The company announced Tuesday that school administrators will be able to individually enable or disable Google tools, including its Gemini chatbot, Gemini Notebook and search. All will be turned off by default. However, because Google search is integrated with AI, schools that opt out of AI tools altogether will also lose access to the search engine.
The change follows criticism of Google’s decision in August to make its Gemini chatbot available to many K-12 students using Google Classroom. Previously, the company had limited access to students 18 and older.
Google said it wants to give schools more control over AI use while updating its search tools with features such as step-by-step guided learning to encourage students to work through problems rather than simply receive answers.
The announcement drew criticism from former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, who accused Google of using its dominance in school technology to pressure districts into adopting AI. Josh Golin, executive director of children's advocacy group Fairplay, said the move could backfire by prompting schools to consider alternatives to Google's products.
New York City and Los Angeles have temporarily banned generative AI tools in elementary and middle schools as they assess safety concerns and develop policies for their use.
Google says 150 million students and teachers worldwide use its Google Classroom platform, making the company a dominant provider of education technology in U.S. schools.
