What we know
What we know: Students using Google search in classroom accounts will need access to AI tools, the company says
Compiled Nov 3
What we know
- Students using Google software in school will not be allowed to use Google search unless their school system also provides them access to AI tools, per Google's Tuesday announcement.
- Access to Google's AI features (Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom) and Google search will be automatically turned off for K-12 student accounts until administrators explicitly turn them on.
- Google turned on its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 students in August, a practice that had previously required students to be 18 or older.
- Google says 150 million students and teachers use its Google Classroom platform worldwide, and many students use Google-provided Chromebooks.
- New York City and Los Angeles have issued temporary bans on generative AI tools in elementary and middle schools while they assess safety and develop policies.
- Former FTC chair Lina Khan and children's advocacy group Fairplay criticized Google's move as coercive.
What we don’t know yet
- Messages seeking additional comment from Google were left on Tuesday, suggesting the company had not further responded as of publication.
Open questions
- Will schools choose to keep AI tools off even if it means losing search access?
- How will this policy affect students in districts like New York City and Los Angeles that have already banned generative AI?
- What privacy-protective search alternatives might schools adopt instead of Google?
- Will Google respond further to the criticism from Lina Khan and children's advocacy groups?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.