Google had to edit a Super Bowl ad for its Gemini chatbot after viewers noticed it contained misinformation about Gouda cheese.
The spot was set to play during a local ad slot in Wisconsin, the state with the most cheese production in the nation. The ad aims to help small businesses use AI and shows a Wisconsin cheesemaker asking Gemini to help it write a product description for a Gouda product. The response claims that Gouda accounts for “50-60% of global cheese consumption,” which is inaccurate.
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Gouda originates in the Netherlands and is a relatively niche cheese compared with heavy hitters like cheddar in the US or paneer in India, The Verge points out. A quick search on Google’s AI Overviews says cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan are the most popular cheeses in the world.
(Credit: Google)
“Cheddar and mozzarella would like a word,” writes an X user who exposed Google’s inaccurate ad in a post. A Google cloud executive, Jerry Dischler, responded to the post, insisting that the AI was functioning properly. He blamed “multiple sites across the web [that] include the 50-60% stat” as the reason the information surfaced within Gemini—suggesting the AI didn’t make it up.
“Gouda news: many love this cheese! Bada news: not everyone thinks it’s as grate,” Dischler wrote. Google ultimately edited the ad to remove the offending screenshot, BBC reports, which should help it save some face in Wisconsin when the ad airs this weekend.
Upon further investigation of Gouda-gate, it turns out the Gemini screenshot dates back to 2020, according to The Verge. Gemini first launched in 2023 as Google Bard, before the tech company renamed it Gemini in February 2024.
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It’s not the first time Google’s AI has struggled with cheese-related queries. Its AI Overviews famously told some of the first users that putting glue on pizza could help keep the cheese from sliding off.
Nonetheless, Google is full steam ahead on its AI products. This week, it made its advanced Gemini 2.0 model available to all users and allocated $75 billion for AI infrastructure, Investopedia reports. Gouda luck.
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About Emily Forlini
Senior Reporter
