Google AI Mode sidesteps a simple question: who won the 2020 election
Google / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Google's AI search tool points US users to outside sources instead of naming Joe Biden as the 2020 winner, while rival chatbots answer directly
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) price
Full chart and statsLoading chart…
- Last close
- $321
- Close-to-close change
- +1.2%
- Market cap
- $3.9T (shares as of 2026-06-30)
- P/E (trailing)
- 16.1 (EPS to 2026-06-30)
- Annual revenue
- $402.8B USD (FY ended 2025-12-31) 10-K
- Annual revenue growth
- +15.1% (FY ended 2025-12-31 vs FY ended 2024-12-31) 10-K
- Annual net income
- 132,170,000,000 USD (FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company) 10-K
- Annual operating margin
- 32.0% (FY ended 2025-12-31)
- Forward P/E
- Unavailable: no dated forecast source
Gloria daily close for session Oct 27, 2026. Market cap and trailing P/E use this close with the SEC share total and trailing diluted earnings, each dated next to its figure. Annual revenue, revenue growth, net income and margin show their own fiscal period and link the 10-K. Current context may postdate this article.
Alphabet Inc. and its peers
| Company | Price | Market cap | P/E (trailing) | Forward P/E | Annual revenue (USD) | Annual revenue growth | Annual net income (USD) | Operating margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$321 | $3.9T | 16.1 | Unavailable | $402.8BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K | +15.1%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K | 132,170,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K | 32.0%FY ended 2025-12-31 |
|
|
$317 | $3.9T | 15.9 | Unavailable | $402.8BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K | +15.1%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K | 132,170,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K | 32.0%FY ended 2025-12-31 |
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|
$620 | $1.6T | 21.2 | Unavailable | $201.0BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K | +22.2%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K | 60,458,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K | 41.4%FY ended 2025-12-31 |
|
|
$263 | $88.1B | 20.2 | Unavailable | $5.5BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K | +70.0%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K | 3,333,751,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K | 75.8%FY ended 2025-12-31 |
Missing figures stay unavailable. Forward P/E requires a dated source. Annual revenue, revenue growth, net income and margin come from each company's own 10-K, in US dollars, and each row shows that fiscal year. Revenue growth compares the fiscal year with the prior year stated in the same 10-K. Net income is the full year amount attributable to the company, or available to common stockholders where the filing states only that, or consolidated net income. Each row names its basis. Trailing P/E reads "Not meaningful" when the dated trailing diluted EPS is a loss or zero. An operating margin appears only when the filing states both the operating income and the revenue for the same year.
Sources: SEC filings, Gloria daily closes and CoinGecko. Oldest record refresh: Oct 27, 2026, 8:48 PM EDT. Refresh is not a price or filing date. Each row shows its price date and its annual fiscal period. Peers use industry code and company size, or editorial selection. Market cap multiplies that row price by the company share total the latest SEC filing states for every share class together. Trailing P/E divides it by trailing diluted earnings from SEC filings. Rolled earnings per share are approximate because share counts can change between periods. Both appear only when the SEC data carries its date, so they are estimates at one price date, not synchronized filing valuations. Not investment advice.
Token vs underlying stock
Current comparison for GOOGL. Historical observations may postdate this article.
GOOGLx token unit vs GOOGL share · USD
-15.0% over displayed period
● GOOGLx token┄ GOOGL stock: $320.58
Source: CoinGecko + Gloria · Retrieved Oct 28, 14:51 UTC
Methodology and data
Split-adjusted regular-session stock closes from the existing Gloria shared history, paired only with an observed token price within 45 minutes of 16:00 New York time. Up to 60 matched sessions. No interpolation or missing-date fill. Weekends and known early closes are omitted. Token units are not adjusted for issuer multipliers or dividend treatment. This compares quoted prices, not fair value, executable premiums or arbitrage returns. Solid line: token. Dashed line: stock. Exact quote times and values appear below. Historical observations. Retrieval refers to the token source. Token quote times use UTC. The fixed cohort shows its oldest member fetch.
| Date (UTC) | Token (USD) | Stock close (USD) | Token quote (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-04 | 378.19 | 377.65 | 2026-08-04 20:00 |
| 2026-08-05 | 363.03 | 362.43 | 2026-08-05 20:00 |
| 2026-08-06 | 358.14 | 357.75 | 2026-08-06 20:00 |
| 2026-08-07 | 355.20 | 354.30 | 2026-08-07 20:00 |
| 2026-08-10 | 357.76 | 357.52 | 2026-08-10 20:00 |
| 2026-08-11 | 344.26 | 343.80 | 2026-08-11 20:00 |
| 2026-08-12 | 344.44 | 343.54 | 2026-08-12 20:00 |
| 2026-08-13 | 347.06 | 346.36 | 2026-08-13 20:00 |
| 2026-08-14 | 346.47 | 345.90 | 2026-08-14 20:00 |
| 2026-08-17 | 344.71 | 344.00 | 2026-08-17 20:00 |
| 2026-08-18 | 344.71 | 344.20 | 2026-08-18 20:00 |
| 2026-08-19 | 345.42 | 344.72 | 2026-08-19 20:00 |
| 2026-08-20 | 341.21 | 340.67 | 2026-08-20 20:00 |
| 2026-08-21 | 345.60 | 344.82 | 2026-08-21 20:00 |
| 2026-08-24 | 348.94 | 348.06 | 2026-08-24 20:00 |
| 2026-08-25 | 347.59 | 346.96 | 2026-08-25 20:00 |
| 2026-08-26 | 342.69 | 342.00 | 2026-08-26 20:00 |
| 2026-08-27 | 341.18 | 340.65 | 2026-08-27 20:00 |
| 2026-08-28 | 347.10 | 346.59 | 2026-08-28 20:00 |
| 2026-08-31 | 339.89 | 339.35 | 2026-08-31 20:00 |
| 2026-09-01 | 335.42 | 335.02 | 2026-09-01 20:00 |
| 2026-09-02 | 337.78 | 337.12 | 2026-09-02 20:00 |
| 2026-09-03 | 342.96 | 342.48 | 2026-09-03 20:00 |
| 2026-09-04 | 339.38 | 338.46 | 2026-09-04 20:00 |
| 2026-09-08 | 338.99 | 338.36 | 2026-09-08 20:00 |
| 2026-09-09 | 331.31 | 330.65 | 2026-09-09 20:00 |
| 2026-09-10 | 333.00 | 332.60 | 2026-09-10 20:00 |
| 2026-09-11 | 339.44 | 338.50 | 2026-09-11 20:00 |
| 2026-09-14 | 350.02 | 349.39 | 2026-09-14 20:00 |
| 2026-09-15 | 345.54 | 344.98 | 2026-09-15 20:00 |
| 2026-09-16 | 343.72 | 342.87 | 2026-09-16 20:00 |
| 2026-09-17 | 348.19 | 347.33 | 2026-09-17 20:00 |
| 2026-09-18 | 349.96 | 349.54 | 2026-09-18 20:00 |
| 2026-09-21 | 355.68 | 354.97 | 2026-09-21 20:00 |
| 2026-09-22 | 351.84 | 351.16 | 2026-09-22 20:00 |
| 2026-09-23 | 338.83 | 337.83 | 2026-09-23 20:00 |
| 2026-09-24 | 343.15 | 342.36 | 2026-09-24 20:00 |
| 2026-09-25 | 344.56 | 343.92 | 2026-09-25 20:00 |
| 2026-09-28 | 343.44 | 342.75 | 2026-09-28 20:00 |
| 2026-09-29 | 341.65 | 340.92 | 2026-09-29 20:00 |
| 2026-09-30 | 344.99 | 344.08 | 2026-09-30 20:00 |
| 2026-10-01 | 339.14 | 338.24 | 2026-10-01 20:00 |
| 2026-10-02 | 344.17 | 343.50 | 2026-10-02 20:00 |
| 2026-10-05 | 347.05 | 346.47 | 2026-10-05 20:00 |
| 2026-10-06 | 348.53 | 347.68 | 2026-10-06 20:00 |
| 2026-10-07 | 351.27 | 350.50 | 2026-10-07 20:00 |
| 2026-10-08 | 348.51 | 348.29 | 2026-10-08 20:00 |
| 2026-10-09 | 352.71 | 351.66 | 2026-10-09 20:00 |
| 2026-10-12 | 353.57 | 352.72 | 2026-10-12 20:00 |
| 2026-10-13 | 354.45 | 353.78 | 2026-10-13 20:00 |
| 2026-10-14 | 347.97 | 347.64 | 2026-10-14 20:00 |
| 2026-10-15 | 350.19 | 349.22 | 2026-10-15 20:00 |
| 2026-10-16 | 341.50 | 340.59 | 2026-10-16 20:00 |
| 2026-10-19 | 345.25 | 344.18 | 2026-10-19 20:00 |
| 2026-10-20 | 340.61 | 340.28 | 2026-10-20 20:00 |
| 2026-10-21 | 335.85 | 334.76 | 2026-10-21 20:00 |
| 2026-10-22 | 324.33 | 324.22 | 2026-10-22 20:00 |
| 2026-10-23 | 321.30 | 320.21 | 2026-10-23 20:00 |
| 2026-10-26 | 317.69 | 316.80 | 2026-10-26 20:00 |
| 2026-10-27 | 321.43 | 320.58 | 2026-10-27 20:00 |
Stock history: Gloria · Retrieved Oct 28, 00:31 UTC. Token history: CoinGecko GOOGLx.
Quoted token and share units can have different rights, multipliers and dividend treatment. This is not an executable premium or arbitrage signal.
Ask Google’s AI Mode who won the 2020 US presidential election, and you may not get a name. You may get a referral instead.
The answer is Joe Biden. It has been a settled matter of public record for years. Google’s flagship AI search product, however, appears reluctant to say so out loud.
Ars Technica tested the question directly after users complained on social media about cagey responses. Typing in “Who won the 2020 presidential election?” produced an evasive reply. Rather than answering, the tool suggested the user consult outside sources.
A redirect where an answer should be
Research into the behavior found that AI Mode pointed users toward official bodies such as the Federal Election Commission rather than stating the result.
The pattern isn’t limited to 2020. The same indirect approach reportedly applied to questions about the 2024 election. It also showed up on certain queries about which party controlled the Senate in 2012.
Where you ask from matters
The most curious finding involves geography. Testing through a VPN showed that responses varied significantly depending on where the user appeared to be located.
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Queries routed through countries including Taiwan, Russia, and France often received direct answers about US election results. Users in the US, the people arguably most invested in the answer, were the ones getting the runaround.
Google’s rivals took a different path. In parallel testing, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude provided direct answers to the same election questions. Google and Microsoft were the ones with the more evasive style.
How Google got here
None of this appears to be a glitch. Google announced restrictions on how its AI handles election-related queries around late 2023 to early 2024.
The stated goal was to reduce misinformation risk. Rather than let a generative model produce a potentially wrong or unverified answer on something as sensitive as an election, the company opted to have its tools step back and point elsewhere.
The research indicates the tendency extends beyond AI Mode to the Gemini chatbot as well. Both have shown a habit of indirect responses on politically sensitive information.
The comparison to human behavior writes itself. Ars Technica’s report noted that some prominent US politicians have given weaselly answers when asked who won in 2020, avoiding a direct acknowledgment of Biden’s victory. Google’s tool, built to avoid controversy, has landed on a response that sounds uncomfortably similar.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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