Google Will Switch Off Gemini for Students, but Search Goes With It

Google is changing how its AI tools reach children at school. Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be switched off by default for K-12 student accounts until a school administrator turns them on. The catch is that Google says Search and AI are now so closely tied together that there is no way to offer students Search without its AI features. A school that wants no AI at all also loses Google Search for its students, who will instead see a message saying the service is not available through their school.

What exactly is changing

Until now, Gemini was turned on automatically for schools using Google Classroom, a setup that drew criticism from parent advocacy groups and educators. Under the new approach, the starting point flips: the AI products are off, and administrators must explicitly enable them.

After the announcement drew pushback, Google clarified that each service can be enabled on its own. That means a school could turn on Search while leaving the Gemini app and Gemini Notebook off. What it cannot do is turn on a version of Search that leaves out AI Overviews (the AI-written summaries at the top of results) and AI Mode (the chat-style search experience).

The new controls are expected to arrive early next year, with Android Central and 9to5Google pointing to 2027. Google says it will share more details with schools in the coming months.

Guided Learning instead of quick answers

Google’s answer to worries about students using AI to skip their homework is a feature called Guided Learning. It already exists as a tutoring mode in Gemini that asks open-ended questions rather than handing over a final answer. Now it is coming to other products:

• Search: a pilot for student accounts in select US schools later this month. If a student pastes in a physics problem or asks for help with a book report, Search will prompt them to work through the concepts step by step.
• Google Classroom: available globally now as an activity teachers can assign. Google describes it as a one-on-one study tool tied to class material, and teachers get insight into how the class is handling it.

Reports differ slightly on how this fits with the new settings. GSMArena describes AI Overviews and AI Mode being adjusted for students to give guided help. According to 9to5Google, Google told The New York Times that schools will get two options: one with AI Overviews and other AI features switched on, and one with Guided Learning in their place. Either way, both options include AI in some form.

What it means for schools and parents

On paper, schools gain control: nothing AI-related is on unless someone chooses it. In practice, the choice is narrower than it sounds. A school that objects to AI in Search has to decide whether blocking it is worth cutting students off from one of the most widely used search engines on school accounts. Android Central called this a contradiction, since the extra control comes at the cost of losing regular Search.

Google frames it differently. Its stated goal is to give school leaders “the control and confidence” to use AI products in classrooms as they see fit, and it argues Guided Learning steers students toward understanding rather than copying.

For parents, the practical takeaway is that what a child sees on a school-issued Google account will depend on the school’s settings. If you want to know whether your child’s account has Gemini or AI-powered Search enabled, the school’s IT administrator is the person to ask once the new controls arrive. 9to5Google also notes that, on regular Search, most AI features can largely be avoided with a simple search modifier, though that is separate from these school controls.

What is still unknown

Google has not yet published the full details of the admin controls, how the two Search options will differ in daily use, or when the Search pilot might expand beyond select US schools. It is also unclear how schools that switch Search off will handle research tasks that currently depend on it. Google says those details will come before the rollout, so administrators have some time to decide which setup they want.

Sources: GSMArena, Android Central, 9to5Google