Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice

People are being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google's artificial intelligence summaries, a Guardian investigation has found, Report informs, citing the British newspaper.

The company has said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are "helpful" and "reliable".

But some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.

In one case that experts described as "really dangerous", Google wrongly advised people with pancreatic cancer to avoid high-fat foods. Experts said this was the exact opposite of what should be recommended, and may increase the risk of patients dying from the disease.

In another "alarming" example, the company provided bogus information about crucial liver function tests, which could leave people with serious liver disease wrongly thinking they are healthy.

Google searches for answers about women's cancer tests also provided "completely wrong" information, which experts said could result in people dismissing genuine symptoms.

A Google spokesperson said that many of the health examples shared with them were "incomplete screenshots", but from what they could assess they linked "to well-known, reputable sources and recommend seeking out expert advice".

The Guardian investigation comes amid growing concern that AI data can confuse consumers who may assume that it is reliable. In November last year, a study found AI chatbots across a range of platforms gave inaccurate financial advice, while similar concerns have been raised about summaries of news stories.

The Guardian uncovered several cases of inaccurate health information in Google's AI Overviews after a number of health groups, charities and professionals raised concerns.

The newspaper also found Google AI Overviews delivered misleading results for searches about mental health conditions.

Google said the vast majority of its AI Overviews were factual and helpful, and it continuously made quality improvements. The accuracy rate of AI Overviews was on a par with its other search features like featured snippets, which had existed for more than a decade, it added.

The company also said that when AI Overviews misinterpreted web content or missed context, it would take action as appropriate under its policies.

A Google spokesperson said: "We invest significantly in the quality of AI Overviews, particularly for topics like health, and the vast majority provide accurate information."