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The limited Search test can put a full generated answer and follow-up prompt ahead of direct links on some queries. Google says the expansion stops when a person has already started scrolling.
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Google is testing a more aggressive AI Overviews layout in which selected searches open with a full generated answer—and sometimes an “Ask anything” follow-up box—before source links. The expansion is decided dynamically, not by a dependable user command, and stops once scrolling begins. Google says the test is limited to queries where extra detail seems useful, but the design gives AI content more page space and pushes publishers’ links lower. That raises traffic and revenue concerns as legal challenges continue.
The test removes “Show More” for some searches and opens directly into an AI Mode-like response.
Robby Stein says expansion stops after scrolling, preserving the user’s position.
Google has not disclosed a reliable trigger; social-media reports about prompt patterns remain unconfirmed.
On selected Google searches, direct links can be pushed below a full AI response and a follow-up prompt before a person elects to expand anything. Google is testing an AI Overviews format that removes “Show More” for some users and searches, opening directly into AI Mode.
Google confirmed the change applies only to some queries. In those results, the page can show a full AI response comparable to AI Mode and sometimes load an “Ask anything” box for additional questions on the subject.
Robby Stein, Google’s VP of Product for AI Search, said the system dynamically expands Overviews when it determines that added detail is useful. If a person has already begun scrolling, he said, expansion stops to preserve that person’s place. Google says it will continue testing and tuning the experience based on user feedback.
AI Overviews only dynamically expand for topics where our systems determine it to be most useful.
Robby Stein, Google VP of Product for AI Search
Source and direct links appear below the AI response. That placement is central to publishers’ concern: they have invested in search-engine optimization to place work prominently in Google Search and Google News, while a larger generated answer can occupy more of the page first.
AI Overviews began rolling out in May 2024. They have drawn complaints from users who cannot easily remove the feature, alongside pushback from large publishers concerned about possible revenue effects.
There is no surefire known way to trigger an automatically expanded Overview. Users on social media have suggested that some prompts fare better than others, but the trigger is not established. That leaves Google’s systems, rather than a consistent user action, determining when this version of the page appears.
Editorial analysis
This is a distribution test, not merely a longer summary. Removing the expansion step and pairing an answer with an “Ask anything” box creates another opportunity for the search session to continue inside Google. The test remains narrow, and the scrolling safeguard limits disruption for people already moving through results. Still, its direction matters because publisher objections to AI Overviews have already reached litigation and an EU antitrust complaint. The next useful evidence will be whether Google retains or broadens the format as it refines the experience based on feedback, and whether expanded panels become more predictable to users.
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