Hilarious gibberish or AI’s fatal flaw? Google Search confidently explains nonsense phrases
Credit: Google Google Search’s AI-powered summary, called AI Overviews, is generating false definitions for entirely fictional idioms. Users have found they could type nonsensical phrases into Google paired with “meaning” to receive fabricated but very confident explanations. Even though Google labels AI Overviews as experimental, this behavior raises significant concerns about trust and accuracy in Google’s search results. AI is already everywhere, but companies aren’t stopping from adding it to even more places. Google is betting big on AI, adding it across every surface with Gemini Advanced and even bringing AI to Google Search with Google AI Overviews. However, the elephant in the room is that AI can hallucinate, confidently making up facts that never existed. The latest instance of AI hallucinations comes from Google AI Overviews, which confidently provides meaning to made-up idioms and phrases. Bluesky user Greg Jenner highlights (via Engadget) that you can type any random phrase into Google Search and append “meaning” to the search query to get a completely made-up explanation for the words.