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Ars Technica AI

Google lets schools opt out of AI tools, but search is bundled in

Google will default schools to opt out of AI tools in its education products, but administrators must enable all AI features or none, including Google Search. This bundling forces schools to choose between AI access and core search functionality. The change rolls out in the coming months after consultations with educators and researchers.

AI Brief

Provides concrete policy change affecting AI deployment in education, with a notable trade-off that impacts school decisions.

While Google is trying to move beyond Chromebooks, the ubiquity of these devices has made the company's education products huge in schools. Now, Google says it will let educators choose whether to allow its AI tools in the classroom. However, blocking AI tools also means giving up search, leaving schools with a difficult decision.

Google's new overarching approach to AI in the classroom sounds good on the surface. After consulting educators, researchers, and lawmakers, Google has decided that schools using its education products will be opted out of AI tools by default. It will be up to administrators to manually enable them when these changes roll out in the coming months.

When you look at what Google considers to be an AI tool, the nature of the Faustian bargain becomes clear. The affected products are Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Google Search. There's no picking and choosing—you either allow all the AI or none of it.

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