The chatbot optimisation game: can we trust AI web searches?

Google and Microsoft are betting big on the idea and have already introduced AI -generated summaries into Google Search and Bing .

But what is pitched as a more convenient way of looking up information online has prompted scrutiny over how and where these chatbots select the information they provide.

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley , found current chatbots overrely on the superficial relevance of information.

Researchers at Harvard University have demonstrated how chatbots can be tactically controlled by deploying something as simple as a carefully written string of text.

This “strategic text sequence” looks like a nonsensical series of characters all random letters and punctuation but is actually a delicate command that can strong-arm chatbots into generating a specific response.

Google announced it was integrating AI -generated summaries into its search engine earlier this year .

It's an appealing idea that plays on our fondness for convenient tech that can streamline our lives.

But if you're the sort of internet user who wants to be sure you're getting the most impartial, accurate and useful information, you may not want to leave the searching in such susceptible AI hands.