Google is changing how its AI products work for school students, and the change reaches further than Gemini. In a Google blog post on November 3, Chris Phillips, Google's VP and General Manager of Education, says access to Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search "will be entirely off for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly turn them on."
What the new controls do
The mechanism is a default: under the new approach, these four products start off for K-12 student accounts, and an administrator has to switch them on. Google says it reached this approach after listening to schools, teachers, researchers and policymakers, and that the goal is to give school leaders "the control and confidence to use AI products in classrooms as they see fit."
The changes aren't live yet. Google says it will share more specifics with schools "in the coming months ahead of the changes rolling out." TechCrunch reports the default-off change is planned for next year.
Google told Engadget that administrators can enable the products individually, and that the choice isn't all-or-nothing.
Why Search is part of it
Phillips explained the Search decision in comments reported by TechCrunch, which cites The New York Times, and by Engadget: "Search and AI are deeply integrated." A school that restricts AI altogether will lose Search for its students, TechCrunch reports, and they'll see a message from their school saying it isn't available.
TechCrunch points out the bind this creates: a school may want to block AI features in Search while still needing Search for students to find sources and learning materials. Because Google's apps are widespread in classrooms, the outlet argues, schools that want Search effectively have to accept its AI features.
Engadget adds the background to the reversal. It reports that Google enabled some AI features by default in Classroom in August, which drew a backlash from educators, and that Google has now changed course, per The New York Times.
Guided Learning arrives in Classroom and Search
The same announcement expands Guided Learning, a study tool Google already offers in Gemini. Google describes it as coaching students through problems with open-ended questions and step-by-step breakdowns instead of handing over final answers.
- Google Classroom: Guided Learning is globally available starting November 3, Google says. When a student starts a Guided Learning activity a teacher assigned, it stays anchored in the class material, and teachers get real-time insights into where the class needs help.
- Google Search: Google is building Guided Learning into Search for student accounts. If a student pastes a complex physics problem or asks for help writing a book report, for example, Search will prompt them to work through it rather than jump to an answer. A pilot starts in select U.S. schools later this month, with other districts to follow in the coming months.
Google says its research shows Guided Learning leads to measurable learning gains. That is the company's own claim; the post doesn't publish the study.
What this means for schools and families
For administrators, the practical question changes from "what should we turn off?" to "what do we turn on?" A school that leaves everything off takes the strictest option, and, going by Phillips's comments as reported by TechCrunch and Engadget, that also removes Search for its students. Engadget's report that products can be enabled individually suggests a school could enable Search without every Gemini product, but Google hasn't yet published the exact settings. Those details are what schools should look for when Google shares them in the coming months.
For students and parents, the controls don't change anything yet: Google describes them as applying to K-12 student accounts, and says the rollout comes after it shares details with schools.
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