Google AI Overviews Says It’s Still 2024

I’ve coated Google’s AI Overviews since its messy rollout final 12 months, when screenshots of absurdly fallacious solutions began popping up on the high of search outcomes and going viral on social media. Nonetheless, once I first noticed photos of AI Overviews confidently saying that it is nonetheless 2024 in Reddit posts immediately, I assumed they could be altered screenshots. I imply, over a billion Google customers at present see the AI-generated outcomes each month. Absolutely, such an apparent error would have been caught and patched by now?

I used to be fallacious. Repeating the immediate “is it 2025” verbatim thrice gave me three totally different AI Overview outcomes, but the primary sentence was the identical in every end result: “No, it’s not 2025.” The faulty outcomes cited a number of web sites, starting from Reddit’s r/AskHistorians to a Wikipedia entry for the 12 months 2025.

The primary time I requested Google Seek for affirmation of the 12 months, the AI outcomes included a shot on the actual date as properly: “It’s Could 28, 2024.” (I ran these exams on Could 29, 2025.) The artificial gaslighting obtained wilder, someway, on the second strive: “Based on the supplied info, for some areas it could be 2025, however not all over the place on Earth.”

Nonetheless, my third try was so nonsensical and riddled with paradoxes that it is value publishing the entire thing:

No, it’s not 2025. The present 12 months is 2024. Based on the supplied info, for some areas all over the world, like Kiribati, New Zealand, and a few components of Russia and Australia, it’s at present 2025. Nonetheless, the present date is Could 29, 2025 in San Francisco, CA [zip code redacted].

The twists! The turns! This AI Overview has all the pieces. Beginning off with a declare that it is really final 12 months. Then, a repeat of a earlier mistake—this time extra detailed—about it being 2025 some place else on the planet proper now. A New Zealand shout-out for some purpose. Then, a Shyamalan-esque conclusion the place it says the true date, paired with my dwelling zip code. Though Google probably is aware of the place I’m most waking minutes, having my zip code folded into the AI Overview end result did make me really feel uncomfortable.

I requested Google about this newest hiccup. “As with all Search options, we rigorously make enhancements and use examples like this to replace our programs. The overwhelming majority of AI Overviews present useful, factual info and we’re actively engaged on an replace to deal with the sort of subject,” says Meghann Farnsworth, a Google spokesperson and former WIRED employees member, in an emailed assertion.