Google\u2019s AI-powered Search overhaul is facing fresh ridicule after users discovered hilariously wrong spelling answers from AI Overviews. From misspelling \u201cjournalism\u201d to struggling with simple letter counts, the feature has sparked debate over whether AI is making Search smarter, or simply making basic internet tasks far more complicated than necessary today.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s ambitious AI makeover for Search is once again attracting attention for all the wrong reasons. Only this time, the controversy is not about recommending glue on pizza or suggesting people eat rocks. Instead, Social media users this week began posting screenshots of Google\u2019s AI-generated responses confidently giving incorrect answers to questions that most schoolchildren could solve without difficulty. Ask how many \u201cp\u201d letters appear in the word Google, and the AI reportedly says two. Ask how many \u201cd\u201d letters are in journalism, and the system somehow invents a new spelling entirely.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n Google is revamping its entire search engine to this btw pic.twitter.com\/PIR4llFhiV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 mersomas (@mersomas) May 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The bizarre responses have quickly become internet comedy material, but they have also reignited larger concerns about Google\u2019s growing reliance on generative AI inside Search, particularly for tasks that were already simple and reliable before artificial intelligence entered the picture.<\/p>\n Google AI Overview has a spelling problem<\/p>\n Among the more widely shared examples online was Google\u2019s AI Overview incorrectly spelling the word journalism as \u201cj-o-u-r-n-a-d-i-s-m\u201d while simultaneously claiming the word contains two \u201cd\u201d letters. In another case, it correctly identified that there is one \u201cp\u201d in the surname of the US president, only to spell it as \u201ct-r-p-u-m\u201d.<\/p>\n Of course, everyone sharing that viral screenshot of Google’s AI Overview claiming there are two L’s in Google is conveniently cropping out the source.<\/p>\n The AI is actually quoting a specific article from 2009 about Google\u2019s 11th birthday doodle \u00abGoog11e\u00bb. But I guess it\u2019s much\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/jwPglNEFz0<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/IPUjfKa8sm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Moll (@Moleh1ll) May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Google acknowledged the issue, saying that counting letters within words remains a known challenge for large language models, or LLMs, the technology powering modern AI chatbots and text generators.<\/p>\n The limitation is not exactly new. For years, users have tested AI systems with deceptively simple questions like how many \u201cr\u201d letters appear in strawberry, often producing wildly incorrect answers. Ironically, the same AI systems capable of writing software code or solving advanced scientific problems still struggle with tasks that rely on precise spelling and character recognition.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n Apparently this isn’t even a meme anymore \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Google AI Overview says “Google” has 2 i’s. pic.twitter.com\/PzFvGi6Asf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Shauvik Kumar (@shauvikkumar) May 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The reason lies in how these models process language. Unlike humans, AI does not \u201cread\u201d words letter by letter. Instead, most systems break text into tokens, which may represent syllables, fragments or entire words. The AI then converts those tokens into numerical patterns rather than understanding spelling in a traditional sense.<\/p>\n Google AI Overview has another issue<\/p>\n The spelling chaos arrives alongside another Instead of explaining the meaning of the word, the AI displayed: \u201cUnderstood. Let me know whenever you have a new prompt or question!\u201d<\/p>\n And there is more. Google AI worked more like a conversational model with simple words like \u2018Forget\u2019, \u2018Ignore\u2019, \u2018Stop\u2019 and more.<\/p>\n Meme: Google forgot how to define words<\/p>\n If something sounds like a command, the AI Overview tries to execute it first instead of explaining it<\/p>\n That leads to completely absurd search results<\/p>\n So this is what the search engine revolution looks like https:\/\/t.co\/XuvUzZPxRD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Hw37AFGrKP<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bonsai \ud83c\udf33 (@bonsaixbt) May 23, 2026<\/a>STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n The response quickly went viral, partly because it perfectly captured growing criticism surrounding Google\u2019s redesigned Search experience. Many users argue that AI Overviews increasingly dominate the page while genuinely useful links are pushed further down.<\/p>\n For simple searches like definitions or spellings, critics say the AI layer often feels unnecessary and overcomplicated. What once took seconds through clean search results is now becoming a conversational AI interaction that not everyone asked for.<\/p>\n Google has already patched the \u201cdisregard\u201d issue, but the latest spelling blunders suggest the company\u2019s AI-first Search future may still need a spellcheck of its own.<\/p>\n First Published: Home<\/a>Tech<\/a>Google AI overview can explain rocket science, but struggles to spell simple wordsEnd of Article
\nGoogle\u2019s AI Overview<\/a> appears to be losing a battle against basic spelling.<\/p>\n
\nawkward AI Overview moment involving the word \u201cdisregard\u201d<\/a>. Users searching the term were greeted not with a straightforward dictionary definition, but with what looked suspiciously like an AI chatbot response.<\/p>\n
\nMay 28, 2026, 10:11 IST<\/p>\n