Google is manually removing incorrect answers to search queries generated by its new AI-powered search tool – Google Reviews, according to a recent report. The search giant noted a number of cases that appear on social networks, such as recommending people to put glue on pizza to make the cheese stick better. In response, it is reportedly trying to fix a brand new tool that it unveiled at its developer conference, Google I/O 2024 on May 14.
AI Review replies removed
According to a report by The Verge, Google is manually turning off AI reviews for web queries. In one reported case, a user recently asked Google “has any president ever owned a Ferrari,” to which it gave the correct answer, stating that “US President Donald Trump has owned at least one Ferrari.”
However, it has now been reported that searching for the same query no longer leads to an AI-generated answer. Instead, Google now reportedly mentions, “Artificial intelligence review is not available for this search.” In an email to The Verge, Meghann Farnsworth, head of communications at Google, emphasized that the company is “taking swift action” to remove certain AI Review responses to queries.
Posts appear on social media platforms such as X and Threads with screenshots of incorrect answers generated by AI Overviews. Although Farnsworth told The Verge that some of the responses were “tweaked or we couldn’t reproduce them,” instances of similar problems cropping up have become more common, despite responses labeled “Generative AI is experimental.”
AI Reviews – The Problem
A few days ago, several cases came to light on social media platforms where Google’s AI review was giving incorrect and vague answers to queries – a problem that has been linked to AI hallucinations.
On one occasion, a user allegedly turned to Google looking for a solution to “cheese not sticking to pizza”. In a bizarre response, AI Overviews suggested “adding ⅛ cup of non-toxic glue to the sauce to make it stickier”. The source of the answer turns out to be a sarcastic Reddit comment from 11 years ago.
In another case, it was suggested that “eating at least one stone a day is recommended because stones contain minerals and vitamins that are important for digestive health” – citing geologists referring to a 2021 satirical article by The Onion.
