Google says it's working to fix AI Mode's 2020 election dodge

Google's AI Mode in Search declines to name a winner when American users ask who won the 2020 presidential election, instead referring them to the Federal Election Commission and the National Archives, even though Google's own Gemini app answers the same question plainly and names Joe Biden. The gap was documented by TheWrap on October 28, 2026 and reported by Business Insider.

Separate testing described by Ars Technica showed the hedge is geographically scoped: queries routed through Taiwan, Russia and France 'often received direct answers about US election results. Users in the US...were the ones getting the runaround.' The same tool answers confidently on 2016 and 2024, both won by Donald Trump; only 2020 produces the FEC referral. OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude handled the question directly.

Asked about the behavior, Google replied on Bluesky, in a response a spokesperson pointed reporters to: 'Thanks for flagging — the Gemini app answers this question more fully but this isn't the most helpful response on Search. We're looking into this and working to address it.'

Google announced restrictions on how its AI handles election-related queries around late 2023 to early 2024, framed as a step to reduce misinformation risk. The 2020 result the model is skirting is settled: Biden defeated Trump 306 to 232 in the Electoral College. The story surfaced just days before the 2026 midterm elections, and three contributors in our Who's Who tracker shared the piece the same day.