by Emma Roth
Updated Feb 5, 2025, 5:01 PM UTC
Image: Google
Google has edited Gemini’s AI response in a Super Bowl commercial to remove an incorrect statistic about cheese. The ad, which shows a small business owner using Gemini to write a website description about Gouda, no longer says the variety makes up “50 to 60 percent of the world’s cheese consumption.”
In the edited YouTube video, Gemini’s response now skips over the specifics and says Gouda is “one of the most popular cheeses in the world.” Google Cloud apps president Jerry Dischler initially defended the response, saying on X it’s “grounded in the Web” and “not a hallucination.” The change to the ad was spotted by @natejhake on X.
Gemini’s original response (left) vs. its edited one (right). Screenshot: Google
Andrew Novakovic, E.V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economics Emeritus at Cornell University, confirmed to The Verge last week that Gouda “is almost assuredly not the most widely consumed” cheese in the world. Based on a quick web search, Gemini appears to have regurgitated the stat from a website called Cheese.com, which is filled with what seems to be SEO-optimized blogs.
“After the question came up about the Gouda stat, we spoke with the owner of the Wisconsin Cheese Mart to ask him how he would handle it,” Google spokesperson Michele Wyman said in a statement to The Verge. “Following his suggestion to have Gemini rewrite the product description without the stat, we updated the UI to reflect what the business would do.”
The business owner depicted in the commercial actually used Gemini’s response on their website, but they have since removed the incorrect detail.
A disclaimer beneath Gemini’s response says it’s “not intended to be factual,” but a tool framed as a writing aid for businesses should at least back itself up with reliable sources.
Update, February 5th: Noted that the incorrect stat is no longer on the business owner’s website and added a statement from Google.
Source (Archive)
Updated Feb 5, 2025, 5:01 PM UTC
Image: Google
Google has edited Gemini’s AI response in a Super Bowl commercial to remove an incorrect statistic about cheese. The ad, which shows a small business owner using Gemini to write a website description about Gouda, no longer says the variety makes up “50 to 60 percent of the world’s cheese consumption.”
In the edited YouTube video, Gemini’s response now skips over the specifics and says Gouda is “one of the most popular cheeses in the world.” Google Cloud apps president Jerry Dischler initially defended the response, saying on X it’s “grounded in the Web” and “not a hallucination.” The change to the ad was spotted by @natejhake on X.
Gemini’s original response (left) vs. its edited one (right). Screenshot: Google
Andrew Novakovic, E.V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economics Emeritus at Cornell University, confirmed to The Verge last week that Gouda “is almost assuredly not the most widely consumed” cheese in the world. Based on a quick web search, Gemini appears to have regurgitated the stat from a website called Cheese.com, which is filled with what seems to be SEO-optimized blogs.
“After the question came up about the Gouda stat, we spoke with the owner of the Wisconsin Cheese Mart to ask him how he would handle it,” Google spokesperson Michele Wyman said in a statement to The Verge. “Following his suggestion to have Gemini rewrite the product description without the stat, we updated the UI to reflect what the business would do.”
The business owner depicted in the commercial actually used Gemini’s response on their website, but they have since removed the incorrect detail.
A disclaimer beneath Gemini’s response says it’s “not intended to be factual,” but a tool framed as a writing aid for businesses should at least back itself up with reliable sources.
Update, February 5th: Noted that the incorrect stat is no longer on the business owner’s website and added a statement from Google.
Source (Archive)
