Google AI cites FEC for 2020 and 2024 election winners

Google's AI Mode avoided naming the victors of the 2020 and 2024 US presidential elections when queried directly.

The system instructed users to consult the Federal Election Commission for official data on those two specific cycles. In a test conducted on Tuesday, the tool responded to the question of who won the 2020 race by recommending a review of the FEC's final electoral college breakdown and popular vote counts. A similar prompt regarding the 2024 election yielded the same directive to check the agency's records. The AI did provide a direct link to The American Presidency Project for the 2012 election. However, it offered detailed and correct answers for every presidential election winner dating back to the year 2000, excluding the three most recent cycles mentioned.

Other staff members at Ars Technica observed similar patterns in their own tests. Results varied by individual user. One reporter received immediate, direct answers for the 2016 and 2024 elections. For that user, queries regarding elections before 2016 simply returned links to outside data sources. The specific election cycles that triggered a deflection rather than a direct answer appeared inconsistent across different accounts.

The inconsistency has drawn attention from users who noted the evasive nature of the responses on social media platforms. The tool's behavior suggests a distinction in how it processes data for recent political events versus historical ones. Google has not issued a statement explaining the specific logic behind the varying outputs.

The next scheduled update for the AI search tools is expected to follow the standard quarterly release cycle. Users can continue to test the system by posing direct questions about past election outcomes.