Microsoft has agreed to a set of safety guardrails and privacy standards for its artificial intelligence (AI) in schools in the United States, under terms negotiated with the country’s second-largest teachers’ union. The move comes amid a growing backlash against AI and screen time, Euronews Next reports.
The agreement, signed last week, prohibits the use of AI companions, along with features “designed to foster emotional attachment or dependency” or designed to keep students engaged for longer than a learning task requires.
The standards are legally binding and require third-party audits to check compliance. Transparency measures also require the company to explain to families, in plain language, how its tools work and what data they collect.
As part of the wide-ranging agreement, Microsoft says it will not use student or educator data to train AI systems, apart from a narrow exception for data that could help protect students. The company says the data it collects cannot be sold, used for advertising or used for product development.
“This standard sets a high bar for child privacy and AI safety, and we’ll extend this agreement to every school district across the country,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chair and president, in a statement.
According to the company, the standards will apply to Microsoft school contracts across the US from November 1.
AI in Europe’s classrooms
AI has already made its way into European classrooms, and young people are increasingly turning to chatbots for more than schoolwork.
A European Commission study of early adopters in secondary schools in Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and Spain found that students were using generative AI to explain difficult topics, practise skills and prepare for exams.
A separate 2026 Austrian study found that 60% of the 11- to 17-year-olds surveyed had sought advice from AI chatbots on issues such as stress, conflicts or heartbreak, while 30% had discussed worries or feelings with them.
Some European governments are already drawing limits around younger pupils’ use. Norway said this year that children of roughly six to 12 should as a rule not use generative AI themselves for schoolwork, and that those aged around 13 to 15 may start to experiment with it cautiously. France permits pupils to learn about AI from primary-school age but says they should not use generative AI directly; supervised classroom use can begin from around age 13 or 14.
A document seen by Euronews suggests that the European Commission will propose barring under-15s from risky online services such as AI chatbots, in a legislative proposal due to be published on Thursday.