What the new policy entails
Google has issued a clarification on the new policy for the use of artificial intelligence in K-12 schools, following criticism from educators and parents in the wake of the announcement. According to Ars Technica, institutions that use Google's apps will from now on have to explicitly enable the company's AI products: because the company considers Search part of its AI portfolio — alongside Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Gemini in Classroom — search must be specifically enabled for authenticated student accounts.
The first reading of the policy, reported by The New York Times based on a statement by Google's vice president for education, was that the company would "disable search" for schools that rejected AI. Ars Technica judges this description as probably not entirely accurate: the setting is not that Google turns off Search, but that it leaves the decision to schools based on their own internal AI policies.
The clarification: more control, but no Search without AI
Google clarified on social media that schools will be able to disable Gemini apps while keeping search active for students; those who do not want any AI can turn everything off, including search on student accounts. A spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that the announced policy has not undergone any changes: the vagueness of the blog post and public statements had not fully explained the company's intentions.
The substantive point concerns access to search. Currently, schools can block the Gemini app, but AI tools within Search — AI Overviews and AI Mode — remain present. Under the new system, search becomes one of the items to choose from: it can be left off, but enabling it requires opting for standard AI features or the new Guided Learning version, which according to Google would not provide answers with the same immediacy.
Schools therefore gain the ability to block Google's AI tools, including those in search, while keeping the other apps. However, the approach the company calls "responsible AI for learning" does not provide for a search without AI: there is greater control, but not the AI-free search that many are calling for.
Why it matters and what remains open
The issue does not concern only schools. Ars Technica notes that Google does not provide a switch to disable AI in search at any level, because it considers AI the future of the search engine, while other engines offer settings to turn off AI tools. The crux, according to the outlet, concerns anyone who wants to limit their exposure to AI while using Google, not just educational institutions.
Switching to another provider, the article reads, is not simple: Google has the broadest web index, and alternatives have gaps. Ars Technica notes that the situation could change in the near future, because after losing in the Department of Justice antitrust case over search, Google will have to give competitors limited access to its index. It remains to be seen how schools will concretely apply the new options and whether the company's communication will be further clarified.
