Google will allow schools to turn off their artificial intelligence, but they will be left without a search engine

Google has responded to U.S. schools' requests by providing a switch to turn off its AI, Gemini, but this also disables access to its search engine. Starting now, Gemini and related services will be off by default for K-12 student accounts, requiring administrators to activate them. Schools opting out of AI will find it integrated with other Google services, meaning students will lose access to Google Search. This decision reverses Google's earlier move to enable Gemini for all students, which faced backlash from major districts like New York and Los Angeles. In response, Google introduced Guided Learning, a feature that assists students with questions instead of providing direct answers, now available in Classroom and piloted in select schools.