Google has now added a new Guided Learning mode to the Gemini experience in an attempt to change the way students use AI for studying. Rather than offering instant answers, the feature encourages active thinking by guiding learners through step-by-step explanations and prompting them with follow-up questions.
The tech giant took to an official blog post to announce the feature and reveal that it's powered by LearnLM, a family of large language models specifically for education. Developed in collaboration with learning scientists, educators and cognitive experts, LearnLM is designed to understand how people naturally learn new concepts.
According to Google, this includes encouraging curiosity, breaking down complex ideas and helping learners build confidence in their understanding.
Guided Learning encourages participation through probing and open-ended questions that spark a discussion and provide an opportunity to dive deeper into a subject. The aim is to help you build a deep understanding instead of just getting answers. Guided Learning breaks down problems step-by-step and adapts explanations to your needs — all to help you build knowledge and skills.
— Maureen Heymans, VP of Learning, Google
This comes right after OpenAI announced Study Mode for ChatGPT, which is aimed at making learning deeper concepts simpler as well. Looks like the two models will, once again, lock horns.
Additionally, do note that the Guided Learning feature is currently live for us, here in India. However, the catch is that users will require the Google AI Pro Plan to get access to Gemini 2.5, which brings the feature to the table.
The good news is that eligible students can get the Google AI Pro Plan for free for an entire year now, as Google announced a while ago. This will let learners enjoy the new Guided Learning feature on Gemini without paying a rupee.
