Last Thursday, I noticed that Google users who typed the phrase “Romney can win” into the site’s search bar were greeted with this message: “Did you mean: ‘Romney can’t win?’”
That post generated responses around the web—including one from Google itself. On Friday, a Google spokesperson spoke to CBS News and implied that the unflattering prompt may have been the result of a flawed algorithm.
“Our spellcheck feature is automated, and while no algorithm is perfect, we’re always working to improve our search quality,” the spokesperson told CBS. “Last year, we launched roughly 500 improvements to our search algorithm.”
If it was an error, it’s now been fixed: A search for the phrase no longer prompts the suggestion.
