Content designers from the Department for Business and Trade reveal that AI summaries from tools like Google are providing inaccurate UK government information by retrieving data from outdated GOV.UK pages.

Senior content designer Giorgio Di Tunno and operations lead Neil Starr explain in a blog post that unmaintained pages, no longer updated, are being used to answer user queries. For instance, a Google search on charity incorporation costs mistakenly referenced figures from a legacy page, leading users to believe it was more affordable than it actually is.

This misinformation is not intentional by the government, but inconsistent data from AI overviews diminishes trust in government services. In response, the DBT audited pages not updated for five years and redirected 150 of them to archived pages or current information. Additionally, six-month review cycles are being implemented to maintain information accuracy.

Similar issues arise in other departments. Mark Edwards from the Department for Education notes AI-generated summaries often result in oversimplified answers, urging a need for designing content with the expectation it may be shared through platforms beyond their control.