Education Shouldn't Be Held for Ransom

Kevin Elgan, Head of Marketing at Kagi, argues that Google's plan to turn off AI tools by default for K-12 Google Workspace for Education accounts starting in early 2027 holds education for ransom. The article reports that Google will also switch off Search along with the AI tools, and that Chris Phillips, Google's vice president for education, told The New York Times that "Search and AI are deeply integrated." After backlash, Google said schools could enable Search alone, but the article says Search still cannot be used without AI features such as AI Overviews. The piece presents Kagi Search, which has no ads and offers AI only on request, as an alternative for schools.