Google announced in November 2026 that schools using its K-12 software suite would lose access to Google Search unless they opt in to the company’s AI tools — a move that drew immediate criticism from politicians and education advocates.
Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president for education, told The New York Times that “Search and AI are deeply integrated.” Under the policy, students at schools that decline to enable AI tools like Gemini would “not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available.”
The announcement landed on Election Day, but several politicians responded quickly. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called the move “extortion” on X, writing that Google was “threatening schools: if you stop your students from using AI, we will cut off your access to Google Search.” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said Google was “more concerned with forcing Gemini into schools than enabling students to succeed.”
Former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan condemned the decision as anticompetitive, stating that it highlighted “the danger of allowing an unregulated monopolist to control an essential service” and noting that “multiple courts have found Google liable for violating antitrust laws.” New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani echoed that framing, saying “no corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children.”
Educators have raised concerns that AI-generated overviews in Search could discourage students from working through problems independently. For the millions of students reliant on Chromebooks and Google’s education tools, switching to an alternative search engine is not straightforward.
In response to the backlash, Google clarified that Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Search would all be turned off by default, with schools able to enable each product individually. The company also said it is developing a “Guided Learning” tool designed to walk students through problem-solving steps rather than delivering direct answers. Google stated it would “continue to engage deeply with educators” to give schools “more choice, more controls, and improved Search for learning.”
Source: TechCrunch