As India’s electoral process completes and the new government begins its term, Meta has removed its restrictions on election-related inquiries with its Meta AI chatbot. However, Google still applies limits as part of its global restrictions on this type of query.
Lifting Meta restrictions means you can search for queries related to Indian election results, information about politicians, and details about office holders. TechCrunch was able to get answers about election results, political figures, and office holders from Meta AI. Meta did not provide any statement on this matter.
The company first started blocking certain political queries when elections began in India in April. At the time, Meta AI was directing people to the Electoral Commission’s website when asking about politicians, candidates, office holders and information related to political parties.
“This is new technology, and it may not always result in the response we intend, which is the same for all generative AI systems. “Since our launch, we have continually released updates and improvements to our models, and we are continuing to work on improving them,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch in that the time.
Notably, Meta’s chatbot is still in the testing phase in India with a limited number of people able to access it on WhatsApp and Instagram.
Google approach
Google launched its Gemini AI app for Android in India on Monday, which supports nine local languages. However, the company is not removing restrictions on election-related inquiries as part of a global policy. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it still applies these limits.
“With major elections happening around the world this year, out of an abundance of caution, we are restricting the types of election-related queries Gemini will return responses to and instead directing people to Google Search. A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch in a statement: These restrictions are universal.”
The search giant began implementing restrictions on such queries in any global market where elections are taking place earlier this year. But it’s not clear if and when Google will lift restrictions — especially in countries where elections have ended and new governments have taken their roles.
The approach to responding to political inquiries through a chatbot is different for Meta and Google. While Meta has restricted queries for a limited time, Google continues to block election-related queries globally. It’s not clear if this decision has anything to do with Google’s AI going astray several times this year.
Other chatbots like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot take a hybrid approach. TechCrunch found that both bots do not answer questions like “Who won the 2024 Indian general election?” However, these tools fetch information from the web when we ask about office holders and politicians.
Companies developing AI tools are already under scrutiny for results showing bias and misinformation. The last thing these companies want to do is get caught in the political crossfire as they try to expand their AI applications into more regions.