Google sets AI features on by default for school student accounts

Google will require schools using its apps to opt into its AI products, including for logged-in student accounts, the company has said. The change followed criticism from educators and parents earlier this week.

According to Google's blog post, the policy covers its AI tools, which the company groups together as Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Search. Schools must turn these on for student accounts. Google said the approach is meant to give schools more control over how their students use the tools.

Early reports suggested that schools which declined AI would lose access to Google Search altogether. Google has since clarified this. Schools can keep using search without the Gemini tools, but the AI search feature is not optional under the policy. Google treats search as part of its AI portfolio, so a school cannot have search while rejecting AI search.

Reaction to the announcement

The policy was announced to K-12 schools, the term for kindergarten through to the end of high school. When Google revealed it, the company's vice president for education spoke to The New York Times. That interview framed the change as Google turning off search for schools that reject AI, a description that drew strong reactions. Google did not see the backlash coming, the company's clarification suggests.

Google has not said how many schools use its education apps or how many may opt out. It has also not said how the policy will be enforced across different school systems.

The policy means schools that use Google's education apps will need to decide how far they want AI in their students' accounts. Schools that want search but not AI features will have to rely on the controls Google describes. What happens next will depend on how individual schools and school systems respond to the opt-in requirement.