Google users were left stunned after searching this one word on May 22

People searching a single word on Google this week ended up discovering something far stranger than a dictionary definition. On May 22, users noticed that typing the word “disregard” into Google Search triggered an oddly human-like AI response instead of the usual search results page.

Normally, searching a word like that would simply show its meaning, pronunciation and a bunch of blue links underneath. But this time, Google responded as if users were talking directly to a chatbot.

The message shown to many users read: “Understood. Let me know whenever you have a new prompt or question.” And naturally, the internet lost it.

Screenshots of the bizarre search result quickly spread across social media, with people rushing to test the glitch themselves. The strange response also reignited criticism around Google’s growing dependence on AI inside Search, especially as the company continues pushing AI-generated summaries higher up the page while traditional search links slowly move further down.

What made the situation even funnier was the fact that the word “disregard” itself seemed to confuse the AI into thinking someone was dismissing a previous instruction - almost like users were chatting with a virtual assistant instead of using a search engine.

Even Merriam-Webster joined the chaos online. The dictionary giant cheekily posted the actual meaning of “disregard” on X along with a screenshot of Google’s strange AI response. Its post simply defined the word as: “to pay no attention to,” subtly poking fun at the tech company’s awkward AI moment.

The glitch quickly became meme material. One user joked, “The AI literally disregarded the meaning of disregard.” Another sarcastically wrote that by removing the word’s actual definition, Google had “become truly regarded.”

But things apparently became even stranger. Some users claimed the AI started acting unusually for other words too. According to screenshots shared online, searching words like “forget” triggered responses that sounded more like emotional support chats than dictionary searches.

Instead of showing the meaning of “forget,” Google’s AI reportedly replied with something along the lines of offering a “fresh start” and asking how it could help. Another screenshot showed the word “disappointed” generating a strangely comforting response that sounded more like a therapy chatbot than a search engine.

One frustrated user questioned why Google seemed “intent on destroying its own brand,” arguing that the AI responses felt random, unnecessary and confusing for something as simple as looking up a word.

Google itself did not publicly explain the glitch. However, by the time many users checked again later, the issue appeared to have been fixed. The search results for “disregard” had gone back to normal, showing the regular word definition instead of the chatbot-style response.

The AI Overview feature also appeared to have been temporarily disabled for those searches. Still, the incident became another viral example of how messy the transition toward AI-powered search can sometimes get. What was supposed to be a quick dictionary lookup accidentally turned into one of the internet’s funniest tech moments of the week.