Google announced this Tuesday (3) that it will begin disabling Search and its artificial intelligence tools by default on student accounts in basic and secondary education. The change, planned for early 2027, will require school administrators to authorize access to the services. There is, however, a condition: schools that completely reject AI will also lose Google Search on student accounts.
The decision was detailed by Google's vice president of education, Chris Phillips, in statements to The New York Times. According to the executive, “Search and artificial intelligence are deeply integrated”. Therefore, students at institutions that ban these features will not be able to use the search engine through their school accounts and will see a message informing them that the service is unavailable.
The change involves Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search. Administrators will be able to enable the services individually, but there will be no conventional Search option without integrated AI features. The restriction applies to educational accounts managed by the institutions, not to public access to the search engine.
Schools will have two Search options, both with AI
For institutions that decide to keep Google Search, the company will offer two modes starting in early 2027. The first will preserve AI-generated summaries and conversational features. The second will use Guided Learning, the educational version of Gemini developed to guide students during problem-solving.
According to Google, Guided Learning aims to encourage reasoning rather than simply delivering ready-made answers. The tool may present intermediate questions and progressive explanations when it identifies searches related to school assignments.
The feature arrived globally in Google Classroom on November 3, allowing teachers to assign AI-guided activities and track student progress. Integration with Search will begin testing in selected schools in the United States later in November.
The new policy also represents a reversal of the strategy adopted in August, when Google enabled Gemini features in Classroom by default at institutions that had already authorized use of the chatbot. The initiative drew criticism from educators who advocated greater control over the technology.
The discussion gained momentum after large school districts, including those in New York and Los Angeles, restricted students' use of generative AI. In Los Angeles, education authorities had expressed interest in keeping traditional Search without automatic summaries, a possibility that Google's new configuration does not accommodate.
The company said it will release additional guidance in the coming months, before the implementation of the new controls.
