A major factual error in Google’s Super Bowl commercial has prompted Google Cloud apps president Jerry Dischler to defend Gemini AI’s accuracy, claiming the disputed information was “not a hallucination” but rather “grounded in the Web.”
The controversy centers on Gemini AI’s claim that Gouda cheese represents “50 to 60 percent of the world’s cheese consumption” – a statistic that cheese experts say is significantly inflated.The statement appeared in Google’s Super Bowl campaign in the US showcasing how small businesses use Gemini AI across all fifty states.
Dischler’s reply comes to a user on X (formerly Twitter), who weighed in on the ad, noting that Gemini is stating a wrong fact in the ad. “In Google’s Wisconsin local Super Bowl ad, an AI hallucination is shown on screen: It says *Gouda* accounts for “50 to 60 percent of the world’s cheese consumption. Gemini provides no source, but that is just unequivocally false,” reads the post. “Cheddar & mozzarella would like a word”
Cornell University’s E.V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economics Emeritus, Andrew Novakovic, disputes the accuracy of this claim. “While Gouda is likely the most common single variety in world trade, it is almost assuredly not the most widely consumed,” Novakovic explained to The Verge, noting that Indian Paneer and fresh cheeses from South America, Africa, and Asia likely have much larger consumption volumes globally.
While the commercial includes a fine-print disclaimer stating “This is a creative writing aid, and is not intended to be factual,” critics argue this raises concerns about Gemini’s reliability for business applications, especially since the ad depicts a business owner using the tool to generate website content.
Responding to the backlash, Dischler defended the statistic on X, citing its appearance on multiple websites, including Cheese.com – though the credibility of this source has been questioned in online discussions dating back over a decade.