Google plans to switch off Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Google Search by default for student accounts starting in early 2027. Schools will be able to enable the products individually, but Google will no longer offer a version of Search without AI features, according to The New York Times.
Google vice president for education Chris Phillips said Search and AI have become too closely integrated to separate. Schools that enable Search will be able to choose between results with AI Overviews and chat, or a “Guided Learning” mode intended to guide students toward answers rather than provide them directly.
The change follows criticism after Google recently enabled AI features by default in Classroom for schools with Gemini access. The company is now reversing that default. However, schools seeking to block AI while retaining traditional Google Search will not have that option.
The decision could affect districts that have already restricted student access to AI. New York City and Los Angeles, the country’s two largest school districts, had pulled back on student AI use in September. Los Angeles specifically sought to keep Google Search while disabling AI Overviews.
Sources: The Decoder.