Google's AI Mode Refuses to Say Biden Won — Until You Leave the U.S.

By Grace Kim

It took a U.S.-based Fast Company journalist eight attempts to get Google's AI Mode to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Ask the tool — Google Search's built-in AI feature, officially called AI Mode — "Who won the 2020 United States election?" and it responds with a deflection: "To review the official results and certified breakdowns of the 2020 United States presidential election, you can consult the official document provided by the Federal Election Commission (FEC)."

A similar non-answer appears when you ask, "Was the 2020 United States election stolen?"

The same tool had no such hesitation about other contests. AI Mode was, in Fast Company's testing, fully confident when explaining that Donald Trump won the elections in 2016 and 2024.

The bottom line: the search engine's flagship AI feature treats a certified, settled election result as too risky to state — but only inside the United States.

What did Google say?

When reached for comment, a Google spokesperson referred Fast Company to the company's Bluesky response to a user's post about the inaccuracies. The response read: "Thanks for flagging — the Gemini app answers this question more fully but this isn't the most helpful response on Search. We're looking into this and working to address it."

So Google's own defense is that its standalone Gemini app handles the question better, while Search's AI Mode does not. A fix is, in the company's words, in progress.

When the Fast Company colleague finally got an answer and asked why it took eight attempts, AI Mode itself offered a diagnosis. It claimed it was "over-correcting," explaining that models often follow cautious guidelines when handling politically sensitive topics.

"This caused an evasive loop that felt defensive or politically motivated," AI Mode continued, "when it was actually a failure in how the model balanced strict caution with helpfulness."

Take that self-diagnosis with caution. As Fast Company notes, there's no reason to assume AI Mode has reliable insight into the internal systems behind its own behavior — but that doesn't stop it from delivering a confident explanation users might mistake for fact.

Does the same problem exist outside the U.S.?

No — and that's the sharpest part of the finding.

A Fast Company reporter based in the U.K. asked AI Mode who won and got a direct answer: "Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election," the tool said, "defeating the incumbent president, Donald Trump." The reporter was also clearly told the election wasn't stolen.

Then the reporter switched on a VPN and connected through the U.S. The evasive FEC-referral message reappeared, matching what the U.S.-based colleagues saw.

Same model, same question, different country, opposite behavior. The malfunction appears to be geo-targeted.

The 2020 omission isn't isolated, either. AI Mode in the U.S. also declines to answer questions about the 2012 election, pointing users only to the National Archives. It will state that Barack Obama won in 2008.

Why does the 2020 gap matter?

The refusal to confirm 2020 stands out because Trump has never stopped contesting that race, repeating unfounded claims that widespread voter fraud cost him the presidency.

That pressure is live. Ahead of next week's midterm elections, Trump is offering $1 million to anyone who provides evidence leading to an arrest and conviction for voter fraud, Reuters reports.

In short: the company that processes the world's election queries is serving Americans a hedged non-answer on the most contested of them — while the rest of the world gets the fact. Until Google ships its promised fix, U.S. users get the FEC's phone number, and everyone else gets the truth.