Artificial intelligence has officially joined the Menlo toolkit. In an assembly on Sept. 2, Upper School Director John Schafer announced that students will now receive free access to premium versions of Google Gemini and Perplexity as part of the school’s push to responsibly and equitably integrate AI into academic life.
According to Schafer, Menlo decided to give access to these AI tools to give students equal access to valuable resources. “It’s sort of an equity position of how we guarantee [that] everyone has these tools, because last year, maybe some families had access [to them] and some families didn’t,” Schafer said.
Additionally, Schafer said that with the increasing prominence and utility of AI, Menlo needed to improve its integration of the technology into schoolwork. “[AI tools] are just there. They’re embedded in our school anyway,” he said.
Schafer said that security was a major factor that the school considered when choosing which platforms to partner with. He said Menlo settled on Google Gemini and Perplexity Pro because of their privacy policies and overall user protection.
Director of Technology Mike Kulbieda said that there were other merits that drew Menlo to Gemini and Perplexity Pro over other AI tools. One such benefit was that Perplexity and Gemini included other AI models, improving the versatility of each. ChatGPT and Claude were both built into Perplexity Pro, while Gemini came equipped with Google Workspace, a tool that Menlo had already implemented across campus.
Another aspect Menlo had considered was the cost of each subscription. Using an existing Google Workspace agreement, Menlo has been able to promote Gemini subscriptions free of charge. Although the school didn’t have a prior agreement with Perplexity Pro, Kulbieda said that Menlo was able to organize a new pilot partnership with Perplexity that allowed the school to distribute the platform through August 2026 at no additional cost.
Although he agreed that AI platforms add value for students, Senior Spersh Goyal also raised some skepticism over using Menlo’s subscriptions to Google Gemini and Perplexity Pro. “I think people are a little concerned about using Menlo’s subscriptions,” Goyal said.
Schafer shut down the idea that Menlo would use AI prompts to invade a student’s privacy. “For the record, it’s not possible for Menlo to track or see what prompts students are using with Perplexity Pro [or Google Gemini],” he said.
Although he conveyed a hesitancy to use school-issued subscriptions, Goyal expressed his overall approval of Menlo’s new policy on AI. “[Tools such as] Perplexity have always, in general, been something that I use, especially for finding sources for research papers,” Goyal said. He added that Menlo made it much easier for him to access AI tools. “I was considering getting Perplexity Pro anyway, so getting it for free was definitely convenient,” Goyal said.
At the assembly announcing the changes, Schafer cautioned students against overusing AI. Aside from the administrative action that could be taken if students violated Menlo’s honor code, Schafer noted that dependency on AI only served to hurt students. “[Don’t] view learning as something to be short-circuited or shortcutted,” Schafer said. “That’s a pretty self-destructive way of thinking about it.”
Attesting to Schafer’s standpoint on AI usage in school, Upper School Dean of Student Life and Culture Alexis Bustamante encourages students to be wary of how they use these new tools. “Do the work and continue to think critically, and [don’t] just result in using AI. […] [You] don’t need to be perfect and have the perfect answer and the perfect essay, because that’s how [you] grow,” Bustamante said.
Junior Celina Chen emphasized the importance of students retaining their analytical skills. “You are learning how to think, how to read, how to write. When you’re in college […] people are going to care if you know how to write an essay,” Chen said.
Regardless of which AI platform Menlo students prefer, Menlo administrators echoed that they want students to be mindful of how their work is translated through AI. “If you write a sentence and Grammarly improves that sentence, is that your sentence or not your sentence? That’s something to think about […] because you don’t want to pass along [work that is not yours],” Schafer said.
English Department Chair Rachel Blumenthal commented on how AI might impact the creative process in classrooms. “I do think for some students, that [path of discovery] would come from AI and it would look like ways of making art and ways of having ideas that I can’t quite imagine yet,” Blumenthal said.
Bustamante noted how Gemini and Perplexity can improve students’ revision process. “[AI] could be helpful with […] generating ideas [or] getting feedback,” Bustamante said. In some ways, AI is another avenue for this feedback, not something that replaces it altogether.
As Menlo continues to familiarize its community with Gemini and Perplexity Pro, Schafer wants students to improve their learning with Menlo’s AI subscriptions. “You’ve got some familiarity with these tools. They’re augmenting your thinking and sharpening your skills,” Schafer said. “[Learn to] use them in different ways, and figure out what works for you.”
