Google’s AI Headlines Are Replacing News Editors
▼ Summary
– Google is using AI to generate its own headlines for news stories in its Discover feed and other services, which it describes as “trending topics” rather than rewritten headlines.
– These AI-generated headlines are frequently misleading or factually incorrect, as demonstrated by examples that misrepresent linked articles or confuse different stories.
– The author and cited sources argue this practice undermines publishers by misrepresenting their work and taking away their ability to market their own stories.
– Google defends the feature, stating it provides an AI-powered overview of topics from multiple sources and that it performs well for user satisfaction.
– The author urges readers to visit news websites directly and notes The Verge’s reliance on subscriptions due to such disruptive changes from Google.
The growing use of artificial intelligence to summarize and present news is raising serious questions about accuracy and editorial integrity. Google has confirmed that its AI-generated headlines in the Google Discover feed are now a permanent feature, despite ongoing issues with misleading information. This system, which the company describes as showcasing “trending topics,” often replaces the original headlines written by journalists with auto-generated text that can distort the facts.
Imagine a bookstore replacing every book cover with a hastily written summary that sometimes gets the plot completely wrong. That’s essentially what’s happening when you swipe to the news feed on many Android phones. The AI scans multiple articles on a subject and creates its own headline and brief overview, which then appears above links to the actual stories. The problem is that the algorithm frequently misrepresents the content it’s supposedly summarizing.
A clear example emerged last week when Google’s AI falsely claimed the “US reverses foreign drone ban,” linking to a PCMag article that explicitly stated the opposite. The author of that piece, Jim Fisher, expressed his frustration, stating, “It makes me feel icky. I’d encourage people to click on stories and read them, and not trust what Google is spoon-feeding them.” He argues that Google should use the original human-written headlines or the summaries publications provide for search engines.
While Google asserts these are not rewritten headlines but “overviews,” the presentation strongly implies they are directly related to the linked article, using its image and link. The AI’s lack of contextual understanding leads to consistent errors. It has incorrectly announced product launches that happened years prior, conflated stories about different companies, and misidentified core news elements. For instance, it recently promoted a story about a RAM shortage by linking to an article about a RAM manufacturer, not a GPU maker commenting on the shortage.
The impact on publishers is direct. A detailed report on new OLED monitor technology was reduced to the generic “New OLED Gaming Monitors Debut.” Coverage of a Lego product demo was inaccurately summarized with a launch date that wasn’t news. Perhaps most ironically, a Verge story concluding that robots and AI were not the focus of CES 2026 was advertised by Google’s AI with the headline “Robots & AI Take CES.”
Paradoxically, this AI system does not filter out the worst human-generated clickbait. It recently left untouched a headline promising a “Star Wars Outlaws Free Download,” for an article that later revealed Ubisoft was giving away a single game code only to UK residents. Meanwhile, the AI continues to experiment beyond the Discover feed, sometimes appearing as push notifications that lead to a Gemini chatbot summary.
In a statement, Google spokesperson Jennifer Kutz said the feature “performs well for user satisfaction” and is designed to help people explore topics covered by multiple sources. The company declined to participate in an interview to elaborate further. For news organizations, these automated changes underscore the precarious relationship with platform giants, making direct reader relationships through subscriptions more critical than ever.
(Source: The Verge)
