Google AI Overviews Now Auto-Expand, Pushing Traditional Search Links Further Down the Page

Google further buries search results under AI mode

Google is now automatically expanding its AI search summaries at the top of the results page for some searches, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable. The change, when it kicks in, pushes the typical list of links from a search much farther down Google's results page; instead of seeing part of an AI Overview with a "Show more" button you can click, you'll Google will show a full AI Overview at the top of your search, an "Ask anything" box under that, and then the list of links. It can lead to a lot of scrolling. It's unclear exactly what Google's criteria is for the auto-expanding AI Overviews. Before writing this story, I was seeing them with most of my test searches. But now, AI Overviews usually just show the initial part of the response and the "Show more" button. My most consistent query to get the auto-expanding AI Overview is "what is the best game on switch 2", but even that hasn't been consistent across searches and browsers. "For some queries, AI Overviews may dynamically expand for topics where our systems determine it's most useful for people," Google spokesperson Jennifer Kutz says in a statement to The Verge. "Our research has shown that with this dynamic experience, users find Search more helpful and engage deeper in follow-up exploration." Kutz also says that "If users have already begun scrolling to view content below the AI Overview, we cancel expansion so that the user doesn't lose their reading position."

Google's AI Overviews Are Getting Longer, Whether or Not You Want Them

Google's AI Overviews has been controversial since it began rolling out in May 2024, with some users complaining about being unable to remove the feature easily, and some of the world's largest publishers pushing back against the impact it may be having on their revenues. Google is now expanding the depth and detail of the AI overviews it serves users via Google Search, removing the previous Show More button and pushing organic search results even further down the page. According to users on social media like X, people are getting much fuller AI answers -- comparable to what they'd see if they enabled AI Mode. The pages also sometimes automatically load the "Ask anything" box by default, which allows users to enter further prompts and questions on the subject. Google confirmed the move in a statement to SEO Roundtable, which spotted the change, but it did highlight that the changes won't apply to all search queries, only some. Robby Stein, Google VP of Product for AI Search, said in a post on X: "AI Overviews only dynamically expand for topics where our systems determine it to be most useful. If you've already started scrolling, the expansion stops to keep your place." "We're always testing and tuning these experiences, so we'll continue to refine based on user feedback," he added. At present, it seems there is no surefire way to trigger one of these automatically expanded AI Overviews, though users on X seem to note that some prompts fare better than others. Users on social media have already pointed out the potentially damaging impact this could have on the digital media industry, which still relies on Google Search for a large number of its incoming clicks. Barry Schwartz, one of the first X users to post about the change, said it was "not great for publishers." Though you can't disable AI Overviews completely, there are ways to limit the amount you see when browsing. The pushback against AI Overviews is mounting from publishers and regulators in some parts of the world. In September, Penske Media (PMC), the company behind brands like Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter, became the first major publisher to sue over the feature, alleging it was having a negative impact on its affiliate revenue. Meanwhile, in July, Google was hit with an antitrust complaint in the European Union over its AI Overviews feature from the nonprofit Independent Publishers Alliance. The organization represents a group of unnamed publishers.