Image source, Getty Images
- author, Lev McMahon
- Role, Technology reporter
Google’s new artificial intelligence (AI) search feature is facing criticism for providing erratic and inaccurate answers.
An experimental AI Overviews tool has told some users searching for how to make cheese stick to pizza better that they can use “non-toxic glue.”
The AI-generated search engine responses also said that geologists recommend humans eat one rock per day.
A Google spokesperson told the BBC they were “isolated examples”.
Some of the answers appeared to be based on Reddit comments or articles written by the satirical website The Onion.
But Google insisted that the feature works well overall.
“The examples we’ve seen are generally very uncommon queries, and do not represent most people’s experiences,” she said in a statement.
“The vast majority of AI overviews provide high-quality information, with links to dive deeper on the web.”
It said it has taken action where “policy violations” have been identified and is using them to improve its systems.
This is not the first time the company has faced problems with its AI-powered products.
In February, it had to temporarily shut down chatbot Gemini, which had been criticized for its “woke” responses.
It works using artificial intelligence to provide a summary of search results, so users don’t have to scroll through a long list of websites to find the information they’re looking for.
However, it is likely to be more widely used – and trusted – because Google Search remains the search engine of choice for many.
According to web traffic tracking, Statistics counterGoogle search engine represents more than 90% of the global market.
Google isn’t the only technology facing backlash over its attempts to cram more AI tools into its consumer-facing products.
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