WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — Artificial intelligence is supposed to make our lives easier.
But The Viridian Bookshop co-owner Chanel Bush said it’s been causing more harm than good for her Willoughby business.
“Don’t always trust the first thing that AI pops up,” said Bush.
For weeks, Bush said she noticed sales at the bookshop were dropping, and didn’t think anything of it, until a customer stopped by last week.
“She Googled local bookstores, and it came up with our name, but in the Google AI Summary, it was saying that we were permanently closed at address 4041 when we are open at 4081 (Erie Street),” said Bush.
News 5 asked Bush why she thought two different addresses were being reported.
“It’s all speculation at this point. I have debated Google AI, and their AI mode and so have other followers and they’ve sent me screenshots. It’s come up with varying reasons of why it’s giving us this information,” said Bush. “We don’t know exactly why or exactly how to counter it and provide the accurate information.”
Bush is thankful customers are still coming through the door.
But Bush said this situation is frustrating because it’s hurting her business, which Jay Jackson, a bookseller at the store, said hasn’t even been open for a full year.
“First time she told me, I was so scared because I was worried that we weren’t going to be able to stay open. I was worried that I might lose my job,” said Jackson.
News 5 looked up the bookshop on Google’s AI Summary, and on our end, it said it was open.
But Bush said that’s not the case for others, so she plans to put more signs up, so people will know the bookshop isn’t closed.
“I think Google is a wonderful product, but I don’t think that their AI is ready to be facilitated in this way,” said Bush.
News 5 reached out to Google, and we didn’t get a response back before our deadline.
Meanwhile, Bush said she’ll reach out too and will continue to flag and report the misinformation.
“My wonderful, wonderful customers and followers have been leaving reviews and sharing the information, so it has more information and sources to scrub through for the accurate information,” said Bush.
To support, Bush encourages people to follow The Viridian Bookshop on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
