Google AI Overviews now cite Reddit and web forums
Google is updating its AI Overviews to include excerpts from public online discussions, social media, and web forums like Reddit, alongside a feature that highlights links from users' news subscriptions. The move aims to provide more diverse perspectives for niche queries but risks amplifying unreliable sources. Two years after Google overhauled search to prioritize AI, the Overviews have faced criticism for hallucination and citing dubious content, such as The Onion's satire. A New York Times analysis found the AI correct about 90% of the time, but for trillions of queries annually, that means hundreds of thousands of inaccurate results per minute. Google will now add context to links, showing creator names, handles, or community names to help users assess trustworthiness. The update blurs the line between answering questions and serving as a source aggregator, similar to how ChatGPT or Claude provide citations. Google advises users to double-check AI citations for hallucinations.
Key facts
- Google updates AI Overviews to include excerpts from Reddit and other web forums.
- New feature highlights links from a user's news subscriptions.
- AI Overviews launched two years ago and have received mixed reception.
- AI Overviews previously cited The Onion and Reddit for dangerous advice.
- New York Times analysis found AI Overviews correct about 90% of the time.
- Google processes trillions of queries per year, leading to hundreds of thousands of inaccurate results per minute.
- Google adds context to links: creator name, handle, or community name.
- Google advises users to double-check AI citations for hallucinations.
Entities
Institutions
- The Onion
- The New York Times
- TechCrunch