Schools that want their K-12 students to have access to Google Search will soon have to turn it on themselves, and the AI features built into Search will come with it, under changes the Alphabet company announced Tuesday. Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager of education, said in a blog post that Search, along with Google’s Gemini chatbot, Gemini Notebook and Gemini in Google Classroom, will be set off by default for K-12 student accounts until school administrators turn them on. Search, however, will include AI features.
The company said it would share more specifics with schools “in the coming months” ahead of the rollout and that the decision followed conversations with schools, teachers, researchers and policymakers. The change comes as Google, whose Chromebooks are the most widely used laptops in American classrooms, faces growing resistance to AI from parents and school districts. In August, Google turned on its chatbot by default in Google Classroom for schools that already let students use Gemini, drawing criticism from school leaders.
In early September, the country’s two largest school systems pulled back on AI. New York City barred students through eighth grade from using generative AI this school year, and Los Angeles Unified blocked students from generative AI on district-issued devices, including standalone tools and AI features built into Google Workspace apps. Under Google’s new controls, such school districts would have to choose between giving students Google Search with its AI features embedded or no Google Search at all.
The company also said Guided Learning, a study mode Google first released in its Gemini app, would be extended into Search. When Google’s systems detect a student is looking for certain types of homework help, Search will walk them through a problem one step at a time. A student who pastes in a physics problem or asks for help with a book report, for example, will get prompts meant to make them work through the concepts instead of skipping to the answer.
Google will pilot Guided Learning within Google Search in select U.S. schools later this month and plans to expand it to other districts after collecting feedback from teachers. The company said its research showed the feature led to “measurable learning gains for students,” though the blog post didn’t cite independent evaluations. Guided Learning also became available worldwide in Google Classroom starting Tuesday.
Teachers assign the activities, which are tied to class material, and can see in real time where students may need extra help. Google said it tested the Classroom version with schools and educators before launch.
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