> But if you asked me what the operating margin of company X was, and I give you an answer (whether I make it up or compute it incorrectly), you or the company can't sue me (and win) for libel or anything of the sort.
If your answer damages company X then they can sue you. If you Tweet that a vacuum cleaner is terrible because its noisy to your 4 followers it's probably not a big deal as (under UK law, and I'm assuming similar internationally) a company has to prove "serious financial loss". If you write about it on your Instagram that has millions of followers then that's more of an issue, so you can assume a search engine claiming to summarise results but apparently hallucinating and making things up is liable for a defamation suit if it can be demonstrated to harming the company.
If your answer damages company X then they can sue you. If you Tweet that a vacuum cleaner is terrible because its noisy to your 4 followers it's probably not a big deal as (under UK law, and I'm assuming similar internationally) a company has to prove "serious financial loss". If you write about it on your Instagram that has millions of followers then that's more of an issue, so you can assume a search engine claiming to summarise results but apparently hallucinating and making things up is liable for a defamation suit if it can be demonstrated to harming the company.