Google will switch off Gemini for school students unless schools opt in

Google will turn off Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Search for K-12 student accounts until school administrators switch them on. Its Guided Learning mode is now available worldwide in Classroom and will be tested in Search at some US schools this month.

Google will switch off its main AI tools for school students unless their schools choose to turn them on, the company said on Tuesday.

Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will stay off for K-12 student accounts until an administrator enables each one. Google will share the details and timing with schools in the coming months.

The move comes as large US districts, including New York and Los Angeles, restrict how students use AI, Chalkbeat reported. Google had earlier turned Gemini on for all students by default, catching many districts off guard. In August, it also gave US college students a free year of its AI Pro plan.

Google is also expanding Guided Learning, a mode that asks questions and explains step by step instead of handing over answers. It is now available worldwide in Google Classroom, where teachers assign the work and can read their students’ chats.

Later this month, Google will test Guided Learning in Search at some US schools. A student who pastes in a physics problem will get prompts to work it out instead of the answer.

But AI cannot be fully removed from Search. Schools that want no AI must turn Search off entirely, Google’s education chief Chris Phillips told Chalkbeat.

“ If a school is not comfortable with that and simply wants AI off, then they have the choice to not have Search on at all, ” he said.

That leaves a known problem in place. In July, Common Sense Media called Google’s AI Search an “ unacceptable risk ” to students.

With expertise in digital marketing, product management, and branding & identity, Ana Maria Constantin develops strategies that resonate (show all) With expertise in digital marketing, product management, and branding & identity, Ana Maria Constantin develops strategies that resonate with our target audience in the software/SaaS industry. Collaboration and teamwork are paramount to her, as she loves empowering her colleagues to achieve outstanding results and unlock their full potential.

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