Google’s generative AI’s failures may lead to a gradual erosion of trust in the company.

Google (GOOG, GOOGL) found itself in hot water over the Memorial Day weekend as its new AI Overview feature in the Search platform generated a series of bizarre and inaccurate responses to user queries. From suggesting using nontoxic glue to keep cheese from sliding off pizza to claiming Barack Obama was the first Muslim president, the AI Overview feature raised serious concerns about Google’s credibility.

The company quickly took down the erroneous responses and stated that it was working to improve its systems. However, this incident, along with previous AI-related mishaps such as the Gemini image generator launch, could tarnish Google’s reputation as a reliable source of information on the internet.

Experts like Chinmay Hegde, associate professor of computer science and engineering at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, expressed concerns about the impact of these AI flubs on Google’s trustworthiness. He emphasized the importance of standing by the products that are rolled out to maintain users’ trust.

The root cause of these slip-ups, according to Hegde, is Google’s rush to outpace competitors like Microsoft and OpenAI in the generative AI space. The company’s fast-paced research and product development may be leading to the release of products before they are fully ready, resulting in surface-level issues like inaccurate responses and harmful information.

As Google races to stay ahead of the competition in the AI arena, it faces the challenge of balancing innovation with reliability. The recent string of AI-related errors highlights the importance of ensuring that products are thoroughly tested and accurate before being released to the public. Failure to do so could erode users’ trust in Google’s AI capabilities and ultimately impact its market position.