'Completely off the rails': TikTok is scaling back its AI summaries feature after it creates bizarre and inaccurate captions as if TikTok wasn't bad enough for misinformation already

Date:
Mon, 11 May 2026 16:11:18 +0000

Description:
TikTok says it's pulling back a limited test of AI summary captions, after
the feature kept making major mistakes.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter TikTok has been testing AI summaries for its videos The feature is throwing up wildly inaccurate text captions TikTok says it will now pull back on the technology In the age of AI deepfakes , it's a good idea to treat everything you see on social media with a certain degree of skepticism, but the misinformation problem on TikTok has been made worse with some wildly inaccurate AI captions and it's bad enough that the video platform is now scaling back this captioning technology.

As reported by Business Insider , TikTok had been testing AI-powered text summaries for videos with a limited number of users. However, after numerous mistakes and hallucinations, the technology is going to be limited to identifying products in videos, rather than fully describing the video's contents. Those mistakes and hallucinations included describing a video of celebrity Charli D'Amelio talking to the camera as showing a "collection of various blueberries with different toppings", and labeling a dog-training video as "a captivating display of intricate origami art, meticulously folded from a single sheet". Latest Videos From You may like AI can summarize meetings, but heres what it still cant do in 2026 You probably think you can spot an AI fake research suggests you cant Want the latest AI news? Here are the biggest stories from the past week

You don't have to look far on social media to find further examples: there's what seems to be an image of two cats with the caption "a person
demonstrating an impressive new robot arm with multiple dexterous fingers", for example. 'Garbage that has nothing to do with the video' super glad
tiktok added this new ai overview feature. not sure how id survive the app without it. pic.twitter.com/Y5P31nridi May 3, 2026 It's not clear exactly what's been going wrong that's causing TikTok's AI summaries to get the wrong idea so regularly (though presumably the feature did work at least some of
the time). Recognizing the contents of images and videos is usually something AI can do pretty reliably.

That clearly hasn't been the experience of many TikTok users, however. One Redditor described the captions as "completely off the rails", while another said they were seeing "garbage that has nothing to do with the video" with the AI summary also serving to distract from the actual caption on the video.

Other examples online show a Kentucky Derby horse race video described as "showcasing an intricate piece of calligraphy", and a cookery video with an overhead shot of a gray pan getting the label "a single ball bouncing and rolling on a green surface" although these screenshots could also be faked, of course. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Even as AI is pushed into more and more of our apps and devices, hallucinations and errors remain a significant problem , which AI companies don't like admitting to . Whether it's a TikTok video or a legal document, if you're getting AI to summarize something, you'd be wise to run additional checks. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Today's best phone deals Contract Deals Sim Free gift Apple iPhone 17 24 months Unlimited mins Unlimited texts 10GB data 19 upfront 34.99 /mth View at Mobiles.co.uk See all prices Samsung Galaxy S25 24 months Unlimited mins Unlimited texts 100GB data 9 upfront 31 /mth View at Carphone Warehouse See all prices Google Pixel 10
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/tiktok/completely-off-the-rails-tiktok-is- scaling-back-its-ai-summaries-feature-after-it-creates-bizarre-and-inaccurate- captions-as-if-tiktok-wasnt-bad-enough-for-misinformation-already


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