Google turns off Search and Gemini by default for schools

Google framed the change as giving schools more choice, not less, saying the default-off setting came from K-12 schools asking for more control over AI in the classroom. The announcement places administrators in the position of deciding which AI tools students can use, rather than letting the tools be available automatically.

The guided-learning Search is Google's answer to the concern that a standard Search with AI features lets learners get answers to problems. Google's alternative offers hints for working toward a solution, though it remains an AI feature. That distinction did not satisfy some education and technology groups, which argued Google should have provided a Google Search with no AI features at all. They described the situation as a choice between disabling Google Search or using Google's AI, and characterized it as retaliation against schools that do not use AI and as pressure to adopt Google's AI products.

The dispute extends beyond Google's own settings. An open letter to American school districts asks them to disable YouTube and Gemini AI on school-issued Google devices, signaling that some groups want districts to go further than Google's default-off approach.