Google Gemini AI error in local Super Bowl ad reveals AI marketing risks

The AI Super Bowl, with multiple tech giants clamoring to advertise advanced chatbots, already had its first big fumble, after a Google ad provided wildly inaccurate facts. Google plans to air 50 local ads in 50 states, each showing a different small business that relied on its Gemini AI to handle important tasks, such as writing website copy, crunching data and organizing email—but at least one of those commercials had multiple mistakes. The Google gaffes in question: An ad for Wisconsin Cheese Mart opened with a worker at the shop saying in a voiceover, “There’s more cows in Wisconsin than there are people.” There aren’t. Later in the ad, Gemini is seen crafting website copy, being asked to write Gouda cheese facts. Gemini writes: “It is one of the most popular cheeses in the world, accounting for 50 to 60 percent of the world’s cheese consumption.” Gouda does not account for that much of the cheese market. The Verge was the first to report on the error in the Gouda cheese writeup, and subsequently reported that Gemini didn’t even seem to write the description as depicted in the commercial. The Gouda factoid had been on the cheese shop’s site since 2022, and Gemini launched in 2023. If the commercial shows Gemini writing copy it didn’t originate, that could be a whole other issue. Ad Age detected the false claim about there being more cows than people in Wisconsin, which was shared in the voiceover at the start of the initial ad. It was later modified; the updated version of the commercial now opens with, “There’s a lot of cows in Wisconsin.” Below are the original and updated versions of the ad. Google and Wisconsin Cheese Mart did not immediately respond to a request for comment on either of the errors in the commercial. Last week, Google released an early version of that ad, and 49 others, on its website to highlight the 50-state campaign. A new version of the commercial was posted, and it removed the erroneous cow and cheese facts. Google has a multifaceted campaign for the Super Bowl to demonstrate how AI helps businesses across the country that use its Workspace software. Google also produced a 60-second national commercial that features a father conversing with Gemini Live on a Pixel phone. The out-of-work dad is preparing for a job interview by chatting with the human-like Gemini voice, walking him through likely questions. The commercial has a small-font disclaimer that includes, “check responses for accuracy.” Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Click here AI market grab The mishap in Google’s local commercial is another indication that tech companies are rushing to win the AI scramble for consumer adoption, even as glaring glitches are still prevalent, according to Matthew Maher, founder of M7 Innovations, a research and development firm that works closely with brands on high-tech adoption. “All the money is on AI,” Maher said. “They need to put these tools out there to show which engine is going to win, and they have to keep pushing forward.” “But the second you realize that Google needs to employ 1,000 more people to check all these [AI search errors] is the second … AI doesn’t feel as scalable,” Maher said, adding that it's “wild that this can go out without having someone flag it.” Google is in the middle of a frenzied grab for AI market share, and nowhere will that be more evident than during the Super Bowl, when a handful of big tech companies will also show off AI wizardry that they claim answers questions and solves business problems. Meta is running two commercials for its Ray-Ban glasses, which have an AI assistant built into them. The spots are a humorous take on the tech, as movie stars Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth wear the glasses and ask Meta for facts about artwork they’re perusing. Meanwhile, GoDaddy’s commercial promotes Airo, an AI assistant that helps businesses build websites, write marketing copy and design logos. Salesforce’s ad starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson highlights Agentforce, the AI agent assistance technology. All the spots do their best to demonstrate that AI is the ultimate helper. But the marketing behind AI sometimes is more polished than the actual functioning of the tech. A Super Bowl commercial from Cirkul, the upstart flavored water and bottling brand, even makes fun of the AI assistant craze by showing how it can steer people in the wrong directions. In its commercial, funnyman actor Adam Devine uses his phone chatbot to help him find Cirkul, but he has drastic miscommunications with the assistant. OpenAI, the juggernaut behind ChatGPT, also has a Super Bowl commercial planned, but it has not revealed the creative yet. Google has had previous hiccups with its Gemini marketing. Last year, at its I/O developer conference, Google demonstrated a video search feature in which Gemini scanned nearby objects to return facts about them. Gemini was asked how to fix film that’s jammed in a camera, and one of its recommendations was to remove the film. That would expose it to light and ruin it. The Verge also spotted that misstep.

Google Gemini AI error in local Super Bowl ad reveals AI marketing risks

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