Google to turn off Gemini for pupil accounts by default
Gemini and Google Search will stay off for school pupils' accounts until an administrator turns them on. Google told AFP the change will reach schools worldwide, starting in the United States.
Google said on 3 November 2026 that its AI tools will be switched off by default on accounts that schools give their pupils.
Chris Phillips, who leads education at Google, set out the change in a blog post. It covers Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search. Each will stay off for K-12 student accounts until a school administrator turns it on. K-12 is the American term for the school years from kindergarten to the end of high school.
Access to these products will be entirely off for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly turn them on.
The news agency AFP added detail in a report published by Phys.org. Google told AFP the controls will be rolled out worldwide, beginning in the United States, but that no start date has been set. AFP also reported that schools will not be able to give pupils Google Search without its AI features. It said two US senators wrote to Google last month to ask why AI features were the default on school devices.
For teachers, this means pupils will lose Gemini in lessons unless the school's administrator turns it back on. A school that wants pupils to use Search must accept its AI features too, according to AFP. The same Google post said Guided Learning is now available worldwide in Google Classroom. It is a Gemini mode that asks questions and breaks a problem into steps instead of giving the answer.
Google said it will give schools more details in the coming months, before the change starts. It has not said when the controls will reach schools in the UK. It has also not said what happens to accounts where administrators have already turned Gemini on.
Sources
- Google Designing responsible AI for learning
- Phys.org (AFP) Google turns off AI for schoolchildren by default