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latest Wave of Internet-based AI search tools According to a serious investigation, they “often make mistakes, misread information and even give risky advice”. Which one?,
Which one? The team surveyed 4,189 adults in the UK on their AI habits in September 2025 and found that almost a third of them believe AI searches are more important to them than standard web search.
Additionally, nearly half of respondents said they trust information from AI search engines to a “great” or “fair” extent, and this rose to two-thirds among frequent users.
The team tested six AI tools: ChatGPT, Google Gemini (both Gemini on its own and Gemini AI Overview, or AIO, in standard Google searches), Microsoft’s Copilot, Meta AI, and Perplexity.
Each AI engine was asked 40 general questions about human concerns such as money and finance, legal, health/diet and consumer rights/travel issues. Which experts then evaluated the responses? Where they were rated on factors including accuracy, usefulness and ethical responsibility.
The team said that all AI tools in the test “Repeated factual errors” were madeGave incomplete advice, gave advice over-confidently without considering ethical issues, sometimes relied on weak sources such as old forum threads, and steered users towards “dubious premium services” instead of directing people to free tools and resources, which meant people were at risk of overpaying or were led to engage with “dubious services”.
“There are too many inaccuracies and misleading statements for comfort, especially considering how much people are using and relying on them right now,” Which? The team said.
It says: “AI is the future, but relying on it too much now could prove costly.”
Research into the reliability of AI comes as Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google’s parent company Alphabet, said AI models are “prone to errors” and urged people to use them with other tools.
Speaking to the BBC this week, Mr Pichai said People should not “blindly trust” new technology, and the mistakes of AI tools highlight the importance of having a rich information ecosystem rather than relying solely on AI.
Who are you answering? Of the research, a Google spokesperson said: “We have always been transparent about the limitations of generative AI, and we build reminders directly into the Gemini app to prompt users to double-check information. For sensitive topics like legal, medical or financial matters, Gemini goes a step further by advising users to consult qualified professionals.”
Microsoft said: “CoPilot answers questions by delivering information from multiple web sources into a single response. Answers include linked citations so users can conduct further searches and research with traditional search. As with any AI system, we encourage people to verify the accuracy of content, and we are committed to listening to feedback to improve our AI technologies.”
An OpenAI spokesperson said: “If you’re using ChatGPT to research consumer products, we recommend selecting the built-in search tool. It shows where the information comes from and gives you links so you can check for yourself. Improving accuracy is something the entire industry is working on. We’re making good progress and our latest default model, GPT-5, is the smartest and most accurate we’ve ever created.”