What changes for schools
Google announced on its blog that over the coming months it will deactivate the artificial intelligence tools intended for U.S. primary and secondary schools. AI-based functions will be off by default on devices used by the institutions and can be reactivated only at the explicit request of school administrators. The news is reported by ANSA Tecnologia, which cites the company announcement and a New York Times article.
In the communication, the company justifies the choice with the idea that products based on artificial intelligence should offer students a constructive challenge, allowing them to grapple with complex exercises without becoming so overwhelmed that they give up. It is a statement of pedagogical direction, not yet a technical description of the individual functions involved.
The constraint on the search engine
According to the New York Times, the decision contains a decisive element: institutions that choose to exclude AI will also lose the ability to use Google's search engine. Chris Phillips, vice president of Google's Education sector, explained that search and generative models are now integrated with each other, so they cannot be cleanly separated.
The operational consequence is that in schools where artificial intelligence is banned, students will see a system message indicating that the search engine is unavailable. The material does not clarify whether access is suspended in a standard configuration or across the entire school account, nor whether search alternatives provided by other operators exist: these are points that remain to be verified.
The weight in schools and the two configurations from 2027
The choice takes on significance because of the position Google occupies in the U.S. school system, where Chromebook laptops and platforms such as Classroom, Gmail, and Docs constitute the operating standard for millions of students. In this context, a default deactivation shifts the burden of choice onto administrators, who will have to activate the functions voluntarily.
Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan accused the company of exploiting its monopoly in search to impose the adoption of AI in schools. This is a critical statement reported in the material, not a finding.
Starting in 2027, districts that authorize AI will have two configurations for searches carried out through school accounts: one similar to the experience open to the public, with concise summaries and generative chat, and one that will integrate Guided Learning, a variant of the Gemini model designed to guide students without providing ready-made answers. It is not specified what will happen in the period between the announcement and 2027.
