Chicago Public Schools Say They May Leave Google Search Over Forced AI

Chicago Public Schools says it may use a different search solution if Google requires students to accept its AI services. The district is exploring ways to suppress Google's AI Overviews, while protesters and other school systems also push back against the company's plans.

Chicago's response to Google

At the start of November, Chris Phillips, Google's vice president and general manager for education, said K-12 schools will soon have to accept the company's AI services to retain student access to its search engine. He said Search and AI are now deeply integrated services. A lot of people did not take this well, saying Google was essentially blackmailing schools into using a service they did not want. Chicago Public Schools has yet to respond to Google's announcement, but a spokesperson said the district was 'actively exploring all options to independently suppress' the AI Overviews that appear at the top of Google searches. The spokesperson added that if CPS cannot provide students access to Google's search engine without its AI feature, the district will 'look to other search solutions.'

Protests and student reaction

Google's actions led to protests against the company, with demonstrators chanting 'Hey Google, nice try. We don't want your Gemini.' Chalkbeat Chicago reports that the announcement led to protests in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in Chicago, where the city's school district recently blocked student access to generative AI tools such as Gemini. About 30 protesters, including parents, educators, and students, demonstrated outside Google's office in Chicago's West Loop. Reese Mackey, a junior at Kenwood Academy High School, said students are owed lessons and feedback from people CPS hired who are passionate and dedicated to making learning fun, 'not by a bot whose only job is to be a yes man and compile random sources from the internet for a nonsensical answer.' A Google spokesperson said the company was working to improve Search for classroom use, including testing its 'Guided Learning' feature, which uses AI to guide students through problems one step at a time instead of simply giving them answers.

Other districts push back

Chicago is far from alone. In October, Frederick County's school board voted 6 to 1 to restrict student AI use from pre-K through 12th grade, just weeks after allowing older students to try Gemini with teacher permission. Board members raised concerns about the lack of warning to parents and teachers' inability to disable the tool on student devices. Exceptions remain for lessons about AI and accommodations for students with disabilities. New York City also introduced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI from preschool through eighth grade for the 2026-2027 school year. High school use is limited to approved tools in supervised pilot or career-readiness programs. Los Angeles has temporarily blocked generative AI tools on student devices across all grades. Google faces an uphill battle to convince schools that using AI is the way forward for students, but threatening to remove search from those who say no is hardly going to help convince them otherwise.

Sources: techspot.com