Last week, Google introduced its AI-powered search results to millions of users in an effort to enhance the search experience. However, instead of delivering better results, the AI produced strange and inaccurate outcomes, such as suggesting that people put glue on their pizza to make the cheese stick and eat rocks. The tech giant swiftly took action to remove these misleading AI results, known as AI Overviews, but the damage had already been done – becoming a viral meme. In a recent blog post by Liz Reid, Google's head of search, the company attributes the inaccuracies to "data voids, " along with unusual queries from users. Reid defends AI results by claiming that they generally do not "hallucinate" but occasionally misinterpret existing web content. Reid acknowledges the multitude of fabricated screenshots of AI Overviews circulating online, pointing out the challenges posed by millions of users exploring the feature with various unconventional searches. Additionally, she highlights the fact that Google implemented this feature for millions of users, fueling the negative response and prompting guides on how to disable it. Reid's blog post outlines Google's actions to address the issue, including limiting AI Overviews' appearance for nonsensical and satirical queries.

This is particularly crucial as users were surprised to see AI results from The Onion, a well-known satirical website, and a Reddit user named "fucksmith" in the first place. Furthermore, the blog compares AI Overviews to another existing feature called featured snippets, which provide information from relevant webpages without employing generative AI. Reid states that the "accuracy rate" of featured snippets is comparable to that of AI Overviews. Ultimately, the introduction of AI Overviews has proven to be another public relations setback for Google. Meanwhile, the company faces competition from OpenAI and AI search startups like Perplexity, which is rumored to have a valuation of $3 billion.