Google AI Overviews

2024

Google AI Overviews promised to end tedious scrolling by using AI to synthesize information and provide a single, definitive answer at the top of the page. It was designed to be the ultimate fact-checker, researcher, and guide for humanity's questions.

At launch in 2024 the service was not making anyone smarter. It pretended to present facts but delivered crap advice and nonsense.

It confidently advised users to put glue on their pizza to make the cheese stick. And it recommended eating at least one small rock per day, sourcing its geological "wisdom" from the satirical newspaper The Onion. It also resurrected a debunked conspiracy theory, stating that Barack Obama was the first Muslim president.

Google should have tested for “edge cases” (unusual cases before deploying the system for the world to see.

Google has greatly improved their AI Overview, but now are facing criticism for “Destroying the Internet”

Additional info:

The Verge - Google defends AI search results after they told us to put glue on pizza.

BBC - Glue pizza and eat rocks: Google AI search errors go viral.

CNN - Google Search’s AI falsely said Obama is a Muslim. Now it’s turning off some results.