Update September 19, 2025: Google has removed the “Homework Help” feature from Canvas pages with the latest Chrome update. However, the functionality can still be accessed by manually launching "Search with Google Lens" from the Chrome settings menu or using the "Ask Google about this page" option in the browser URL bar.
Original post September 12, 2025: Instructors should be aware that a new Google Chrome feature, “Homework Help,” could be used by students to get input on or source answers to questions in bCourses Quizzes. “Homework Help” is a feature that is built into the latest versions of Google Chrome. It shows up as a “Homework help” button in the URL bar, which students can click to search for quiz question answers by taking a screenshot of the quiz question directly in the browser window.
How the feature works: The “Homework Help” feature is part of Google Lens, which is a Google Search feature that uses images and screenshots of web pages as search prompts.
If a user is logged into the Chrome browser with their Google account and the browser detects a Canvas (bCourses) course on the page, a “Homework Help” button may appear in their URL bar. When clicked, the browser provides instructions to select any text or image on the page to get information. Based on the content selected, the tool provides AI-generated responses, including—in some cases—the correct or incorrect answers to quiz questions.
The “Homework help” feature is part of the Chrome browser and not part of bCourses (Canvas), our learning management system. It is not currently possible to disable this feature in Google Chrome, Google Workspace for Education, or Canvas—and the functionality is not managed by campus. Instructure, the company that develops Canvas, has notified their customers that they are actively working with Google to mitigate the concerns raised about how this tool interacts with educational platforms. These vendors have encouraged all those with concerns to provide feedback directly to Google.
This feature impacts assessments delivered in bCourses. The use of the “Homework Help” feature to source answers to bCourses Quizzes would violate UC Berkeley academic integrity policies and is considered an inappropriate use of generative AI tools on campus.
The bCourses service team and the Google Workspace for Education teams are actively engaging with both Google and Instructure, the company that develops Canvas, to provide feedback and raise concerns about this feature. We will continue to monitor this situation and keep you informed of any developments.
For more information about AI, assessment, and teaching and learning, please take a look at RTL’s Navigating GenAI Learning Path and the Center for Teaching & Learning’s Alternatives to Traditional Testing. Please contact bCoursesHelp@berkeley.edu with any questions.