Google said some of those silly AI Overview results are fake
The company now breaks its silence & explains what happened.
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Key notes
- Google’s AI Overview had issues with nonsensical and satirical queries.
- Faked screenshots of dangerous advice circulated, though those results never appeared according to Google.
- Google is making broad updates, including better detection and content restrictions.
Google Search’s AI Overview has been in a hot mess recently, all thanks to terrible responses. From suggesting glue for pizza to mistakenly identifying Obama as a Muslim, the online community has been having a good launch for its ridiculousness. And now, the Mountain View tech giant has something to say about the fiasco.
Speaking in a blog post, Liz Reid, Google’s VP for Search, explains that the mishap in AI Overview happens because of challenges in interpreting nonsensical queries and satirical content, as well as the presence of data voids where little high-quality information exists.
“Separately, there have been a large number of faked screenshots shared widely. Some of these faked results have been obvious and silly,” says the Google spokesperson.
AI Overview on Google Search has a pretty good premise. We’re so used to clicking a lot of links when searching for something before we get what we want, so this so-called AI feature aims to eliminate that hassle. It gives you an extremely compact summary of our query, but instead, some errors have made AI Overview a laughing stock.
Google also said it’s improving Search with broad updates instead of fixing individual queries. They’ve made over a dozen improvements, like better detecting nonsensical queries, limiting satire, restricting misleading user content, and adding restrictions for less helpful queries
“Others have implied that we returned dangerous results for topics like leaving dogs in cars, smoking while pregnant, and depression. Those AI Overviews never appeared,” the company continues.
But, if you’re still looking to get rid of Google Search’s AI Overview for good, here’s how.
