Word.ws English Dictionary

AI washing

AI washing noun: the deceptive marketing of a product or a service by overstating its use of artificial intelligence.

Noun

AI washing (uncountable)

  1. The deceptive marketing of a product or a service by overstating its use of artificial intelligence.
  2. The use of artificial intelligence as an excuse for corporate measures such as layoffs.
    • Some experts have questioned whether the technology is the real source of the job reductions, saying some companies could be “AI-washing,” or blaming layoffs on the new technology to cover up cost-cutting efforts or other issues with their businesses.2026 January 27, Annie Palmer, “Pinterest laying off 15% of workforce as part of AI push; stock plummets”, in CNBC, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2026

Forms of AI washing

alternative formAI-washing

Origin of AI washing

From AI + -wash + -ing.

Questions about AI washing

What does AI washing mean?
AI washing means the deceptive marketing of a product or a service by overstating its use of artificial intelligence.
What part of speech is AI washing?
AI washing is a noun.

Words near AI washing in the dictionary

  1. AI drift
  2. AI notkilleveryoneism
  3. AI psychoses
  4. AI psychosis
  5. AI slop
  6. AI washing
  7. AI whisperer
  8. AI whisperers
  9. AI winter
  10. AI winters
  11. ai yah

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: AI washing (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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