TikTokAI Overviews of sing the blues. The feature, which was being tested, was supposed to generate text summaries below video posts on the app. But due to numerous glaring inaccuracies in the AI-powered descriptions – including one mistaking a celebrity content creator for blueberries – TikTok narrowed the test. A TikTok spokesperson told Business Insider that the updated feature will now only identify products featured in a video, without offering sometimes bizarre summaries.
A representative for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TikTok’s AI Overviews feature was similar to the AI summaries that Google uses in its search algorithm. It was supposed to explain what’s happening in the video posts and provide additional context. This was only successful occasionally.
The Business Insider reporter documented his first-hand experience with TikTok’s AI previews, citing a collection of incorrect summaries. The report described a video of TikTok personality Charli D’Amelio speaking to the camera as “a collection of various blueberries with different toppings.” And he called a video of singer Shakira a “repetitive sequence of several distinct blue shapes appearing and moving across the screen.”
Many TikTok users on Reddit were unhappy with this feature. A post on Reddit shows a screenshot of a video featuring two ballroom dancers. AI’s caption identified the visual as “a person repeatedly hitting their head with a rubber chicken.”
AI-generated insights have come a long way since they first started appearing online. Just a few years ago, Google was faced with a similar set of precision issues when his algorithm suggested eating a stone a day and using glue to keep cheese on pizza.
TikTok is not shying away from AI. The company recently deployed a tool that convert image to videoand another that allows you to control how much AI content appears on your For You page. It also addressed security issues related to the implementation of AI on its platform by releasing moderation tools.
