Google removes AI Overviews for some liver test medical queries

TechCrunch
TechCrunch
2h ago
Google removed AI Overviews from search results for certain liver blood test and liver function test queries that the Guardian said had produced misleading information.
Google removes AI Overviews for some liver test medical queries
A What happened
The Guardian reported that Google AI Overviews gave numbers for “what is the normal range for liver blood tests” that did not account for factors such as nationality, sex, ethnicity, or age. The Guardian said AI Overviews were removed from results for “what is the normal range for liver blood tests” and “what is the normal range for liver function tests,” while some query variations could still produce AI-generated summaries. A Google spokesperson told the Guardian that Google does not comment on individual removals within Search and works to make broad improvements, and said an internal team of clinicians reviewed the highlighted queries. Vanessa Hebditch of the British Liver Trust called the removal “excellent news” and said a bigger concern is AI Overviews for health more broadly.

Key insights

  • 1

    Google says it avoids discussing specific Search removals: A Google spokesperson told the Guardian that Google does not comment on individual removals within Search and focuses on broad improvements.

  • 2

    British Liver Trust raises broader concern about health AI Overviews: Vanessa Hebditch said removing AI Overviews for a single result does not address the bigger issue of AI Overviews for health.

Takeaways

AI Overviews no longer appeared for some liver test reference-range queries, while concerns about health-related AI Overviews remained.

Topics

Technology & Innovation Artificial Intelligence

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