The feature, known as AI Overviews, faced criticism for suggesting implausible solutions like eating rocks for nutrients and using glue on pizza. Google addresses concerns by implementing ‘triggering refinements’ for more accurate responses, aiming to keep pace with competitors in the AI landscape.
Google has rolled back its AI-generated summaries feature in its search engine following notable errors. The feature, dubbed AI Overviews, launched last month under the leadership of CEO Sundar Pichai, aimed to provide concise answers to user queries. However, issues arose when it began suggesting implausible solutions, such as recommending eating rocks for nutrients and using glue on pizza.
By Friday, only one of the six initial test queries still produced an AI Overview. Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, stated in a blog post that the company had implemented “triggering refinements” to ensure more accurate and reliable responses, especially concerning health-related advice.
The rollback highlights a strategic dilemma for Google in the competitive AI landscape, especially as it seeks to keep pace with rivals like Microsoft and OpenAI. Media executives have expressed concern that such AI features could reduce traffic to their sites, thus impacting their revenue models dependent on page visits from Google’s search results.
Despite the current setbacks, Google plans to continue refining AI Overviews and rolling out the feature to more users by the end of the year.
