A week of nonstop breaking political news stumps AI chatbots

In the hour after President Biden announced he would withdraw from the 2024 campaign, most popular artificial intelligence chatbots seemed oblivious to the news. Asked directly whether he had dropped out, almost all said no or declined to give an answer. Asked who was running for president of the United States, they still listed his name. We’ve tested AI chatbots’ approach to breaking political stories and found they were largely not able to keep up with consequential real-time news. Most didn’t have current information, gave incorrect answers, or declined to answer and pushed users to check news sources. AI chatbot technology burst onto the scene two years ago, promising to revolutionize how we get information. But companies that make chatbots don’t appear ready for their AI to play a larger role in how people follow this election.