Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., sent Google a letter on Monday asking the company to let K-12 schools turn off artificial intelligence features in Google Search without cutting off the search engine, The New York Times reported⁹.

GuruFocus, in a Nov. 9 market note, likewise said Markey urged Google to allow schools to disable AI in Search, and that Google's position remains that those features cannot be switched off if students are to use Search¹⁰.

The request follows Google's Nov. 3 education update, in which Chris Phillips, vice president and general manager of education, wrote that access to Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be entirely off for K-12 student accounts until administrators turn them on⁷.

Phillips told the New York Times, as relayed by TechCrunch, The Verge, CBS News and Engadget, that Search and AI are deeply integrated, and that schools that do not opt in will not have Search^2,3,4,5.

Google later told Ars Technica it had not changed that policy, while saying schools can disable Gemini apps and still enable Search, and that turning Search on means accepting AI Overviews and AI Mode or a Guided Learning version¹.

The Times account of Markey's letter, which this desk did not independently obtain, said he asked whether Google would reverse course on that pairing, whether an AI-free results page is technically feasible for students signed into school accounts, and whether the company would share any research on safety and learning effects of Search AI by the end of November⁹.

GuruFocus said the letter also asked for research into AI's implications for student safety and learning outcomes¹⁰. Markey characterized the current setup as leaving schools without a real choice, according to the Times report⁹.

Google's blog said Guided Learning in Search will walk students through homework-style queries instead of giving a final answer, with a U.S. school pilot later this month, and that Guided Learning became globally available in Classroom on Nov. 3⁷.

Earlier criticism of the Search-AI pairing came from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former FTC chair Lina Khan^2,4. Google said on X that Gemini products and Search can be enabled individually and that the changes give schools more choice^2,3.

CBS News, citing Google, said Classroom is used by roughly 150 million students and teachers⁴. New York City delayed generative AI for younger grades, and Los Angeles Unified restricted generative AI on district devices^4,5,6.

Google has not published a reply to Markey's Monday letter in the sources cited here^9,10,7. Independent timing of the default-off K-12 controls remains unspecified beyond Google's pledge to share rollout details in coming months^7,1.