Tech giant Google is no longer helping the government develop AI tutoring tools for schools, after initially being awarded a share of a contract in June. The Department for Education announced in January that it would trial AI tutoring tools in schools this year, which it said would “complement” face-to-face teaching. A contract was put out to tender by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in April, with ed tech companies and AI labs invited to work with the sector to develop the tools. Eight successful bidders were awarded the contract in mid-June, including Google UK Ltd. Its contract was worth £360,000 including VAT. But in a modification notice published a few weeks later, Google was no longer on the list of suppliers, with PA Consulting Services Ltd added. The government said it was “not appropriate to go into the details of commercial negotiations, but we have clear contractual standards we require of all partners and which are set out at the start of the process. “It would not be right to offer one supplier different, more preferable terms. Where terms can’t be agreed, we move to the next suitable supplier – which is standard procurement practice.” Schools Week has contacted Google repeatedly to ask why it is no longer taking part, but received no reply. The government’s comments were also put to the company. PA Consulting was also asked for comment, but did not respond. Pearson and other firms still involved The other seven companies chosen in June are still listed as suppliers. They are Pearson, Eedi Ltd, ElevenLabs, Flint, Learn Anything Education Ltd, Medly Ai, and Zero Gravity Tech Limited. The programme was to be jointly managed by the DfE and DSIT. But the DSIT was dissolved earlier this week by the new prime minister Andy Burnham. It is not clear whether the programme will fully come under the DfE’s remit, or whether it will be managed by the new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. Kanishka Narayan was this week appointed as minister for AI, a new cabinet role. But it is unclear how involved he will be in the programme. The Cabinet Office was contacted for comment. The DfE said the AI tutoring tools could benefit up to 450,000 disadvantaged children in years 9 and 10 within two years. The tools would be “robustly tested” from this summer under teacher supervision, and co-designed with schools, with the aim to make the successful tools available nationally next year. So far there is little detail on what they will look like, including whether they will function as a chatbot or how much teachers will be expected to supervise them. The government has said it will develop new national benchmarks to check AI tools are accurate, age-appropriate and safe for pupils to use, and will work with teachers to create example classroom interactions and clear scoring criteria.