Google Discontinues AI Health Advice Feature

Google has discontinued its "What People Suggest" feature in Search, an artificial intelligence tool that summarized crowdsourced health advice from online forums and social media platforms. The removal, which occurred quietly months ago, affects users who relied on the feature for quick insights into personal health experiences shared by others.

Launched in early 2024, the feature aimed to complement traditional search results by organizing user-generated content from sites such as Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and Quora into digestible themes. For instance, someone searching for advice on managing arthritis symptoms could see AI-curated summaries of how others with the condition approached exercise or daily challenges, complete with links to original discussions. Google introduced it during a March 2024 event in New York called "The Check Up," where Karen DeSalvo, then the company's chief health officer, highlighted its value. "While people come to search to find reliable medical information from experts, they also value hearing from others who have similar experiences," DeSalvo wrote in a blog post at the time. "Using AI, we're able to organize different perspectives from...