What Should I Write in a Google AI Overview Report a Problem Form?

Where do you find the form?

At the bottom of each AI Overview are thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons. Select thumbs down, then click Report a problem and choose the category that fits, such as inaccurate. Google attaches your most recent search and its results automatically. A form opens where you can describe the problem and, on many devices, include a screenshot. On mobile, the same options appear at the bottom of the overview. Run the search again before reporting, to confirm the error is still showing and to copy the exact wording.

What should you write?

Use this structure:

1. The search: the exact query that produced the overview.
2. The wrong statement: quote it word for word.
3. The correct fact: one sentence.
4. The evidence: a link to an official or authoritative page, such as your own contact page, a government register or the manufacturer's specification.
5. Why it matters, in one sentence, if the error could cause harm: a wrong phone number, dosage, price, legal status or safety claim.

An example:

Search: "[Business name] opening hours". The overview says "[Business name] is closed on Saturdays." This is incorrect. We are open Saturdays 9am to 5pm, as shown on our official site: [URL] and our Google Business Profile. Customers are being turned away as a result.

Keep each report to one problem. If there are several errors, report each separately from the search that shows it.

What should you avoid?

• Marketing language, such as "We are the leading provider..." It does not help reviewers and may look like spam.
• Long histories of the dispute.
• Demands or threats, which belong in a legal request if anywhere.
• Claims you cannot support with a public source.
• Mass reports from staff or customers. Repeated identical reports do not strengthen the case and may be treated as abuse.

How do I report a hallucination in Google AI Overviews, and what happens next?

Report it through the thumbs-down feedback form as described above, and state plainly that the claim has no basis. An example is "The overview says we were fined by the state regulator in 2025. No such fine exists; the regulator's public register shows no actions: [URL]." Then take three further steps:

• Find the source. Open the links in the overview. A hallucination sometimes comes from a real page that is misread, outdated or about a different business with a similar name.
• Fix what you control. If your own page is ambiguous or outdated, correct it and request recrawling in Search Console.
• Recheck over several weeks. AI Overviews vary between searches and locations, so check repeatedly and keep dated screenshots.

What happens next is not visible to you. Google reviews feedback in aggregate, uses it to improve systems and removes overviews that break its content policies. It does not confirm individual reports or give timelines. Many businesses find errors fade after the underlying source is corrected and pages are recrawled, which can take days to weeks.

How can content creators address inaccuracies in Google AI Overviews?

Creators have more control than a feedback form suggests:

1. Make the correct fact easy to find. State it plainly near the top of the most relevant page, in HTML text. A dedicated source-of-truth page for key facts helps, as covered in how to build a source-of-truth page for Google AI Overviews.
2. Rewrite passages that can be misread. If the overview misquotes your page, look for sentences that could be taken out of context, such as a competitor's price in a comparison table.
3. Correct third-party sources. If a directory, review site or article is the source, ask for a correction.
4. Keep facts consistent across your site, Business Profile and listings.
5. Check indexing. Confirm in Search Console that the corrected page is indexed and that the old version is not still cached.

As a last resort, Search Console's generative AI setting lets site owners exclude their site from AI Overviews and AI Mode. That removes your pages as sources but does not stop the overview from appearing or from citing other sites. It is rarely the right fix for an inaccuracy.

When the overview cites a forum post over your official page, see why Google AI Overviews cite a forum answer instead of an official product page.

When should you use the legal route instead?

Use Google's "Report content for legal reasons" process when an overview makes a false and damaging claim about you, exposes personal information or infringes your rights. Examples include invented lawsuits, false accusations of fraud or a published home address. Provide the query, screenshots, the statement and your evidence. Courts are starting to address these cases. In May 2026, a Munich regional court held that Google may be directly liable for false statements in AI Overviews as its own content. In the US, defamation cases over AI Overview statements were proceeding in 2026. Take legal advice before relying on any of this. How to respond to damaging false claims more broadly is covered in what a business can do when ChatGPT falsely calls it a scam or invents a lawsuit.

How do you check whether the problem is fixed?

Run the same search several times over a few weeks, from different devices and, if relevant, different locations. Also run related searches that might trigger the same claim. Keep dated screenshots of each result. If the wrong statement persists after the sources are fixed and recrawled, submit a new feedback report, noting the corrected sources.

What might an illustrative case look like?

Consider an illustrative family-run pharmacy whose AI Overview says it "does not offer flu vaccinations". The claim comes from a two-year-old news article about a vaccine shortage. The owner submits feedback quoting the claim, stating that vaccinations are available and linking to the pharmacy's services page and its Business Profile. They also add a clear "Flu vaccinations" section to the services page with dates and booking details, and ask the local newspaper to add an update to the old article. Three weeks later, the overview no longer repeats the claim for most searches. It begins citing the pharmacy's services page for vaccination questions.

What do people ask about reporting AI Overview errors?

Does Google reply to AI Overview feedback?

No. Google looks at feedback in aggregate, and you will not usually hear back.

How long do fixes take?

There is no published timeline. Errors often fade within weeks once the source is corrected and recrawled.

Can I report an AI Overview about a competitor?

You can report inaccuracies you can prove, but reporting to harm a competitor misuses the feedback system.

Is feedback enough on its own?

Rarely. Fixing the sources the overview relies on is what usually changes the answer.