In the US, schools that refuse Google's AI will lose its search engine too

“Search and AI are deeply integrated.” That line from Chris Phillips, Google's vice president in charge of education, reported by the New York Times on November 3, sums up the controversy. If a US school bans Google's artificial intelligence for its students, they will also lose access to Google Search. They will see a message from their school saying the service is unavailable.

The announcement was meant as a concession. In a post published the same day, Google explains that Gemini, its AI assistant, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be fully turned off for student accounts, from kindergarten through high school, until school administrators enable them. According to TechCrunch, the change is due to take effect next year. Google promises schools more details “in the coming months.”

A reversal after August's forced rollout

This choice corrects an opposite decision. In August, according to Next and the New York Times, Google had turned on Gemini by default for students at schools subscribed to Classroom, although the tool had until then been reserved for users over 18. Schools that did not want it had to switch it off themselves.

From now on, each school will be able to enable one, two or all three services (Gemini, Gemini Notebook and search), Google said on X. But search remains tied to its AI: a school that enables it also gets AI-generated overviews and AI Mode, according to Next. Google says it wants to rework how they function for students, with a “Guided Learning” mode meant to support reasoning rather than give the answer. According to Google's post, its test in search will begin “later this month” in some US schools.

“Extortion,” says Bernie Sanders

The political reaction was immediate, on US election day. Senator Bernie Sanders called it “extortion” on X, accusing Google of threatening to cut off search for schools that turn away AI. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal says the company cares more about pushing Gemini than about helping students succeed. Lina Khan, former chair of the FTC, the US competition authority, sees the danger of letting an unregulated monopoly control an essential service. For New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, no company should be able to dictate how children are taught.

Google stands by its reading. “Today's announcements give schools more choice, not less,” the company wrote. It says it heard from schools worried about students using AI to rush through their homework. The stakes are concrete: according to TechCrunch, millions of students are required to use Chromebooks and Google's education tools, and switching search engines is not simple there.

What about European schools?

Google's post does not specify which countries are covered or give a timeline for these settings, and the search test targets only US schools for now. Guided Learning in Classroom, however, has been available worldwide since November 3. Schools that use Google's education tools would do well to check now, in their admin console, which AI services are open to student accounts, without waiting for the announced switch.

The issue also worries families: nine in ten teenagers who use AI feel they spend too much time on it, according to YouGov. It remains to be seen whether political pressure will make Google give way on the one sticking point: search without AI for students.