Google Shifts Gemini in Schools Toward Guided Learning

Google is changing how students encounter its AI tools at school: Gemini will no longer be on by default in Classroom, and students using Google Search with school accounts will see Guided Learning instead of AI Overviews. The changes are meant to make AI act more like a tutor than a shortcut, though schools that want to avoid AI entirely may have to give up Google Search.

The shift responds to a tension at the heart of classroom AI. A chatbot can produce a mostly correct answer to questions about anything from geometry to the Civil War, but students learn by doing the thinking themselves. “By default, we train AI models to be helpful assistants that can do the work for the user,” said Kevin McKee, a research scientist at Google DeepMind’s AI for Education research team. “But in education, in contrast, students need to do the work themselves in order to learn. Good pedagogy requires guiding students through that productive struggle.”

Classroom AI becomes opt-in

Gemini is available to many U.S. students on school-issued laptops. Earlier this year, Google made it the default for students, catching some districts off guard, Education Week reported. The new Classroom setting reverses that default. If a school enables Gemini, students will use Guided Learning, which presents examples and questions to help them work through a problem instead of simply returning an answer.

Google also plans to replace AI Overviews in Search with Guided Learning for users signed in with school accounts. The company announced the changes Tuesday, saying they give schools and teachers more control and encourage students to think through their work. A small group of U.S. schools will test the updates this month, with a broader rollout planned for early in the new year.

Google says the Classroom version of Guided Learning is more rigorous than the version launched last year and was developed with teacher input. Teachers will be able to assign work through the feature and review students’ chats to see how they tackle problems and what they ask. Students won’t be able to switch from Guided Learning to regular Gemini inside Classroom.

Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager of education, said the company is “excited” that the changes “will promote that productive struggle and help students really learn what they’re seeking to learn.” But schools that want AI completely off face a difficult choice: “If a school is not comfortable with that and simply wants AI off, then they have the choice to not have Search on at all.” Phillips said AI is deeply built into Search and can’t simply be disabled.

Schools face limits on opting out

That condition matters because Google Search is already a routine part of schoolwork. Eisha Bush, head of teaching and learning at Common Sense Media, said the prospect of schools and students abandoning it is “really slim to none.” Microsoft and OpenAI have designed their education platforms more around teachers and restrict student access, though students can still use ChatGPT on personal devices.

Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute calls Google Search’s AI Overviews and AI Mode an “unacceptable risk” to students. The organization says schools historically haven’t had a straightforward way to disable AI Overviews, while turning off AI Mode has required difficult technical workarounds.

The institute rates Gemini K-12 as a “high risk” product. Its reviewers say the school version handles student data better than the consumer product and doesn’t present itself as a friend, but can still give responses that aren’t age-appropriate and can be prompted to complete assignments.

Common Sense Media hasn’t issued a separate assessment of Guided Learning. Its reviewers saw promise in the feature when evaluating Gemini K-12, but found students could still get it to do much of their work. “It will complete homework assignments and essays, and the boundary between ‘helping’ and ‘doing the work’ is often unclear,” they wrote. Google’s changes are designed to address that boundary, but their effectiveness remains to be seen as schools test the Classroom version.

AI policies extend beyond school devices

The rollout arrives as districts, parents and schools debate how much AI students should use. Large systems including New York and Los Angeles are sharply restricting student use, while parents are asking for more control over how children use technology at school. The Trump administration is considering tying internet subsidies to school limits on technology or parent opt-outs. At the same time, Google continues to promote AI for learning and expand its presence in classrooms.

School settings can’t control what students see on personal devices. They can still encounter AI Overviews outside their school accounts and reach other chatbots easily. Bush said district bans can serve only as a stopgap; students need AI literacy, and teachers need ways to assess learning beyond work done on Chromebooks.

“We have to put pressure on companies to do better by kids and for kids and also make sure there is an urgency in helping students think critically and value their learning,” Bush said. “Ultimately that is what will lead to their own well-being.” Google’s test will show whether guided prompts and teacher visibility can keep students engaged in the work while AI becomes harder to avoid.

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Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat’s national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at [email protected].