AI Quests from Google aims to teach students real-world AI applications

Google has launched AI Quests, an interactive online game series designed to teach students aged 11-14 about real-world AI applications through fantasy-based gameplay. The initiative represents part of a broader tech industry push to familiarize younger generations with AI technology and build early user loyalty in what companies view as the foundational technology of the future.

What you should know: AI Quests transforms Google’s actual AI research projects into educational games where students learn by solving real-world challenges.

• The first quest, based on Google’s Flood Forecasting research, tasks students with tracking variables like rainfall and river flow to train an AI model for flood prediction.
• Students receive guidance from a virtual mentor named Dr. Skye while navigating fantasy-themed scenarios.
• Two additional quests will launch in coming months, focusing on eye disease detection and brain-mapping research.

The big picture: Tech companies are intensifying efforts to capture student users as they compete for dominance in what they consider the operating system of the future.

• The “teach ’em young” approach has been supercharged with AI’s rise, as developers view students as both trendsetters and more receptive to new technologies.
• Some tech leaders frame this competition in existential terms, warning of a geopolitical race between US and Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek, a Chinese AI firm.

Who else is involved: Google developed AI Quests in collaboration with the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, a research organization focused on educational innovation, targeting the 11-14 age demographic specifically.

Competitive landscape: Google’s gaming approach joins a wave of student-focused AI initiatives across the industry.

• Google recently provided college students in five countries with free access to its AI Pro plan.
• Similar recent efforts from Perplexity, Grammarly, Anthropic, and OpenAI also target students to build lasting usage habits.

Why this matters: By gamifying AI concepts, Google aims to transform the technology from an abstract concept into a pragmatic, habitual part of students’ daily thinking.

• “It’s our latest effort around AI literacy in classrooms, teaching the next generation to not only use the technology, but inspiring them with how they can use AI to make a positive impact on their world,” Google wrote in a press release.
• The strategy could help establish long-term user relationships that persist well beyond the classroom.