The search giant’s new tool is answering questions about cancer, heart attacks, and Ozempic.
But this is still a chatbot. In just a week, Google users have pointed out all kinds of inaccuracies with the new AI tool. It has reportedly asserted that dogs have played in the NFL and that President Andrew Johnson had 14 degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Health answers have been no exception; a number of flagrantly wrong or outright weird responses have surfaced. Rocks are safe to eat. Chicken is safe to eat once it reaches 102 degrees. These search fails can be funny when they are harmless. But when more serious health questions get the AI treatment, Google is playing a risky game.
Google’s AI overviews don’t trigger for every search, and that’s by design. “What laptop should I buy?” is a lower-stakes query than “Do I have cancer?” of course. Even before the introduction of AI search results, Google has said that it treats health queries with special care to surface the most reputable results at the top of the page.
