In today's information age, many people choose to ask AI chatbots when looking at restaurant menus, rather than checking the restaurant's official website or social media. However, this approach has put a restaurant in Montana in trouble. The owners of Stefanina's Wentzville are urgently urging customers not to use Google's AI to inquire about their daily specials, as the information provided by these AI is unreliable.
The restaurant said in a tired Facebook post: "Please don't use Google AI to inquire about our specials. Please visit our Facebook page or website. Google AI is not accurate and often tells customers non-existent specials, which leads to angry customers blaming our staff." The restaurant's owners emphasized: "We cannot control what Google publishes or says, and we will not implement the specials from Google AI."
Eva Gannon, a member of the restaurant's family, told local media First Alert that Google's AI kept telling customers fictional promotions, even fabricating the existence of entire dishes. For example, Google AI claimed that Stefanina's was offering a large pizza at the price of a small one. Gannon sighed, "These errors come back to affect us. As a small business, we can't implement the specials from Google AI."
It's not just Stefanina's; other businesses have also been troubled by the false information from Google's AI. In June this year, a solar energy company in Minnesota sued the tech giant because of false information published by Google's AI, claiming that the false information harmed its business reputation. In one case, the AI falsely claimed that the solar energy company was facing a lawsuit for fraudulent sales, which was entirely untrue.
These errors reflect that we should not overly rely on AI tools to obtain information or guide decisions. However, technology companies hope users will see these tools as reliable sources for daily tasks and queries. Google even launched an entire advertising campaign for the AI mode of its search app, encouraging users to "ask Google first" before doing anything. Last Thursday, Google announced that its AI mode can now help users book a restaurant.
Key Points:
🌟 The restaurant is urging customers not to use Google AI to inquire about specials, as the information is inaccurate.
😡 Customers have had arguments with restaurant staff over fake promotions, affecting the restaurant's normal operations.
📉 Other businesses have also suffered negative impacts from the false information from Google AI, causing commercial losses.
