Google faces backlash for plan that would turn off Search for schools that restrict AI

Google was met with swift backlash on Tuesday after it announced that schools using Google’s K-12 software will not be able to use Search unless they opt in to using AI tools. Chris Phillips, vice president for education at Google, told The New York Times that “Search and AI are deeply integrated,” so if a student’s school doesn’t opt in to using AI tools like Gemini, then students “will not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available.” Even as Google made this announcement on a busy Election Day, several left-leaning politicians took time to speak up about their concerns. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) accused Google in an X post of “extortion,” writing that “Google is threatening schools: if you stop your students from using AI, we will cut off your access to Google Search.” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on X that Google is “more concerned with forcing Gemini into schools than enabling students to succeed.” Lina Khan, the former FTC chair and staunch advocate against monopolies, also condemned Google’s decision as anti-competitive.

For millions of students required to use Chromebooks and Google education tools, using a different search engine isn’t a simple fix. Google says that it’s working on a “Guided Learning” tool for student accounts in Search, which is supposed to walk students through the process of solving a problem or finding information, rather than just handing them the answer. If a student is struggling with a math problem, for example, the feature may prompt them to refresh their memory about the rules for dividing exponents, instead of spitting out a number.

In response to the backlash, Google pointed out in a post on X that it had listened to educators by turning off access to AI products by default, and noted that schools could turn on Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Search individually. And we’ll continue to engage deeply with educators to ensure we are giving schools more choice, more controls, and improved Search for learning.”