Google Ends AI Feature That Used Crowd Wisdom to Answer Medical Questions

Google has confirmed it has discontinued a search feature that applied AI to organize crowd-sourced health advice for users. The tool, called “What People Suggest,” collected perspectives from online discussions and summarized them in response to health-related searches. Its quiet disappearance was confirmed by Google and verified by three independent sources with knowledge of the decision.
The feature was showcased by Google at a dedicated health event in New York, where executives discussed the company’s ambitions in health-focused AI. Karen DeSalvo, serving as chief health officer at the time, wrote that the feature addressed a real gap in health search: the desire to hear not just from medical experts but from people with lived experience of particular conditions. The feature was made available on mobile in the US as a starting point.
Google’s account of the removal was vague and, in one notable way, misleading. The company said the decision was part of a simplification of search results and had nothing to do with safety or quality. However, the blog post provided as proof of public disclosure made no reference to “What People Suggest,” raising doubts about the company’s transparency in how it handled the shutdown.
The incident reflects ongoing tensions between Google’s AI health ambitions and the practical risks of deploying AI at scale in medically sensitive contexts. A published investigation found that Google’s AI Overviews had been serving misleading health information to around two billion users each month. While Google made some adjustments in response, the broader problem of AI-generated health content remains a significant concern.
The company has another edition of its “The Check Up” health event scheduled, where new AI health developments are expected to be announced. With the removal of “What People Suggest” fresh in public memory, there will be added pressure on Google to demonstrate that it is approaching health AI with rigor and caution. The ability to build genuine public trust will require more than product launches — it will demand accountability.