Google Cutting Search Off From AI-Free Schools Draws Backlash
Google says schools that turn off AI Overviews for students will lose Google Search entirely. Parents, New York City's mayor and a US senator object, and a former Google employee offers a theory tied to the company's recent antitrust court wins.
Google said this month that schools that switch off AI Overviews for students will lose access to Google Search altogether, a policy that has drawn criticism from parents, New York City's mayor and a US senator.
AI Overviews are the AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of Google's flagship search tool. Schools that want to keep them away from students must give up the search engine itself.
Parents push back
Google is a big part of the school day for millions of students. It is a search engine, but also a hub for sharing documents and turning in homework.
"Parents are angry," said Jodi Carreon, a mother in Southern California who runs the advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. "They're very angry." Her group is part of a parent-led movement demanding limits on technology in the classroom.
Carreon was initially excited when she read that Google would let schools turn off AI features for students. That changed when the search condition became clear.
Los Angeles Unified, Seattle Public Schools and New York City Public Schools have recently agreed to bans on AI in the classroom. Google did not follow suit. Even advocates who want less technology in schools acknowledge that losing the ability to "Google" something would create problems for teachers.
Officials respond
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a post on X that Google is using "its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools." Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts wrote to Google's CEO demanding that the company reverse its policy.
Google pointed to its original announcement when asked for comment. In it, the company said: "Our goal is simple: provide school leaders the control and confidence to use AI products in classrooms as they see fit." It did not answer further questions about any link to recent antitrust cases.
A theory tied to the courts
Tracy Pizzo, who worked at Google for more than a decade before leaving in 2022, said the move baffled her. Much of her time there was spent on education and ethical AI standards.
She links the stance to two recent cases Google fended off in Washington. Big online publishers sued under antitrust laws, arguing that adding AI Overviews to search hurt their business. Their case depended on showing that AI Overviews is a separate product from Search.
"The judge decided that Search and AI are an integrated product," Pizzo said, and the cases were dismissed. An off switch for schools, she argued, would be evidence the two can be separated and would undermine Google's court win.
Antitrust experts consulted about the theory were not entirely convinced, but did not dismiss it outright.
Safety concerns
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that evaluates how teens interact with technology, recently gave AI Overviews an "unacceptable risk" rating. It cited unsafe content and false information, among other problems.
The day after Google's announcement, parents in North Carolina sued the company. They allege its Gemini chatbot helped their 13-year-old daughter plan her suicide and funeral on her school-issued Chromebook.
