Inside Google’s AI training for teachers

Some educators said they feel it's important to teach students about AI as they're still learning about it themselves.Rachel Bujalski for NBC NewsEXCLUSIVEEducationInside Google’s AI training for teachersThe technology giant flew 70 educators to its California headquarters to learn about its AI products — and how to persuade skeptical colleagues to use them.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 9, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Tyler KingkadeMOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Sitting in an atrium on Google’s campus, a group of K-12 educators imagined the worst response they could receive when they tried to persuade their colleagues to use artificial intelligence.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.They pictured a veteran English teacher who was still upset that cursive is no longer taught. Perhaps she would yell that AI is “just another shiny tech fad.” What’s next, she might ask — robots teaching kids how to read?The educators asked Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, for advice and soon had a role-playing plan. They would win over this skeptical English teacher by explaining what generative AI could do for her: create classroom materials for phonics lessons, reducing what would normally be hours of work to just two minutes. The key, the educators agreed, was to avoid getting into an argument or letting this AI critic unload all her fears uninterrupted. “Well, it’s not cursive, but it did save me an hour of typing tonight,” they predicted the English teacher would eventually reply. K-12 educators gathered for AI training at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, in the San Francisco Bay Area, on June 2.Rachel Bujalski for NBC NewsSeventy teachers and school technology directors selected for their interest in Google’s education technology products traveled to the company’s headquarters last week for a free two-day training program on how to use AI — and how to urge the...