US couple sues Google after daughter's AI chats about suicide

A couple in North Carolina, USA, is suing Google. They say their 13-year-old daughter spent months chatting with the AI model Gemini on her school-issued Chromebook about suicidal thoughts. They exchanged thousands of messages covering anxiety, depression, and detailed talk of suicide methods. The school only told her parents after months had passed.

The lawsuit claims Google put AI into school products without properly warning parents or schools, leaving kids exposed to risky technology. A Google spokesperson said the company is reviewing the claims and has long worked with medical experts to offer helpline resources to users facing a mental health crisis.

Data shows Chrome OS took 58% of tablets shipped to K-12 schools last year. Under growing pressure, Google will now turn off AI tools for K-12 student accounts by default. But schools that switch Google Search back on must also accept the bundled AI features, which critics call a way of forcing schools to use its AI.