Google has dropped a new artificial intelligence search feature that gave users crowdsourced health advice from amateurs around the world.<\/p>\n
The company had said its launch of \u201cWhat People Suggest\u201d, which provided tips from strangers, showed \u201cthe potential of AI to transform health<\/a> outcomes across the globe\u201d.<\/p>\n But Google has since quietly removed the feature, according to three people familiar with the decision.<\/p>\n A Google spokesperson confirmed \u201cWhat People Suggest\u201d had been scrapped. The move came as part of a \u201cbroader simplification\u201d of its search page and had nothing to do with the quality or safety of the new feature, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n The revelation comes as the company faces mounting scrutiny<\/a> over its use of AI to provide millions of users with health information and advice.<\/p>\n In January, a Guardian investigation<\/a> found people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google AI Overviews. The AI-generated summaries are shown to 2 billion people a month, and appear above traditional search results on the world\u2019s most visited website.<\/p>\n Google initially sought to downplay<\/a> the Guardian\u2019s findings. The AI Overviews that alarmed independent experts linked to reputable sources and recommended seeking expert advice, the company said.<\/p>\n Days later, Google removed AI Overviews<\/a> for some but not all medical queries.<\/p>\n The company had said the launch of What People Suggest tool showed \u2018the potential of AI to transform health outcomes across the globe\u2019. Photograph: Google<\/p>\n In March last year at an event in New York, Google said it planned to expand medical-related AI summaries in search.<\/p>\n The company said it was adding a new feature, \u201cWhat People Suggest\u201d, which aimed to provide users with information from people with similar lived medical experiences.<\/p>\n On the day of \u201cThe Check Up\u201d event, Karen DeSalvo, then Google\u2019s chief health officer, wrote a blog post<\/a> outlining why the company was launching the new feature, and how it would help users.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile people come to search to find reliable medical information from experts, they also value hearing from others who have similar experiences,\u201d wrote DeSalvo<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re making it even easier to find this type of information on Search with a new feature labelled \u2018What People Suggest\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing AI, we\u2019re able to organize different perspectives from online discussions into easy-to-understand themes, helping you quickly grasp what people are saying. For example, a person dealing with arthritis might want to know how others with this condition exercise.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this feature, they can quickly uncover real insights from people who also have the condition, with links to click out and learn more.\u201d<\/p>\n The feature was initially made available on mobile devices in the US. Three people said \u201cWhat People Suggest\u201d had since been dropped. \u201cIt\u2019s dead,\u201d said one person familiar with the decision.<\/p>\n Get in touch<\/p>\n Contact Andrew Gregory about this story<\/p>\n If you have something to share about this story you can contact Andrew using one of the following methods:<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019.<\/p>\n SecureDropIf you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.<\/a><\/p>\n Finally, our guide at theguardian.com\/tips<\/a>\u00a0lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.\u00a0<\/p>\n Show more<\/p>\n A Google spokesperson said: \u201cThis feature was turned down months ago as part of a broader simplification of the search results page, which we shared publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n When the Guardian asked where the news was \u201cshared publicly\u201d, the spokesperson pointed to a blog post<\/a> from November last year written by John Mueller, a search advocate at Google Switzerland. The post<\/a> makes no mention of \u201cWhat People Suggest\u201d.<\/p>\n Asked whether safety was a factor in the decision to scrap \u201cWhat People Suggest\u201d, the spokesperson said: \u201cIt had nothing to do with the quality or safety of the feature, and we continue to help people find reliable health information from a range of sources, including forums with first-person perspectives that people find incredibly useful.\u201d<\/p>\n