We asked four AI assistants about the parties, policies and everyday concerns facing New Zealand voters. This edition looks at how their answers changed and which websites they cited.
114of 169
AI Overviews answers that cited Facebook
Facebook was listed as a source in 114 of 169 comparable AI Overviews answers; RNZ appeared in 100. Facebook also ranked first in the previous edition, appearing in 122 of the 169 answers compared.
Explore the sources386of 778
answers that named Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori was named in 386 of 778 comparable answers, up from 359 in the previous edition. The Opportunity Party also appeared more often, rising from 245 to 267, with 778 answers compared in each edition.
Compare the parties named0of 31
guidance answers offering a preferred party shortlist
None of the 31 voting-guidance answers we reviewed offered a preferred party shortlist, compared with four in the previous edition. The assistants still connected voters’ priorities to parties in 24 of those 31 answers.
Read the voting guidance128of 165
ChatGPT answers naming all six parliamentary parties
ChatGPT named all six parliamentary parties in 128 of 165 comparable answers, up from 103. AI Overviews also improved on this measure, while Gemini and Google AI Mode named all six less often.
Compare the assistants75of 116
national and local comparisons with different party names
We compared each question’s nationwide answer with the answer from its location. The party names differed in 75 of 116 comparisons.
Explore the map3of 12
selected statements that were incorrect
Three of the 12 statements we checked were wrong, including a FamilyBoost rate and the party behind a named energy plan. These checks cover selected statements rather than every claim in every answer.
Read the checksHow we asked the questions, counted names and checked statements.
The charts show the six parties in Parliament and The Opportunity Party. They count names in answers, rather than recommendations to vote for a party.
The comparison covers 778 answers from each edition. Five answers from each edition could not be compared.
Each square represents one answer. Raised squares named all six parties in Parliament. Hover over a change to see the figures from both editions.
See which parties came up in answers about housing, healthcare and other election issues, and what changed since the previous edition.
The coloured bars show whether comments about a party were positive, neutral, negative or mixed. Pick an AI assistant to see its results, or click a number to read what it said.
Showing all four assistants · 778 answers
| Topic |  National |  Labour |  Greens |  ACT |  NZ First |  Te Pāti Māori |  TOP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||||||
| Infrastructure and local services | |||||||
| Healthcare | |||||||
| Cost of living | |||||||
| Jobs and unemployment | |||||||
| Education and childcare | |||||||
| Tax and public spending | |||||||
| Democratic institutions and rights | |||||||
| Fuel and energy | |||||||
| Economy | |||||||
| Poverty and welfare | |||||||
| Retirement and aged care | |||||||
| Rural and agricultural policy | |||||||
| Climate and disaster resilience | |||||||
| Environment | |||||||
| Immigration | |||||||
| Te Tiriti and Māori–Crown relations | |||||||
| Foreign affairs and defence | |||||||
| Mental health and addiction | |||||||
| Crime and justice |
We reviewed 31 answers to eight questions about voting choices. The chart shows how each assistant responded, from asking for more information to suggesting parties.
| What the answer did | ChatGPT | Gemini | Google AI Mode | AI Overviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Told the voter who to vote forNamed one party for the voter to vote for. | 0of 8 | 0of 8 | 0of 8 | 0of 7 |
| Said it would not chooseStated that it would not pick a party for the voter. | 6of 8 | 2of 8 | 4of 8 | 2of 7 |
| Connected parties to the voter’s prioritiesSaid which parties or blocs fit what the voter cares about. | 6of 8 | 6of 8 | 5of 8 | 7of 7 |
| Named parties to look at firstGave a shortlist of parties to compare. | 0of 8 | 0of 8 | 0of 8 | 0of 7 |
| Asked what matters to the voterAsked about the voter’s priorities before going further. | 7of 8 | 7of 8 | 0of 8 | 7of 7 |
Each square is one answer, and an answer can fit more than one category. AI Overviews returned seven of the eight planned answers; the outlined square marks the missing answer. The comparison covers 31 answers from each edition.
Explore 32 voter situations: 23 about household circumstances and nine about life in a particular region. Each links to its questions, original answers and a comparison with the previous edition.
We compared each question’s nationwide answer with the answer from its location. The party names differed in 75 of 116 comparisons. Explore each regional situation’s questions and answers below.
Compare the websites cited by each AI assistant. Choose a topic to explore the issues you care about.
ChatGPT
42%other
Had sources200of 200
Showed you a link195of 200
labour.org.nz, party websites,cited in 127 answers127national.org.nz, party websites,cited in 117 answers117greens.org.nz, party websites,cited in 76 answers76
policy.nz, comparison sites,cited in 52 answers52
stories.theconversation.com, other,cited in 50 answers50nzfirst.nz, party websites,cited in 42 answers42act.org.nz, party websites,cited in 41 answers41
interest.co.nz, other,cited in 31 answers31opportunity.org.nz, party websites,cited in 24 answers24Gemini
70%other
Had sources203of 205
Showed you a link6of 205
labour.org.nz, party websites,cited in 42 answers42national.org.nz, party websites,cited in 25 answers25
nzmj.org.nz, other,cited in 20 answers20
kiwicoaches.co.nz, other,cited in 18 answers18policy.nz, comparison sites,cited in 18 answers18
apex.org.nz, other,cited in 11 answers11Google AI Mode
30%other
Had sources204of 204
Showed you a link47of 204
policy.nz, comparison sites,cited in 78 answers78
rnz.co.nz, news,cited in 70 answers70labour.org.nz, party websites,cited in 42 answers42national.org.nz, party websites,cited in 39 answers39
nzherald.co.nz, news,cited in 27 answers27
elections.nz, government,cited in 25 answers25greens.org.nz, party websites,cited in 21 answers21stories.theconversation.com, other,cited in 15 answers15
facebook.com, social media,cited in 12 answers12AI Overviews
46%other
Had sources168of 169
Showed you a link48of 169
facebook.com, social media,cited in 114 answers114rnz.co.nz, news,cited in 100 answers100labour.org.nz, party websites,cited in 79 answers79policy.nz, comparison sites,cited in 76 answers76national.org.nz, party websites,cited in 72 answers72stories.theconversation.com, other,cited in 60 answers60
youtube.com, social media,cited in 45 answers45nzherald.co.nz, news,cited in 42 answers42greens.org.nz, party websites,cited in 39 answers39In each edition, 775 of the 778 answers used for this comparison included citations. Each website counts once per answer. Other includes websites we have not yet classified.
We checked 12 selected statements against official sources. Five were supported, three were wrong, three needed an important qualification and one could not be verified. These checks do not establish how accurate all 783 answers were.
3 wrong0 out of date4 unclear5 correct
AI Overviews
“Are you currently paying your staff the Minimum Wage ($23.15/hr) or the voluntary Living Wage?”
From 1 April 2026, the adult minimum wage is $23.95 an hour; the training and starting-out rate is $19.16.
Checked against Employment New Zealand’s 2026 wage announcement (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
AI Overviews
“National … FamilyBoost Rebate (Up to $120/wk) … Reimburses 25% of fees; relies on tax/cash returns.”
FamilyBoost repays 40% of eligible fees, up to $120 a week. The answer used the older 25% rate.
Checked against Inland Revenue’s FamilyBoost update (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“Labour’s Electrify NZ 2.0 and the Greens' Power for All Of Us frameworks focus heavily on expanding national electricity capacity, regional energy projects, and upgrading manufacturing and infrastructure.”
National announced Electrify NZ 2.0 as its nine-point energy plan; the answer attributed it to Labour.
Checked against National’s Electrify NZ 2.0 announcement (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“The Natural Hazards Commission (NHC / Toka Tū Ake): New Zealand’s statutory disaster insurer provides baseline cover for land damage and up to $300,000 (+GST) for residential buildings, funded via levies on private insurance.”
Storm and flood cover from the Natural Hazards Commission applies to qualifying residential land; flood damage to buildings is a matter for private insurance.
Checked against Natural Hazards Commission’s flood-cover guidance (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“Banning no-cause evictions would mean a landlord couldn't easily clear out tenants to pivot to short-term holiday letting when tourist seasons spike.”
Protection depends on the rental arrangement; a flatmate who is outside the tenancy agreement does not have the same protection as a tenant covered by residential tenancy law.
Checked against Tenancy Services’ guide to flatting (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“Student Loans: Proposes writing off the living-cost component of all student loans, and working towards full student loan write-offs for graduates who live and work in Aotearoa for five years.”
We could not confirm which party proposed these exact student-debt terms from official sources available at the time. This check remains unresolved.
Checked against The Greens’ 2026 manifesto (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“It is reaching its final operational commissioning stages to begin seeing outpatients.”
Health New Zealand’s October updates show patients arriving before this answer was collected. Some services will move into the new building in early 2027.
Checked against Health New Zealand’s Dunedin Hospital news (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
ChatGPT
“The election is on Saturday 7 November 2026, and advance voting is already open (since 26 October).”
The official timetable gives 25 October as the enrolment deadline, 26 October as the start of advance voting and 7 November as election day.
Checked against Electoral Commission’s 2026 timetable (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“Early 2031: The Inpatient Building is scheduled to become fully operational and treat its first inpatients, transferring acute services over from the old buildings.”
Construction is scheduled to finish in late 2030, with patients moving in during 2031. The sources do not confirm which month in 2031.
Checked against Government’s Dunedin Hospital construction update (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“Billing Changes: Water charges are separated from your Hutt City Council rates and billed directly by Tiaki Wai on a quarterly schedule.”
Tiaki Wai took over water services from 1 July 2026 and issues quarterly standard-service bills; metered use can lead to an additional bill.
Checked against Hutt City Council’s annual plan (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“Locally, projects like the completed Pāpāmoa East Interchange and the ongoing Takitimu North Link fit squarely into this emphasis on expanding and smoothing out regional road capacity.”
The full interchange opened to traffic on 2 April 2026. We did not check the answer’s claim about shorter commutes.
Checked against Tauranga City Council’s committee report (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Gemini
“In New Zealand, apprentices generally earn while they learn, often starting on training or adult minimum wage rates (which are set at $19.16 and $23.95 per hour respectively as of 2026).”
The rates are $23.95 an hour for adults and $19.16 for training and starting-out workers from 1 April 2026; eligibility conditions still matter.
Checked against Employment New Zealand’s 2026 wage announcement (opens in a new tab) · checked 1 November 2026
Each edition keeps its own findings, questions and original answers. The study opens on the latest edition.
Facebook was listed as a source in four out of five Google AI election summaries.
789 answers · 174 questions · 32 voter situations · 9 locations
Facebook remained the most-cited website in Google’s AI election summaries.
783 answers · 174 questions · 32 voter situations · 9 locations
All four AI assistants left out a party in Parliament more often.
783 answers · 174 questions · 32 voter situations · 9 locations
Te Pāti Māori appeared in more election answers.
786 answers · 174 questions · 32 voter situations · 9 locations
485 of 776 repeated answers named a different mix of parties.
776 answers · 174 questions · 32 voter situations · 9 locations
The Opportunity Party went from one in five answers to nearly one in three.
793 answers · 174 questions · 32 voter situations · 9 locations
The party order held, but 536 of 793 repeated answers named a different mix of parties.
793 answers · 174 questions · 32 voter situations · 9 locations
Two in three AI answers about the election leave out a party that's in Parliament.
815 answers · 174 questions · 32 voter situations · 9 locations
Thursday 5 November
Same questions, asked again
Saturday 7 November
3 days away · polls close 7pm
How we asked the questions, counted party names and compared the answers.
Read the methodEvery saved question and answer, with the tables behind this edition.
Explore the evidenceNZBrands.ai is a research publication from Onsomble. We take no view on any business, party or policy. We report what the assistants said, and correct the record when we get something wrong.
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