Bunnings, IKEA, Target, Kmart, Big W: ‘AI slop’ on Google reviews for stores across the country sparks outrage

Artificial intelligence has been slowly infiltrating every facet of life, and now, even the humble Google search has fallen victim to “AI slop”.

A user made a post to the r/australian subreddit drawing attention to the flood of AI generated images that pop up when you search for Bunnings stores on Google.

“This has been happening a lot recently in the last few days, and it’s becoming more and more noticeable,” the user said.

“As soon as you Google up your local Bunnings store, chances are, the first image displayed on the store you’re searching for is now in fact nothing more than AI slop.”

The user attached images showing various AI-generated storefronts for some of Australia’s most-loved stores.

Bunnings appears to be the most frequent victim, with just about every store in the country having an AI-generated image pop up when you search for it, however, Big W, Kmart, Target, Coles, Office Works, and IKEA pictures were also in the mix.

Even Perth’s very own Fremantle Markets has had its photo replaced by an eerie AI replica.

The Google profile ‘professional local guide’ appears to be behind the bizarre spate of pictures, and claims to be “a passionate Google Maps Local Guide dedicated to helping people discover the best spots in every corner of the world.”

“Don’t take this seriously lol I’m just bored out my mind,” they add in their bio.

At the time of writing, the user has made 426 reviews for various shops, all of which have been given a five star review and have a strange AI-generated image accompanying it.

Commenters on the original reddit post were quick to mention Google’s report feature, however, it appears the images have remained despite multiple reports.

“This has been going on for a few days now, I reported it too but doesn’t seem to be working,” one user wrote.

The original poster responded to this comment with: “And it’s not going to.

“Google won’t listen (no matter how many times we report it), so we’re gonna make some noise here on Reddit, and get the message out there.

“Hopefully this post (and several more on Reddit) continues to blow up so then maybe Australia wakes up and sees this s... (and begs Google to enforce a rule to prohibit AI material on Google Maps).”

The Nightly has reached out to Google for comment.