Your next client could read a criminal record that never existed. The source? An AI assistant answering a perfectly ordinary question about you.
For the technology provider, this may be a hallucination. For the person being described, it could mean a lost opportunity, an uncomfortable conversation with a bank, or a partnership that quietly disappears.
A lawsuit against Google brings that gap into focus: when an AI system invents damaging information, who protects the identity it has rewritten?
What the Court Actually Decided
On July 24, 2026, Delaware Superior Court Judge Meghan A. Adams denied Google’s motion to dismiss Robby Starbuck’s defamation lawsuit. The court’s published opinion allowed the case to proceed under the pleading-stage standards. It did not establish Google’s liability or confirm the truth of Starbuck’s allegations.
As Cybernews reports, Starbuck alleges that Google’s Bard, Gemini, and Gemma generated fabricated claims linking him to serious crimes. Google said many allegations concerned Bard hallucinations addressed in 2023 and that it could not reproduce certain results in its consumer products.
The distinction matters. A case surviving dismissal is not a final victory. However, the reputational question extends beyond the courtroom: what happens while a false answer can still influence someone’s judgment?
A Clear Google Search Is Not a Clear AI Reputation
Traditional search results usually direct users towards identifiable pages. AI assistants can instead assemble a narrative that appears to resolve the question immediately.
That changes the experience of reputation. A reader comparing several sources has opportunities to notice contradictions. Someone receiving a fluent biography may assume the checking has already happened.
Google’s own explanation of how Gemini works acknowledges that responses can be inaccurate, including on factual topics. It describes how Gemini generates answers and may retrieve external information. An answer is therefore not simply a copy of the first page of search results.
The practical implication is straightforward: finding no damaging information in Google does not guarantee an accurate answer in Gemini or ChatGPT. Search visibility and AI descriptions require separate checks.
For companies and public figures, this creates another point of exposure. A prospective client, employer, partner, or bank employee might encounter an unsupported allegation before contacting the subject. That possibility deserves attention even when no resulting loss has yet been documented.
Preserve the Answer Before Trying to Correct It
A dangerous response should trigger a documented process.
Capture the full context. Save the exact prompt, complete answer, preceding conversation, screenshots, and any export available. Record the date, time, product, displayed model version, language, and whether web search was enabled.
Check the claimed evidence. Open cited links and preserve the relevant pages. Establish whether they support the allegation, concern someone else, or do not exist. A citation is something to verify.
Test carefully. Repeat neutral questions in fresh conversations and across relevant platforms. Record differences. Avoid feeding accusations into prompts and then treating the resulting answers as evidence of what an ordinary user would see.
Escalate with specifics. Report the output through the provider’s available channels, supplying the preserved response and supporting records. Retain correspondence and document any known third-party exposure or business consequences. Serious allegations may warrant legal review.
Make AI Reputation Audits Part of Business Protection
One accurate answer doesn’t prove every future response will be accurate. A useful audit examines company and leadership names, spelling variations, relevant languages, and realistic questions about credibility, ownership, and professional history.
Repeat those checks regularly and before important milestones, such as fundraising or entering a new market. Prioritize damaging factual claims over minor wording differences.
Reputation City’s AI reputation work combines assessment with strengthening the verified information available about a business. This supports a more consistent digital identity, but it doesn’t guarantee hallucinations will disappear.
You should not have to discover your AI reputation from someone who has already decided against you.
Want to know how AI describes you or your company? Fill out this form to request a Reputation City AI reputation audit.
To explore why reputational security matters for businesses in emerging technologies, read Reputation City Becomes an Info Partner of Blockchain Life 2026 and AI Future Forum.
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