Google's AI Overviews break when users search for 'disregard' and similar terms

You can no longer Google the word 'disregard' | TechCrunch

Earlier this week, Google rolled out a completely new Search experience, foregrounding AI summaries and kicking the traditional "ten blue links" far down the page. But the sheer scale of Google Search means there are lots of edge cases that the company doesn't seem to have considered. For instance, this is what you'll now get if you type the word "disregard" into Google Search. Google has been catching some flack on social media for this, and it's easy to see why. As you'll notice, the Merriam-Webster link is still in there, but you have to scroll past a huge block of empty space. For most users, that single reply is the only thing you'll see. And crucially, the AI response serves no conceivable value to a user searching the word "disregard." It's just a broken tool. For context, here is the same search in Bing, which has been less aggressive about its AI summaries. It's not perfect, but there is some useful information to be found here. I have been a professional tech journalist for nearly fifteen years, and before today, I cannot think of a single time when a Bing search result was more valuable than the Google equivalent. There really is a first time for everything!

Google's AI search is so broken it can 'disregard' what you're looking for

Google's AI Overviews are running into an interesting problem right now. As of this writing, if you search for the term "disregard," instead of showing the usual AI-generated summary of search results, the AI Overview section instead includes a response like what you'd see from a more traditional AI chatbot, as called out by a post on X. To one Verge colleague searching "disregard": Got it! Let me know if you need help with anything else. Nothing else followed in the AI Overview portion of the results page. To me, initially: No problem at all! How can I help you today? I searched for "disregard" again later and got another response, which you can see in the image at the top of this post. AI Overviews aren't just tripping up over the word "disregard." When searching for "ignore," Google's AI Overview section showed the following message to a Verge colleague: Message received! I'm here and ready to help. What would you like to focus on today? Just let me know if there's a specific topic, task, or question you'd like to explore. When they searched "skip," the AI Overview section said: It looks like your message was just a test or a typo! Feel free to ask a question, share a prompt, or let me know how I can help you with your tasks today. I'm ready whenever you are! Google didn't immediately reply to a request for comment about what's going on. However, this is almost certainly just some kind of funny bug. Maybe Google Search itself is tired after everything that happened at Google I/O.

Searching for 'Disregard' Breaks Google

On Tuesday, Google held its I/O developer event, and introduced an AI-forward version of Google Search that the company described as an "intelligent search box" powered by the newest version of Gemini. It turns out Google's all-new version of search semi-breaks when you search for the word "disregard." Typing "disregard" into Google Search results in Google's AI interpreting it as a system-style instruction instead of a search query. "Understood. Message disregarded," is the result. You do get standard search results like a Merriam-Webster definition of disregard if you scroll down further, but the AI Overview reply is filled with a bunch of white space that blocks out what's below. There's a similar response on mobile devices, though with less visible white space.

Searching For The Term "disregard" Breaks Google Search, See For Yourself

As absurd as it is, yes, if you Google the term "disregard" right now, you'll get a broken search result, which is amusing to see, especially since this error comes days after the I/O 2026 keynote, where the technology giant introduced its revamped AI-powered version of Google Search. While standard search results, such as the term's definition, show up at the bottom, the space under AI Overview is filled with nothing but black and white, depending on whether you have dark mode enabled or not. When we typed in the same term in Microsoft Edge, we got a bunch of search results, showing that the problem is from Google's end. The results are the same on Google Search, whether you view it from a desktop or a smartphone, with the response being different, though the outcome is the same. For instance, searching for "disregard" will give you the response "Message ignored! Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with," and if you refresh the page, you'll be greeted by "Message disregarded. How can I help you today?" A third attempt will give you the result "Understood. I will ignore the previous request or prompt. How can I help you today?" and on the fourth occasion, Google's AI Overview will say "Understood! Just let me know if you need help with anything else." What's interesting about these results is that if you Google "ignore," you'll get the same response, and while we'll have a laugh about this, AI Overview will eventually be fixed. However, this should be a reminder of the pitfalls of incorporating AI into search results, and now that companies are in this race, there's no stopping it. At the very least, these errors should be addressed at the earliest.