Senator Edward Markey on Monday asked Alphabet to allow K-12 schools to disable Google's artificial intelligence features while keeping access to Google Search, and set a Nov. 30 deadline for the company's response.

The Massachusetts Democrat sent the letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on Nov. 9. Under a planned Google policy, schools that block AI Overviews for students would also lose access to Search altogether. The dispute puts a spotlight on how much say schools retain as AI features become embedded in the classroom tools they already use.

Markey seeks answers by Nov. 30

In the letter, Markey asked Google to commit to letting schools turn off AI Overviews, Gemini and Guided Learning while retaining Search. He also asked whether it is technically feasible to deliver Search results without generative AI features or chatbots.

"Schools deserve the right to block student access to AI chatbots without also forfeiting access to an important educational tool," Markey wrote in the letter (full text).

The senator argued that Google is leveraging its dominance in education technology to push AI on students by tying Search access to its AI tools. Google Classroom serves roughly 150 million students and teachers, a footprint that makes the bundling question a national one for classrooms.

Markey further requested Google's research, testing and risk assessments on the safety, mental health and learning impacts of those products on K-12 students, including children younger than 13. He also asked how many schools and districts use Google products that restrict student access to generative AI or chatbots outside of Search.

Alphabet says its features are too tightly woven to separate

Google maintains that the policy gives schools more control. A spokesperson said the AI features are now so tightly integrated into Search that the company cannot offer Search without them.

Google announced the change on Nov. 3. Under the policy, Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be switched off for K-12 student accounts until administrators turn them on, and each product can be enabled individually.

Google's help pages, however, state that AI Overviews is a core feature that cannot be turned off, and students at schools that do not opt in to Search will see a notice saying it is not accessible. That language speaks directly to the feasibility question Markey posed about delivering Search results without generative AI features.

"We believe schools should have control over AI in their classrooms and in providing administrators with controls to help them manage their approach," wrote Chris Phillips, Google's vice president and general manager of education, in the announcement.

Google plans to launch a Guided Learning pilot in Search with selected US schools later in November. The feature walks students through homework problems step by step.

Rivals and critics respond

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused Google of "trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools" in a post on social media.

DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg on Nov. 4 volunteered to help school administrators set his search engine as the classroom default, Cryptopolitan reported. Google accounted for 91.05% of global search traffic in October, while DuckDuckGo held 0.64% — a gap that underlines how little search-market share rivals currently hold.

Google's answer to the Nov. 30 deadline and the November rollout of the Guided Learning pilot in selected US schools are the next concrete checkpoints in the dispute.

Source: Cryptopolitan