One of Google’s Super Bowl ads features the owner of a Wisconsin cheese market who uses the company’s Gemini AI tool to write product descriptions. However, cheese lovers quickly noticed an error in a previous version of the ad last week.
The AI-generated text claimed that Gouda makes up “50 to 60 percent of the world’s consumption,” but an X user pointed out that this was inaccurate, adding, “Cheddar & mozzarella would like a word.”
Generative AI, while widely used since the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022, is still prone to producing incorrect and often bizarre results. Google’s AI-generated search results have faced criticism in the past for misinformation, such as falsely stating that former President Barack Obama is a Muslim. Other examples include recommending glue to help cheese stick to pizza.
Google is working to integrate its Gemini AI technology across its product lineup, aiming to compete with US AI companies like OpenAI and Meta, as well as new AI players in China.
On X, Google Cloud executive Jerry Dischler clarified that the error in the Super Bowl ad wasn’t a result of AI “hallucination” — where an AI model generates misleading or incorrect information. Instead, he explained that the “50-60%” Gouda statistic was found on multiple websites across the internet.
In response to the mistake, Google stated that it had updated the ad, and the statistic has since been removed from the version now available on YouTube, which is owned by Google.
A Google spokesperson explained, “After the issue with the Gouda stat was raised, we reached out to the owner of the Wisconsin Cheese Mart for guidance. Following his suggestion to have Gemini rewrite the product description without the statistic, we updated the content to reflect the business’s preferred approach.”
When searching “gouda cheese consumption,” the statistic from a particular site appears as the top result. However, it’s difficult to find other sources that use the same number, and the statistic has been widely debated online.
The Wisconsin Cheese Mart ad was part of a larger campaign featuring 50 commercials from small businesses across the United States, showcasing how they use Google Workspace and Gemini AI.