Google ties school access to Search to permission for AI

Google announced that school administrators will be able to turn AI tools on or off for students with K–12 accounts. But blocking these features will also cut off access to Google Search: the company says Search and AI are closely connected. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan criticized the decision, calling it an abuse of Google’s monopoly position.

Google ties school access to Search to permission for AI

No AI, no Search

On Tuesday, Google introduced new AI products for classrooms and schools, along with additional settings to restrict their use. The company said schools should decide for themselves whether students can use AI in class. But if a school turns off Google’s AI features, students will not be able to search for information through Google Search.

In a blog post, Google executives said that Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Google Search will all be turned off for K–12 school accounts until administrators allow them to be used.

Google Vice President of Education Chris Phillips told The New York Times that there is no version of Google Search separate from AI. If a school bans AI, students will lose access to Search and see a message from their school saying the service is unavailable. The Guardian also requested comment from Google but had not received a response by publication time.

To critics, the decision looks like punishment for schools that do not want to adopt Google’s AI.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently imposed a one-year moratorium on generative AI in city schools for students through eighth grade. He said on X that Google was using its near-total control over online search to force AI on public schools. Corporations, Mamdani said, should not determine how children are taught: schools should serve students, not increase the profits of large technology companies.

Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, backed the criticism. She wrote that Google was using its search monopoly to compel schools to adopt AI.

Schools’ dependence on Google services

Google Search has long been an important tool for students. Losing access to it could therefore push schools to enable new AI features. Google has had a significant presence in American schools for years, offering low-cost and free products. Gmail, Google Docs, Google Classroom, and Chromebook laptops are widely used in educational institutions.

One of Google’s new features is Guided Learning, an AI tool for studying. It is designed to help students work through how to solve problems rather than simply provide an answer. Google plans to build Guided Learning directly into Google Search.

The company gave examples: if a student enters a difficult physics problem into Search or asks for help with a book report, the system will offer prompts to help them think critically about the material and understand the concepts without jumping straight to a finished answer.

Lila Bayok, founder of the organization Schools Beyond Screens, called Google’s announcement “a hostile ultimatum.” The national coalition of parents and teachers advocates for school screen-use policies that are more student-centered. Bayok said this kind of pressure has no place in educational institutions: product choices should be based on educational value, and regulators should prevent large technology companies from profiting at students’ expense.

Dataist’s take: Google’s decision ties students’ access to a basic search tool to permission to use the company’s AI services. This leaves schools with a choice in which rejecting the new features could mean losing access to Google Search.