Schools urged to drop Google over AI Search risks

A new Common Sense Media report says Google Search’s AI-powered features pose an “unacceptable risk” to students, and education advocates are now urging schools to reconsider their dependence on Google products altogether.

Google launched AI Mode for Search last year, making it available immediately to all users, including education accounts. Advocates told Mashable that this is especially troubling because AI Mode runs on Gemini models, which are age-gated in other Google products, including parts of Google’s education suite.

According to Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, Google holds enormous influence in both search and education through products such as Chromebooks and Google Workspace for Education. The concern, he said, is that generative AI is now embedded so deeply into Google’s core tools that many students may not even realize they are using it.

Concerns about misinformation, cheating, and student safety

Researchers have already found that AI Overviews can repeat misinformation, a problem critics say remains unresolved. Common Sense Media also found that Google’s AI tools would readily complete homework assignments for minor users, raising concerns that students may cheat without fully realizing it.

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“There is no reason why a 10-year-old, 13-year-old, or even 15-year-old should see an AI Overview or have AI Mode.”

Amanda Bickerstaff described AI Mode as a “backdoor” to unsafe generative AI experiences for students. She argued that the feature works against efforts to teach AI literacy by inserting chatbot-style answers into a tool students use to find reliable information.

The report also warns that AI Overviews and AI Mode may create mental health and safety risks for children. Google does not provide a setting that disables only AI features while leaving Search intact. Parents can block Google.com entirely for child accounts, and school administrators could theoretically do the same for Workspace for Education accounts, but that would effectively shut off Google Search.

Pressure on school districts

In a statement to Mashable, Google said Common Sense Media’s testing was narrow and ambiguous, and not an effective way to measure product safety and usefulness. Common Sense Media tested consumer accounts, not Workspace for Education accounts, though Torney said Google indicated the AI-powered Search experience is the same for all users.

Advocates say that leaves school districts exposed. David Monahan, campaign director for Fairplay for Kids, said schools should stop using Google products if the company will not disable AI features for students. Anya Meksin, deputy director of Schools Beyond Screens, said districts may already be violating their own AI policies because embedded tools like Google Search and Chromebooks still expose students to AI features.

She pointed to Los Angeles Unified School District, whose policy bans students under 13 from using generative AI in school, while students can still encounter AI Mode through school devices. Meksin said K-12 schools have spent billions on classroom technology over the past 20 years, making it difficult to unwind those systems quickly — but argued districts still have leverage as major buyers.

“As the largest purchasers of these products, districts have power. If Google refuses to comply, districts must cease using these products and void these contracts.”