Google has announced plans to switch off its artificial intelligence tools by default for schoolchildren, following criticism over its introduction of AI features to students while schools are still debating how the technology should be used in classrooms.

Under the changes announced in a blog post on Tuesday, Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and AI features in Google Search will be disabled for K-12 student accounts until school administrators choose to activate them.

Google told AFP that the new controls would be rolled out worldwide, beginning in the United States, although it had yet to set a date for the implementation.

The changes also mean schools will not be able to provide students with Google Search without its AI features.

Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president for education, told The New York Times that “Search and A.I. are deeply integrated,” as AI features are now built into the company’s search engine.

If a school bans AI, he said, students “will not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available.”

The decision comes amid growing concerns over the integration of artificial intelligence into schoolwork and the extent to which technology companies should determine how students use the tools.

Google, which dominates technology use in American schools, provides educational applications including Gmail, Docs and the Classroom platform, while its low-cost Chromebook laptops are the devices most commonly issued to students by US schools.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani had accused the company on X of “trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools.”

“No corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children,” he wrote.

More than 150 million students worldwide use Google Classroom, according to a letter Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley sent to the company last month, asking why AI features had been made the default on school devices.

In August, Google opened its Gemini chatbot in Classroom to students of all ages.

The feature provided students with starter prompts tailored to their specific classes and assignments, alongside guided assistance, study guides, practice quizzes and flashcards generated from their course materials.

It was switched on by default for students at schools that had already enabled Gemini.

In September, New York and Los Angeles announced plans to restrict access to AI tools on school devices.

“We are reviewing Google’s announcement and its potential implications for schools, educators and students,” a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District told AFP.

The spokesperson said the district believed AI could improve teaching and learning if introduced carefully and with clear safeguards. The district also maintained that technology should support rather than replace teachers and protect student privacy.

In a statement on X, Google said Tuesday’s changes give “schools more choice, not less.”

“We know there’s concern about students using AI to shortcut schoolwork, and schools have told us they want control,” Google said.