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, criticized the approach, accusing Google of exploiting its market dominance to push AI into public schools. He said decisions about children’s education should not be controlled by a corporation. 

The company recently made its chatbot available through Google Classroom to learners of every age. It offered prompts linked to lessons and assignments, as well as study guides, flashcards, and practice tests based on class work. The feature was automatically available in schools where Gemini had already been enabled. 

Los Angeles and New York said in September they planned to limit student access to AI on students’ devices. 

Los Angeles school officials are examining the announcement and its possible effects on students and educators. The district states that AI can support learning if introduced with safeguards, including privacy protections and a commitment to keeping teachers central to education. 

NYC Public Schools is also seeking further information from the company. A spokesperson said AI mode and Gemini chatbot are already blocked on student Chromebooks. The district has separately asked Google to switch off AI-generated summaries shown in search results. 

Google said the recent changes were designed to give schools greater choice. It acknowledged concerns that students might use AI to avoid completing their own work, adding that educators had called for more control over the technology. 

For other  technology developers like D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ: QBTS) of new cutting-edge technologies, the concerns of schools and the response of Google provide case studies on how the deployment of systems needs to be carefully thought out so that pushback can be minimized. 

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