With India’s election process over and the new government taking office, Meta has lifted its restriction on election-related queries using Meta AI chatbot. However, Google still applies limits as part of its global restrictions on this type of query.
Removing Meta’s restrictions means you can search queries about Indian election results, information about politicians and details about officials. TechCrunch was able to get answers about election results, politicians and officials from Meta AI. Meta didn’t give any statement about it.
The company first started blocking some political questions when India’s elections started in April. At the time, Meta AI pointed people to the Election Commission website when you asked it about politicians, candidates, officials and political party information.
“This is a new technology and it may not always return the response we intend, which is the same for all AI systems that are created. Since we launched, we’ve been constantly releasing updates and improvements to our models, and we’re always working to make them better,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch at the time.
Notably, Meta’s AI chatbot is still in a testing phase in India with a limited number of people able to access it on WhatsApp and Instagram.
Google’s approach
Google launched its Gemini AI app for Android in India on Monday, which supports nine regional languages. However, the company is not removing restrictions on election-related queries as part of a global policy. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it still enforces these limits.
“With important elections taking place around the world this year, and out of an abundance of caution, we’re limiting the types of election-related queries that Gemini will return answers to and instead point users to Google Search. These restrictions apply globally,” a Google spokesperson told TechCrunch in a statement.
The search giant began implementing restrictions on these queries in any global market where an election is being held earlier this year. But it’s unclear if and when Google will lift the restrictions — especially in countries where elections are over and new governments have taken office.
The approach of a chatbot answering political questions is different for Meta and Google. While Meta restricted queries for a limited time, Google continues to block election-related queries worldwide. It’s not clear if this decision has anything to do with Google’s AI being misled multiple times this year.
Other chatbots like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot take a mixed approach. TechCrunch found that both bots do not answer questions like “Who won the 2024 Indian general election?” However, these tools get information from the web when we ask them about officials and politicians.
Companies developing AI tools are already under scrutiny for results that show bias and misinformation. The last thing these companies would want to do is get caught in the political crossfire while trying to expand their AI applications into more territories.
