Search and AI cannot be separated

Google has acknowledged that its search engine and its artificial intelligence tools now come as a package: there is no Google Search without AI. Chris Phillips, the company's vice-president for education, told the New York Times that "Search and AI are deeply integrated," and the consequence is direct. If a school or teacher blocks the use of Google's AI features, students will not be able to use Google Search, according to the company.

Phillips said that under a school-wide ban on AI, students would simply not have access to search, and they'll see a message from their school that indicates it's not available. That reality is what schools weighing the new tools must now factor in.

New AI products for classrooms

The search giant announced a slate of new AI products for classrooms and schools on Tuesday, alongside more ways for teachers and schools to restrict those AI tools. Google said schools should have control over whether students use AI in the classroom. In a blogpost, executives said access to Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be entirely off for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly turn them on.

Among the new features is Guided Learning, an AI study tool that coaches students through the process of problem solving rather than handing them the answer, and it will be integrated into Google Search. Google gave an example of how it works in practice:

• •A student who pastes a physics problem into Search will see prompts to help them think critically and work through the concepts, without going directly to the answer.
• •The same applies to a student asking for help with a book report.

Google's response and its place in schools

The company's long standing in American classrooms rests on Google education products that are cheap or free, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Classroom and Chromebooks, whose software and hardware are among the most widely used in schools. The Guardian contacted Google for comment but did not hear back by publication.

Critics call it a monopoly play

The announcement drew immediate pushback from politicians and campaign groups who frame it as a question of power over what happens in classrooms:

• •New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, who recently imposed a one-year moratorium on generative AI tools in city schools through the eighth grade, accused Google of exploiting its near-total control of online search. "Google is trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools," he posted on X, adding that "No corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children," and that public schools serve students, not Big Tech profit margins.
• •Lina Khan, former chair of the US Federal Trade Commission, tweeted that Google was using its monopoly on search "to coerce schools into adopting AI".
• •Lila Byock, founder of Schools Beyond Screens, a national coalition of parents and teachers, called the announcement a "hostile ultimatum" and said in a statement that "Educational value – not shareholder value – must determine which products are used by students," with regulators needing to intervene.

Observers note that because the search engine matters so much to students, losing access to it may prove enough of a reason for schools to opt into using the new AI features. For now, the AI products stay off for K-12 student accounts unless administrators switch them on - but with Search tied to the same settings, switching them off carries its own cost.