Google was met with swift backlash on Tuesday after it announced that schools using its K-12 software will not be able to use Search unless they opt in to using AI tools. The change, announced in a blog post on November 3 by Chris Phillips, Google's vice president and general manager for education, makes Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search entirely off for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly turn them on.
The catch, critics said, is that Search and AI are now bundled together. Phillips told The New York Times that “Search and AI are deeply integrated,” so if a student's school does not opt in to AI tools such as Gemini, students “will not have access to search, and they'll see a message from their school that indicates it's not available.” There is, as things stand, no version of Search without AI Overviews and AI Mode for schools.
Senator Bernie Sanders accused Google in a post on X of “extortion,” writing that “Google is threatening schools: if you stop your students from using AI, we will cut off your access to Google Search.” Senator Richard Blumenthal also criticised the move, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused Google of using its market power to force AI adoption on public schools.
Google later clarified on X that schools “can choose to turn ON one, two, or all of these services individually,” listing Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Search. The company said the off-by-default approach was based on K-12 schools asking for more control over student use of AI services, and that it would share more specifics with schools in the coming months.
Google also said it is bringing Guided Learning, a step-by-step tutoring mode, to Search and Google Classroom. Guided Learning is globally available in Google Classroom from November 3, and a pilot in select U.S. schools is planned later in November. In Search, AI Mode and AI Overviews will offer step-by-step guided learning through problems, so students do not get quick answers to schoolwork.
The dispute comes after Common Sense Media, a U.S. nonprofit that rates technology for children, gave Google's AI Search features its lowest rating, “Unacceptable Risk,” in July. Google has not clarified whether the new default settings will apply to schools outside the United States, and no firm effective date has been given for the change.
