Google announced Tuesday that it will disable artificial intelligence in its education apps for K-12 student accounts unless school administrators specifically allow it.
The Alphabet-owned search giant said that after surveying school administrators and teachers, it wants educational institutions to control student access to various AI capabilities.
Access to Google’s AI features — Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Gemini in Classroom — as well as Google Search will be automatically disabled for K-12 student accounts until “school administrators explicitly enable them,” Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager of education, said in a blog post.
Schools that ban AI “won’t have access to the research and will see a message from their school that it’s not available,” Phillips told the New York Times.
While Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Search will be disabled by default, schools can choose to enable one, two, or all three services, Google explained in a Tuesday X article.
“We believe schools should have control of AI in their classrooms and provide administrators with controls to help manage their approach,” Phillips wrote in his post.
New policy sparks outcry
Google’s new policy immediately sparked criticism that the company would seek to pressure schools to use its AI applications. In a statement posted on social media, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused the tech giant of “trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools.”
“No corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children. Our public schools exist to serve students, not to increase the profit margins of big tech,” he added.
A Google spokesperson declined to respond to Mamdani’s remarks.
According to Google, approximately 150 million students and teachers use Google Classroom, and many students use school-provided Chromebooks. Google received backlash in August when it enabled its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 students. Until August, Google only allowed Gemini to be activated for students 18 or older.
In September, New York City schools said AI would be banned until students reach high school and implemented a one-year time limit on the use of generative AI for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Lina Khan, who served as chair of the Federal Trade Commission from 2021 to 2025, said in a statement published on X that Google was seeking to exploit its dominance in Internet search.
“This highlights the danger of allowing an unregulated monopoly to control an essential service,” said Khan, who now chairs the board of directors of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit group that promotes economic growth and investment in New York.
“Several courts have found Google responsible for violating antitrust laws, and this latest decision shows that the group is still not sanctioned,” she added. “As public opposition to the use of AI in schools grows, Google is making clear that it will punish those who do not comply.”
Josh Golin, executive director of children’s advocacy group Fairplay, said Google’s attempt to “force schools to use its AI products is likely to backfire.” He said Google’s technology in schools is not about learning but about “developing lifelong brand loyalty” for its products.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, accused Google of putting its business interests ahead of education. “Instead of working with teachers and parents to ensure privacy and ensure their tools are safe and useful, this is throwing the baby out with the bathwater and completely banning access to the tools,” she said in a statement.
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