Google Search appears to be glitching in a bizarre new way, responding to certain command words like a full-blown AI chatbot instead of delivering the usual list of blue links.

On May 22, users searching simple action words such as “disregard,” “ignore,” “dismiss,” “stop,” “start,” “skip,” or “quit” were met with unexpected AI Overview responses. For example, typing “disregard” triggered the reply: “Understood. I have disregarded your previous prompt. How can I help you today?” followed by a large blank space before traditional results appeared.

The strange behavior was first spotted by social media users and quickly reported by TechCrunch.

In a statement to USA TODAY, Google acknowledged the issue, saying: “We’re aware that AI Overviews are misinterpreting some action-related queries, and we’re working on a fix, which will roll out soon.”

The company stressed that the glitch is unrelated to the major AI updates announced at Google I/O on May 19.

This peculiar glitch comes at a time when Google is heavily pushing its AI Mode — a more conversational, ChatGPT-like search experience. While the traditional blue-link results remain the default, the AI Overview feature is becoming increasingly prominent. Now, it seems the system is overreaching, treating simple commands as ongoing chat instructions.

For many users, seeing Google Search suddenly “talk back” feels jarring and slightly unsettling. It highlights how deeply AI is being integrated into everyday tools — sometimes with unpredictable results.

While Google promises a quick fix, the incident raises broader questions about how reliable these AI-powered features truly are and whether the rapid rollout of conversational search is creating more confusion than convenience.

In the meantime, users might want to be careful with certain command words — or simply enjoy the brief moment when Google started acting a little too human.