Google AI Overviews Surfaces 'Glue on Pizza' and 'Eat Rocks' Advice From Reddit

In May 2024, shortly after Google rolled out AI Overviews (AI-generated summaries placed atop search results) to US users, the feature began surfacing absurd and hazardous advice drawn from Reddit content. The most viral example advised adding about 1/8 cup of non-toxic glue to pizza sauce to keep cheese from sliding off — traced to a roughly decade-old joke comment by a Reddit user. Another Overview told users it was safe to eat 'at least one small rock per day,' echoing satirical material. Further outputs reportedly suggested actions that could produce toxic gas and other unsafe 'tips,' alongside plainly false factual claims.

The failures were widely connected to Google's content-licensing arrangement with Reddit, reported at roughly $60 million per year, which gave Google structured access to Reddit posts as AI training and grounding material. Critics argued the fiasco exposed the core risk of treating unvetted user-generated forum content — including jokes, trolling, and bad advice — as a trustworthy source for AI answers presented with the authority of Google Search.

Google said it had conducted extensive pre-launch testing and would use the viral examples to refine its systems, and it scaled back or removed some of the worst Overviews. Reporting in subsequent weeks indicated some flawed outputs, including the glue-on-pizza suggestion, continued to surface intermittently.