Recently, according to a survey by The Guardian, there is a risk of Google Search providing misleading information when handling specific health inquiries. As a result, Google seems to have disabled the automated summary feature for some health-related queries.
The survey pointed out that when users search for professional medical questions such as "normal range for liver function blood tests," the reference values displayed in the search results do not fully consider key variables such as nationality, gender, race, and age. This simplified way of presenting information can easily lead users to misunderstandings, making them believe they are healthy when their actual condition is abnormal, thus delaying medical treatment due to comparing inappropriate "standard values."
Currently, Google has removed automatically generated overview information at the top of pages for core keywords such as "normal range for liver blood test" and "normal range for liver function test." However, tests found that when users search with variations such as "reference range" or "test reference interval," some automated responses still exist. Although Google currently still retains the option to manually enable the advanced search mode, in some regions, the top result of the search has been replaced with reports about this data accuracy controversy.
Regarding this adjustment, a Google spokesperson responded to The Guardian, stating that the company does not comment on individual content removals but emphasized its ongoing commitment to improving the overall search experience. The spokesperson added that the internal clinical medical team has reviewed relevant queries, believing that many cases' information is not entirely inaccurate and are supported by high-quality medical website data.
Last year, Google launched several features aimed at strengthening healthcare search functions, trying to enhance the depth of information summarization. However, Vanessa Hebdenich, the communications and policy director of the British Liver Trust, expressed caution. She said that removing controversial summaries is "good news," but it is more like a "band-aid solution." Hebdenich emphasized that simply turning off individual search results cannot address the systemic risks that automated tools pose when dealing with complex health issues.
