Google's AI Mode search tool has been giving indirect answers when asked who won the 2020 US presidential election, telling users to consult official sources rather than naming Joe Biden, Ars Technica reports.
In the outlet's tests, the tool pointed users to the Federal Election Commission for the 2020 and 2024 results, while answering directly for most other elections back to 2000. Other Ars staff got inconsistent results, with different election years answered or deflected. AI Mode also declined to say which party controlled the Senate after 2020, while answering the same question for 1992.
Ars said Google's own Gemini model, as well as ChatGPT and Claude, answered the questions directly, and that AI Mode appeared to give straightforward answers when accessed from outside the United States. The tests followed complaints on social media about the tool's responses.
Source: Ars Technica
