Experts weigh in on the promises and pitfalls of Google’s new policy, which leaves schools unable to use Search unless they opt into its AI tools.

Google will automatically turn off its AI products for K-12 student accounts, requiring school administrators to manually opt in before students can use the technology, the company announced in a blog post on Tuesday. But there’s a big catch: If schools choose not to enable AI, students won’t be able to access Google Search. 

In August, the company’s AI products were automatically enabled in Google Classroom, Google’s free learning management system for students of all ages. Tuesday’s announcement reverses that decision.

In October, tech and child-safety organizations wrote an open letter to 150 US school districts and their leadership, requesting that districts disable Google Gemini AI on school devices, concluding that “children are at risk of being harmed.”

“After listening to schools, teachers, leading researchers and policymakers, we are now updating our approach to controls for Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search,” wrote Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager of education. 

For student accounts with Google Search enabled, Gemini will feature a new Guided Learning study tool. The interactive feature helps students solve homework problems step by step rather than providing direct answers. Later this month, at select US schools, Guided Learning will launch as a pilot program to collect feedback before rolling out to more schools. 

According to a 2024 Google blog post , over 150 million teachers and students worldwide use Google Classroom and Assignments, the company’s assignment distribution and grading app.

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