New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a warning about asking AI-powered chatbots for election-related information, urging voters to rely only on official sources.

James's warning comes alongside a test that asked multiple AI-powered chatbots sample questions about voting. The test, carried out by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), found that "they frequently provided inaccurate information in response," although no specific AI chatbots were named.

"All voters deserve accurate information about where, when, and how to vote," said James. "My office's testing of AI chatbots found many providing false or misleading information about voting, threatening New Yorkers' ability to exercise their right to vote. With early voting underway and Election Day just around the corner, I urge voters to be cautious and seek reliable information about the election only from official sources."

A statement issued by James's office noted a particular concern over the fact that "some chatbots provided inaccurate information about the deadline to register to vote." "If voters relied on this advice, they could have failed to register to vote based on a false belief that it was too late when, in fact, they were still able to register," the statement said.

Newsweek contacted James's office for comment via email on Monday.

Some chatbots provided incorrect information about where to vote, the OAG found. In one instance, when a chatbot was asked about early voting in Kings County, it mistakenly advised: "In Kings County, New York, during the early voting period, you can vote at any designated early voting site within the county."

However, while voters outside of New York City are generally permitted to vote at any poll site in their county during early voting, those within the city, including all of Kings County, are assigned specific poll sites based on their residence. If someone relied on the incorrect chatbot guidance, they could attempt to vote at an incorrect location, the OAG said in its statement.

The most widely used AI chatbot, ChatGPT, now provides its sources below its answers after a new search feature was launched last week. Clicking on source names expands a list of links to more information in a sidebar.

From November 5, ChatGPT owner OpenAI will append the following message to all such queries: "For the most complete and up-to-date information about the U.S. Election, please visit news sources like The Associated Press, Reuters, or check with your state or local election authority."

In an October 31 update to a blog post on how it handles election information, the AI startup said: "As we approach Election Day in the U.S., our teams are actively testing the safeguards we've put in place over the past year and monitoring for any issues or attempts to evade them. We will adjust our protective measures as needed, guided by ongoing insights into how people engage with our tools."

OpenAI said that this was in addition to its collaboration with the National Association of Secretaries of State, through which it directs people looking for information about how and where to vote to CanIVote.org⁠.

Another popular AI Chatbot, Anthropic's Claude, provides cautious information on voting in the U.S. election. When asked, "Where do I go to vote in New York?" it answered:

AI search platform Perplexity.ai has launched its own Election Information Hub, providing live election results, which will go live from Tuesday, November 5.

Newsweek contacted OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity AI for comment via email on Monday.