"Selling you garbage"— Linus Sebastian discusses how Google's Al allegedly pushes "misleading, overly salesy product info" to misdirect users

YouTuber Linus Sebastian shared insights on Google's AI overview, claiming that it is selling people "garbage."

"Google's AI overviews are selling you garbage. I mean, we all knew that AI kind of sucked, right?" Linus remarked.

In the July 12 episode of The Wan Show, the YouTuber reviewed an "in-depth" report from House Fresh, an air purifier review site, which claimed that the Google AI overview feature often presents misleading and overly promotional product information.

"[House Fresh is] an air purifier review site that you know, I never thought I'd care this much about an air purifier review site, but they do a great job. And they are fighting the good fight in the war against crappy AI. And they published an in-depth report exposing how Google's AI overviews push misleading, overly salesy product info," Linus stated.

Further citing the report, Linus stated that Google AI overviews depend on "manufacturer PR, product listings, and sponsored reviews." He added that it leaves out "major criticism," generates "fake" pros and cons, and even recommends some products that don't exist.

The report also mentioned an example where a query about an "infamously poor air purifier" still resulted in a "salesy" response from the AI.

When asked about the drawbacks of this air purifier, the search engine's AI responded that its main issue is "its limited ability to remove particulate matter from the air." It also mentioned that despite this air purifier's marketing, it has received criticism for its "poor performance."

In response, Linus Sebastian commented:

"I mean, that seems like a major consideration when you're buying an air purifier, does it not? This is this is wild, man."

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"Sounds plausible enough" — Linus Sebastian reflects on his personal experience with Google's AI overview

Europe Investigates Google Monopol Practice (Image via Getty)

In The Wan Show, Linus Sebastian also shared his personal experience with using Google's AI overview, claiming that it sounds legitimate until you start to notice it's not.

"Even with how much I know, I still find myself scrolling through the AI overview and like if I don't stop and think, 'Wait, this is horses**t, right?' If I don't stop and think about it, I'm like, 'Oh, I mean, it sounds plausible enough.' That's the thing. That's the biggest problem," Linus Sebastian remarked.

Linus Sebastian further questioned whether this is the "lowest point" in internet history for buyers genuinely trying to research and purchase products.

In response, his co-host, Luke Lafreniere, offered a contrasting view, pointing out that if one considers the entire history of the internet, especially the early days, there was almost no product information available online, which made it difficult for buyers to make purchases online.

However, he added that if they focus on the modern internet era, he agrees that the current moment may indeed represent the "lowest point" in internet history for buyers looking for genuine products.

"It's kind of a lame answer. So, the realistic answer, if we look at modern internet, is that yes, this is, in my opinion, the worst time," Luke added.

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The full conversation between Linus Sebastian and Luke Lafreniere is available on Linus's official YouTube channel.

Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay