Google will deactivate its Gemini AI for students by default

Google announced this week that it would no longer activate its Gemini artificial intelligence assistant for students by default, a turnaround after months of criticism from parents, schools and elected officials. The online search giant dominates the digital tools of American schools: its applications, including Gmail, Docs and Classroom, are omnipresent and its low-cost Chromebook computers are the most distributed to students.

Under the changes, announced Tuesday by Google on its blog, Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and the search engine will be disabled by default for students, from kindergarten to high school, unless school administrators enable them. This turnaround also means that schools refusing any use of AI will not be able to offer students Google's search engine, because the AI ​​functions are now "deeply integrated", Google vice-president of education, Chris Phillips, explained to the New York Times.

If a school bans AI altogether, students "won't have access to the research, and will see a message from their school saying it's not available," he added. On X, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, among other American elected officials, accused Google of “trying to use its monopoly power to impose AI in our public schools”.

Google told AFP that these settings would be rolled out worldwide, starting with the United States, on a date not yet set. More than 150 million students use Classroom worldwide, according to Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley, who last month demanded a response from the group on whether AI should be enabled by default on school devices.

In August, Google opened its Gemini Assistant in Classroom to students of all ages, with guided help, quizzes and review cards from their courses. The feature was enabled by default in schools that already authorized Gemini, and this setting will be reversed in the future. The cities of New York and Los Angeles both announced plans in September to restrict access to AI tools on school devices. “We are reviewing Google's announcement and its possible consequences for schools, teachers and students,” a spokesperson for the Los Angeles school district told AFP.

He said AI can improve teaching if it is introduced with caution and clear safeguards, helping teachers without replacing them and ensuring student data is protected. In a message on