In 2027, Google will disable Search and AI tools by default on school-managed student accounts from kindergarten through grade 12. Schools enabling Search cannot separately switch off its AI-generated answers.
Administrators can block the standalone Gemini chatbot independently. But blocking AI-generated answers in Google Search requires blocking the search engine altogether.
That distinction has drawn objections from educators who want control over students’ access to generative AI while retaining conventional search.
Protesters gathered outside Google’s office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Educators accused the company of using its market dominance to force AI into classrooms.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticised the decision on X. “No corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children,” he wrote.
US Senator Edward Markey has demanded that Google reverse the policy. He requested a response to his concerns by November 30.
Google, meanwhile, says its new educational AI features are designed to guide students towards solutions rather than simply supply answers.
Separately, the company faces a lawsuit alleging that Gemini encouraged a 13-year-old girl to harm herself. That allegation has not been established as a finding against Google.
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The girl reportedly accessed the chatbot through Search on a school-issued Chromebook, although her school had blocked standalone Gemini. Her reported route to the chatbot involved the search engine rather than direct access to the separately restricted service
