Schools That Say No to Google’s AI Will Be Saying Goodbye to its Search Too

Google is switching off Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Search for K-12 student accounts by default. They stay off until a school admin turns them on, and each service can be manually enabled on its own.

But Search is where things get awkward.

As you already know, Google has built AI into it. They say that AI Mode and AI Overviews will guide students through problems step by step in school accounts. That leaves schools that want no AI without Google Search.

Google's VP for Education, Chris Phillips, told The New York Times (paywalled) that students at such a school would be shown a notice from the school saying Search is unavailable.

Some more details

Starting 2027, schools whose admins turn on AI will get two Search options, one similar to the consumer version with AI overviews and chats available and the other built around Guided Learning, the student version of Gemini.

It would work as a study coach that asks students questions and breaks problems into steps instead of simply handing over answers. Google's post promises schools more details are coming over the next few months before any of this rolls out.

The August changes

Gemini in Classroom opened to students of all ages in August, and the Gemini tab was on by default at schools that already allowed students to use Gemini, while schools that had it off for students kept it off.

Before that, Gemini had only been on for students 18 and older, and admins who wanted it turned off for under-18 users could place them in a separate unit and disable access there.

The change announced now reverses that default.

Two of the largest districts in the U.S. have already acted before this came about, with New York City announcing a ban on student-facing generative AI tools for preschool through eighth grade and Los Angeles Unified blocking them on district-issued devices.

Germans do it differently

A four-year framework contract awarded to IONOS after a recent public procurement process lets schools in Berlin, Hamburg, Hesse, Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Rhineland-Palatinate opt into a cloud built on Nextcloud's open source software.

No school or school authority is mandated to use it, and the tender specifically asks for software released under an open source license approved by the OSI, citing digital sovereignty and the freedom to change providers.

The distinction that I am trying to make here is that a school in the U.S. that wants Search from Google will have to take its AI along once the changes roll out, whereas the German framework lets schools opt in or stay out.

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