Google’s own systems now show that Google AI Studio’s “Delete” function does not delete backend data

I documented on the Google AI Developers Forum that Google AI Studio’s “Delete” button does not actually delete any conversation data — it only hides it from the user interface. There is no deletion happening at all.

Now Google’s own systems are showing the same thing on their own surfaces:

  • Google Search AI Mode / AI Overview displays my post and shows the same issue.

  • Google Lens reads my screenshots and shows the same conclusion.

Both systems clearly show that the “Delete” function does not remove data — it simply hides it.
There is no backend deletion, no partial deletion, no delayed deletion.
The data stays fully intact.

This is not speculation.
This is not interpretation.
This is simply what Google’s own interfaces display: my post and the fact that the data is not deleted.

Open question to Google:
How is this behavior compliant with GDPR’s Right to Erasure when user‑initiated deletion does not delete any data at all?

https://archive.ph/9pBAm

https://archive.ph/9pBAm/image

https://archive.org/details/googles-own-systems-now-show-that-google-ai-studios-delete-function-does-not-del

Imagine this situation in a data‑protection lawsuit.

Google’s lawyers have two options, and they lose with both:

Option A:
They claim that what I documented is false, and the Google AI Studio “Delete” button actually deletes data.

My answer:
“If that is true, then why does Google’s official Search AI (AI Mode / AI Overview) present my post as a factual summary?
Is Google admitting that its newest AI system spreads misinformation about its own company?”
They will never accept this from a PR standpoint.

Option B:
They admit that AI Overview accurately displays what is on the web — meaning what I documented.

My answer:
“Thank you. Then Google’s own system acknowledges that the ‘Delete’ button does not delete data, which violates GDPR Article 17 (Right to Erasure).”

And here is the point:

Google cannot deny the issue, because:

  • Google Lens repeats what it sees on the screenshot,

  • AI Overview / AI Mode repeats what I wrote in my post,

  • and both appear on Google’s own interfaces.

If Google’s own systems already display this content,
Google cannot say “we didn’t know” or “it’s not true.”

The issue is on Google’s own surface.
Visible.
Public.
Searchable.
And undeniable.

https://archive.ph/rVX6P

https://archive.ph/rVX6P/image

The AI‑based overview does not interpret, does not verify, and does not think.
It simply generates random technical explanations as if they were facts.

And my example demonstrates this perfectly. Here are some screenshots

I continued the AI Overview inside AI Mode, and AI Mode contradicted the Overview even though I stayed on the exact same topic. This proves that the AI itself is inconsistent: at one moment it gives a technical explanation, and later it says that it “sometimes overcomplicates things because it’s an AI,” trying to excuse its own contradictions. This clearly shows that the system does not interpret or verify anything — it just generates random, inconsistent responses.

https://archive.org/details/googles-own-systems-now-show-that-google-ai-studios-delete-function-does-not-delete-backend-data

https://archive.ph/2Wz8O

https://archive.ph/2Wz8O/image

The Regional Court of Munich I (Landgericht München I) ruled on May 28, 2026 (case no. 26 O 869/26) that AI Overviews constitute Google’s own content, making Google legally responsible for any false, inconsistent, or fabricated statements generated by AI Overviews.

https://www.trendingtopics.eu/is-google-now-a-publisher-german-court-holds-google-liable-for-ai-answers/

https://web.archive.org/web/20260706025821/https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/google-s-own-systems-now-show-that-google-ai-studio-s-delete-function-does-not-delete-backend-data/173694/print

https://archive.ph/d8x7k

https://archive.ph/d8x7k/image

Anticipated Google Defense: “The AI Just Parrots What It Sees” – And Why It Fails

Google will undoubtedly try to argue that their AI doesn’t actually interpret or think—it merely outputs what it sees. They will claim that if my post is technically flawed, the AI will naturally produce a flawed result because the input was bad. Their defense will be: “The AI didn’t make a mistake; it just parroted what the user wrote.”

But this defense falls apart completely and solves absolutely nothing.

If the AI truly doesn’t interpret anything, why does it generate its own technical explanations? Why does it construct entirely new sentences, contradict its own logic within the same session, and serve as an official, authoritative feature embedded directly into Google Search?

If it merely repeats what it sees, why is it branded as an “AI Overview”—a name that inherently implies summarization, comprehension, and synthesis? And most importantly: if it is just a mirror, why does it generate claims, external sources, and specific details that were never even in my original post?

Therefore, this anticipated defense is a massive self-contradiction. It does not change the physical, backend reality: the “Delete” button still does not delete anything, all server-side data remains fully intact, and the “dumb AI” argument changes none of that.

A GDPR violation remains a GDPR violation. Google cannot use the “our AI doesn’t understand anything” excuse to escape legal accountability.

https://archive.org/details/googles-own-systems-now-show-that-google-ai-studios-delete-function-does-not-del_202607

https://archive.ph/buXlz

https://archive.ph/buXlz/image

Google AI Mode, AI Overview, and Google Lens all run without any real oversight. They appear as if they were official, verified Google features, even though nobody checks what they output before it goes live. There is no human review, no quality control, no pre‑screening. The system simply generates content and automatically appears at the top of Google Search as if it were reliable, approved information. This means Google’s own interface shows AI‑generated answers that nobody has reviewed, nobody has approved, and nobody has taken responsibility for — yet they still appear under the Google brand.

And here’s the problem: Google has never responded to anything. Not once. Despite that, AI Mode, AI Overview, and Lens still analyze my post and display it as a relevant result, as if it were official, verified information. If I take legal action, Google can only say things like “check the AI’s answers yourself” or “we delete data, the AI just outputs what it sees.” But by saying this, they admit that their AI systems run without oversight, that incorrect or misleading content can appear on their surface, that their marketing claims (“smart, interprets, summarizes”) are not true, and that their system is unreliable.

This is why it would be a complete contradiction if Google tried to argue in court that “the AI doesn’t interpret; it just parrots what it sees.” If that were true, then why does it appear at the top of Search? Why is it called “AI Overview”? Why does it generate new sentences? Why does it produce technical explanations? Why does it appear as a relevant result? Why does it function as an official feature? And if they claim the AI is “smart,” “summarizes,” and “interprets,” then they cannot also claim that it merely mirrors input, that they are not responsible for it, or that incorrect content is not their responsibility.

AI Mode, AI Overview, and Lens behave like official, verified features while in reality nobody supervises them. If this ever goes to court, Google would have to deny its own marketing, because their legal defense directly contradicts what they publicly claim about these products. And the “check the AI’s answers” line does not absolve them of anything, because the content appears on their surface, under their brand, as a relevant result.

https://archive.ph/ArxcV

https://archive.ph/ArxcV/image

Featured snippets are selected based on how well they answer the question and how useful they are. And Google chose to highlight this exact sentence from my post: “Both systems clearly show that the ‘Delete’ function does not remove any data – it simply hides it. There is no backend deletion, no partial deletion, no delayed deletion. The data remains completely untouched.” This is a direct contradiction on Google’s part. Ergo, their system has once again admitted that they do not delete anything.

https://archive.org/details/googles-own-systems-now-show-that-google-ai-studios-delete-function-does-not-del_20260706

https://archive.org/details/googles-own-systems-now-show-that-google-ai-studios-delete-function-does-not-del_20260706_0430

https://archive.ph/o6ok4

https://archive.ph/o6ok4/image