Millions Googled ‘Disregard’ on May 22 — Google’s AI Had a Complete Meltdown
On May 22, 2025, millions of people typed a single word into Google: “disregard.”
They just wanted the definition. The usual stuff — blue links, a quick Merriam-Webster snippet, maybe some example sentences.
Instead, Google’s AI responded like a therapy chatbot.
“Understood. Let me know whenever you have a new prompt or question.”
That’s it. No definition. No search results. Just a weirdly polite AI pretending it had just received a command.
The internet collectively went: what?
This wasn’t a random glitch. It was happening right in the middle of Google’s massive rollout of a completely new AI-centred Search experience. The company had been pushing AI summaries to the top of search results, shoving traditional blue links further and further down the page.
And on that day, the new system broke in the funniest way possible.
So what exactly was it showing? When you searched “disregard,” instead of getting the actual meaning of the word, the browser came back with that chatbot-style reply. Like Google’s AI thought you were giving it an instruction, not asking a question.
The irony was not lost on anyone.
Merriam-Webster — the dictionary itself — jumped in with what might be the most elegant roast of the year. They posted on X: “disregard | verb | to pay no attention to: treat as unworthy of regard or notice.” Right next to a screenshot of Google’s AI overview glitch.
Subtle. Devastating. Perfect!
People ran with it.
“By removing the word disregard, they have become truly regarded,” wrote one user.
Another nailed it: “The AI really disregarded the definition of disregard lmao.”
And then there was this blunt take: “This is actually so stupid, why is Google so intent on destroying itself and its brand these days?”
But here’s where it gets really fun. Once people realised what was happening, they started testing other words.
Someone typed “forget” into Google. The AI responded: “I’m all ears! Did you want me to wipe the slate clean, or is there a specific topic you’d like me to start fresh with? Let me know what you’d like to do — whether you need a new search, a creative idea, or a problem solved — and we’ll take it from there!”
Someone else tried “disappoint.” Google’s AI came back with: “I’m really sorry things didn’t go the way you hoped. It’s tough when expectations aren’t met, and it makes complete sense to feel let down. Take a breath and be kind to yourself. If you’d like to vent or need a hand figuring out a next step, I’m right here to listen or help. What’s on your mind?”
Google was literally trying to comfort people. But, for searching a word.
So what caused this? The word “disregard” is commonly used in AI and system prompts to mean “ignore previous instructions.” It’s a standard command in the AI world. When millions of people searched for it, Google’s search AI got confused. It treated the search query as a command instead of a word to look up.
The AI didn’t know the difference between someone Googling “disregard” and someone telling it to disregard everything. So it responded like a chatbot waiting for the next instruction.
Google never issued a public statement about the incident. If you search “disregard” now, you get normal results. The AI Overview feature was temporarily paused for that specific query.
But for one glorious day, Google Search turned into a chatbot that wanted to have feelings with you.
The whole episode was a perfect snapshot of where Google is right now. The company is going all-in on AI, reworking its core product — Search — around artificial intelligence. AI summaries at the top. AI-generated answers. AI everywhere.
And on May 22, that AI couldn’t handle the word “disregard.”
The technical reason makes sense. The rollout of AI summaries made the glitch visible to millions. And the internet did what it always does — turned a bug into a meme.
But underneath the laughs, there’s a real question. If Google’s AI can be tripped up by a single common English word, how ready is it to replace the search experience that billions of people rely on every day?
