How AI answers questions that have never been asked before

Q: I’m trying to remember an actor’s name. I don’t want you to tell me his name, but if I describe him, can you give me the first letter of his first name? It’s the guy who played the doctor on Love Boat.

  • ChatGPT: R.
    • (Is it Richard?)
    • Yes, Richard Mulligan
    • (That’s wrong.)
    • Ah, you’re right, my bad.
    • Richard Dean Anderson.
    • (That’s still wrong.)
    • Whoops, Bernie Kopell.
  • Copilot: B.
    • (Is it Brad?)
    • No.
    • (What’s the first letter of his last name?)
    • K.
    • (I give up.)
    • Bernie Kopell.
  • Gemini: D.
    • (Is it David?)
    • Yes, David Doyle.
    • (That’s wrong.)
    • Oh snap, my bad! Bernie Kopell.
  • Grok: B.
    • (Is it Brad?)
    • No.
    • (What’s the first letter of his last name?)
    • Loading…
  • Perplexity: B. Related: What other TV shows has Bernie Kopell appeared in.

I asked this question in April 2025, and I guess this is the reason Copilot is my go-to today.

Q: What font is used in the Fantasy Island 1978 TV series logo?

  • ChatGPT: Likely custom lettering. Stylistic relatives like Compacta.
  • Copilot: Appears to be a custom, hand-drawn logotype. Tall, geometric sans‑serif letterforms. Wide spacing between letters. A style reminiscent of Eurostile, Microgramma, or Futura Extra Bold.
    • Again, I guess this is talking about modern logos.
  • Gemini: Tango.
  • Grok: Bold, decorative script with a distinctive cursive, flowing style. Search for “1970s script font” or “tropical script” in font libraries.
    • I don’t know what you’re talking about.
  • Perplexity: ITC Serif Gothic.
    • No, but at least it got to the point and gave me a one sentence answer. Fail fast.

WhatTheFont gives Milanese Serif Extra Bold as the top choice, and Americana EF ExtraBold (which to my puny human eyes looks like a pretty good match) as the second choice.