New Delhi: Google has said it will disable access to its default AI tools for schoolchildren following criticism over the company’s push to introduce artificial intelligence features in schools.
The company announced the changes in a blog post on Tuesday.
“We’re making important updates to our products used in schools, including building Guided Learning capabilities into Google Search and Google Classroom, and evolving our approach to school controls,” the company wrote.
Access to Gemini, NotebookLM, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be turned off by default for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly enable them.
Google told AFP that the new controls would be rolled out worldwide, beginning in the United States. A date for the rollout has not yet been announced.
Schools to get greater control over AI access
Google has a dominant presence in American schools. Its education apps, including Gmail, Docs and Classroom, are widely used, while its low-cost Chromebooks are among the most commonly issued devices to students in US schools. More than 150 million students worldwide use Google Classroom.
However, the changes also mean schools will not be able to give students access to Google Search without its AI features.
“Search and A.I. are deeply integrated,” Chris Phillips, Google’s vice-president for education, told The New York Times. AI features are built into the company’s search engine. If a school bans AI, he said, students “will not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available”.
In a statement on X, Google said that “Today’s announcements give schools more choice, not less.”
“We know there’s concern about students using AI to shortcut schoolwork, and schools have told us they want control,” the company said. “That’s exactly why we are making these changes today to address the feedback we’ve heard from educators in recent months.”
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Criticism over AI in classrooms
The move follows criticism of Google’s earlier decision in August to make its Gemini chatbot available to students of all ages through Google Classroom. The feature was switched on by default for schools that had already enabled Gemini.
Students were shown starter prompts linked to their classes and assignments, offering guided assistance, study guides, practice quizzes and flashcards.
In October, US senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley questioned why AI features had been made the default on school devices. New York and Los Angeles had also announced plans in September to restrict access to AI tools on school devices.
“Google is trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on X.
“Our public schools exist to serve students, not to grow the profit margins of Big Tech.”
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)