Google has discontinued an AI search feature that organized and displayed health advice from non-experts found in online communities. The feature, called “What People Suggest,” was part of a broader effort by Google to use AI in health-related search, but has now been removed. Its discontinuation was verified by Google after three people with inside knowledge confirmed the tool was no longer active.
The product was unveiled to the public at a health event hosted by Google in New York, where company representatives presented it as a positive step toward inclusive health information. Karen DeSalvo, who served as Google’s chief health officer at that time, wrote that the feature fulfilled a user need for community perspectives on health and wellness. The AI system organized themes from online discussions and provided links to the original sources.
Google’s spokesperson attributed the removal to a simplification of the search results interface rather than any issues with the feature itself. The claim was complicated, however, when the blog post Google cited as its public disclosure made no reference to the discontinued feature whatsoever. This left critics wondering whether the explanation offered was candid or merely convenient.
Context matters here: Google has been under sustained scrutiny over AI-generated health content. An investigation found that AI Overviews in Google Search provided false medical information to approximately two billion users every month. The subsequent rollback of some medical AI Overviews was seen by health advocates as insufficient, and calls for more comprehensive reform have continued.
As the company announces another health-focused event headlined by its new chief health officer, the challenges of delivering reliable AI-powered health information are clearly not resolved. The removal of “What People Suggest” offers a small window into the difficulty of getting health AI right — and the cost of getting it wrong. For Google, the path forward in health AI will require openness about setbacks as much as celebration of successes.