Google’s AI enters the classroom: what help can it give to students (without sending teachers into retirement)?

It’s time for many kids to get back to school: in 2026, even schools can’t help but deal with artificial intelligence. Google presents itself at the sound of the bell with a series of innovations dedicated specifically to students and teachers, strengthening Gemini and integrating it ever more deeply with Google Classroom and Khan Academy.

The goal is to transform AI from a simple tool from which to ask for the solution of a problem to a sort of personal tutor, capable of starting from notes and lesson materials to create study paths, quizzes and exercises adapted to everyone’s difficulties. All of this, at least in the company’s intentions, without sending the professor into retirement: AI can suggest, organize and personalize, but control of the educational path must remain in the hands of the teachers.

Tailor-made studio at home

The most interesting news for students is Study Notebooksstudy notebooks built by AI. You start by uploading, for example, lecture notes, handouts or other course materials. Gemini can therefore propose an initial quiz to understand which topics have already been assimilated and where there are gaps; based on the results, he prepares a plan consisting of small lessons and tests, which is updated as the student progresses.

The system can also create cards with a question or concept on one side and the answer on the other (widely used in the Anglo-Saxon world to exercise memory and review), diagrams, graphs and, in some cases, interactive three-dimensional visualizations: by asking to show how a DNA molecule is made, for example, a model appears that can be rotated and enlarged.

With user permission, Gemini can even locate exam and submission dates in the course syllabus and insert them into Google Calendar. For eligible university students outside the United States, there is also a free year of Google AI Plus, with Gemini usage limits doubled compared to free accounts and 400 GB of storage space; the offer covers over 140 markets and is also available in Italy.

What AI does in the classroom

However, Gemini also enters directly into Google Classroom. Access has been extended to students of all ages through school accounts, as long as the function is enabled by the school administrator. Students can thus create study guides, take quizzes or use Guided Learninga method that tries to accompany them step by step towards the solution instead of providing an answer immediately.

Instructors can choose which course materials the AI ​​uses and prepare activities based solely on those sources. Looking ahead, they will also be able to directly assign a Study Notebook to a class and consult data that shows which topics are creating the most difficulty for the individual student or group.

Google also connected Classroom to Gemini to allow teachers to securely use assignments, grades, and course materials when preparing lessons or analyzing progress. According to the company, the Google Workspace for Education data used in this context is not used to train AI models.

Virtual professor

Another part of the project passes through Khan Academy and its assistant Khanmigo, developed with the contribution of the Gemini models. In math and science lessons, AI can now generate interactive diagrams when it believes an image would facilitate understanding: graphs, geometric figures or other patterns can appear that react directly to the student’s actions. By moving, for example, a vertex of a figure, Khanmigo recognizes the change and adapts the explanation to what is happening on the screen.

Teachers also receive new tools: the function Practice My Knowledge allows Gemini to prepare questions and exercises also starting from materials uploaded by the teacher, but nothing is automatically delivered to the students. The teacher can check all the questions, modify, delete or approve them and, after the exercise, receive a report of the results.