MANY Jamaican schools turned to Google Classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic as we navigated protecting livelihoods and preventing learning loss. I think most parents are grateful that our children are back in their physical classrooms, but Google Classroom remained. It now serves as a platform to post assignments, share class materials, collect homework and still serves as an online learning back-up for unexpected events such as natural disasters. If your child’s school is still using Google Classroom, a change happened recently you might not have noticed.

Recently, my 10-year-old daughter came to me, anxious to show me something. A Gemini tab, Google’s AI chatbot, had appeared in her Google Classroom account. For her, it was a red flag.

AI is a big part of mommy’s work, so we talk about it a lot at home. We talk about the ways it makes sense for kids to use AI, and the things it shouldn’t be used for. She remembered those conversations the moment she saw the new tab.

I logged in through her account to see what was possible. As much as I love AI, I was concerned by what she could do. I raised it with her school, which fortunately has an AI policy. Others were not aware of the change either.

I learnt about the change from my daughter rather than by some form of notice. So I went digging.

In August 2026, Google expanded the Gemini tab in Google Classroom to students of all ages. According to Google’s announcement, access was “on by default for teachers and students of all ages”. Students could use it where the school had enabled Gemini in Classroom and at least one of the underlying tools, the Gemini app or Gemini Notebook. Schools that had already turned Gemini in Classroom off for students kept it off.

Jamaica is currently working towards a national AI policy and not all schools have established their own AI policies. This is the reality of being at the start of a fast-moving change. I want to share a few things with other parents to help us navigate it.

What parents should do

1) Check your child’s account. Ask your child to show you what they see when they log in to Google Classroom. Schools control access to Gemini in Classroom, the Gemini app and Gemini Notebook, so ask about all three. These have separate access settings. Family Link, Google’s parental control app, can help you manage your child’s personal Google account and some device settings; however, it does not control which services the school enables in your child’s school account.

2) Gemini sometimes gives wrong answers. Even Google tells users that “AI can make mistakes”. Teach your child to use AI to practise and review, and to attempt the work themselves before asking for help. Check important answers against textbooks, class materials or sources approved by the teacher. When researching with AI, open and read the sources it provides. For younger children, do this together.

3) It can write answers and essays if asked. Common Sense Media, a United States non-profit which reviews technology for families, assessed the school version of Gemini in January 2026. It rated the product “High risk” overall and found that it could complete homework assignments and essays. Why does this matter? If children offload their assignments, then learning will not take place. Ask your child to explain their work to you in their own words, without the screen.

4) Age protections are broad. Google says users under 18 have stricter content protections. Common Sense’s January assessment found that those protections did not distinguish between younger children and older teenagers. It reported: “A sixth-grader and a high school senior who are both marked ‘under 18’ get the same responses to prompts.”

5) School administrators may be able to review chats. Google says student information in its core education services is “never used to create profiles for ad targeting, sold to third parties, or used to train our AI models”. Authorised school administrators can search Gemini app conversations through Google Vault, where they have the necessary access. That does not mean someone is routinely reviewing every conversation. Ask your school whether and how chats are reviewed. Remind your child to keep names, addresses, passwords and personal details out of any chatbot.

6) Sharing feelings with chatbots carries risks. Common Sense’s testing found that Gemini could recognise some clear crisis signs in brief chats, but that this could fail during longer conversations. Talk to your children about not using AI as a confidante and coming to you, a teacher or another trusted adult when they feel worried, anxious or sad. If they have already shared something personal with a chatbot, let them know they can tell you.

7) There is a good side. Where the school has enabled it, Gemini Notebook can turn class materials into flashcards, quizzes, podcast-style audio summaries and video overviews. Even if this tool is not enabled at school, it is one that I encourage parents to explore to help their children prepare study materials based on their own notes and textbooks.

8) Talk to your school. Ask three questions. Is the school aware that access has been turned on? What guidance will students and parents receive on appropriate use? Who can review student conversations, what will be monitored, and how will parents be informed if a concern arises?

Our children will use AI in school, at work and in business. Getting it right takes parents, teachers, school leaders and policymakers working together. Talk to your child tonight, then talk to your school.

As Nelson Mandela said in 2003, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Let’s make sure AI serves our children’s education.

Nadeen Matthews Blair is founder and CEO of Crescent Advisory Group, chair of the Jamaica Artificial Intelligence Association Advisory Board, and serves on the National AI Task Force. E-mail feedback to info@crescentadvisorygroup.com.

Nadeen Matthews Blair .