Key facts
- Google said schools that restrict AI altogether will lose student access to Google Search.
- Chris Phillips, Google's vice president for education, said search and AI are deeply integrated.
- Google said it will share more specifics with schools in the months ahead of the changes.
Google announced on November 3, 2026 that it plans to disable AI tools for K-12 students next year unless school administrators explicitly turn them on. The company said the change follows consultations with schools, teachers, researchers and policymakers, and that it is revising its approach across Gemini, NotebookLM, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search.
Because AI features are integrated into Google Search, schools that choose to restrict AI altogether will lose access to the search engine as well. Chris Phillips, vice president for education at Google, told The New York Times that search and AI are deeply integrated, and that students at such schools will see a message indicating search is not available.
The change leaves schools weighing access to Google Search against exposure to AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries in search results. Phillips wrote in a blog post that Google will share more specifics with schools in the months ahead of the changes so they have time to prepare, and that the goal is to give school leaders control over how AI products are used in classrooms.
Google announced the change alongside the launch of Guided Learning in schools. The tool, unveiled earlier in 2026, is designed to help users build understanding rather than receive direct answers, according to the company. The launch comes as schools raise concerns that AI chatbots undermine learning by producing answers directly.