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Google Tests Fuller AI Overviews That Can Push Search Links Further Down

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.

By 2 min read
Google Tests Fuller AI Overviews That Can Push Search Links Further Down
Google Tests Fuller AI Overviews That Can Push Search Links Further Down
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Google is testing a more aggressive version of AI Overviews that can place a full generated answer—and sometimes an “Ask anything” prompt—above the direct links on a search results page. For some queries, the usual “Show More” step disappears, and the page opens straight into a response resembling AI Mode. Google says this only happens when its systems decide that extra detail would be useful. The expansion is dynamic, and there is no reliable user command that forces it to appear. Robby Stein, Google’s vice president of product for AI Search, says the system stops expanding once someone has started scrolling, so the person’s position is preserved. Source links still appear below the generated response, but that placement gives the AI answer more of the page before users see publishers’ work. That is the core concern for media companies that depend on prominent positions in Google Search and Google News, especially if fewer clicks affect advertising or affiliate revenue. AI Overviews began rolling out in May 2024, and the feature is already facing legal pressure: Penske Media sued Google in September over alleged affiliate-revenue harm, while the Independent Publishers Alliance filed a European Union antitrust complaint in July. Google says it will keep tuning the test. The key constraint is that the trigger remains controlled by Google’s systems, not by a consistent action users or publishers can count on.

Story brief

3 key points

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...

  1. 01

    The test removes “Show More” for some searches and opens directly into an AI Mode-like response.

  2. 02

    Robby Stein says expansion stops after scrolling, preserving the user’s position.

  3. 03

    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.

A system decides when the answer opens

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

More answer space, a live publisher fight

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.

Two disputes already on the record

  • Penske Media sued Google in September, alleging that AI Overviews harmed its affiliate revenue.
  • The Independent Publishers Alliance filed an antitrust complaint against Google in the European Union in July concerning AI Overviews.

Users cannot reliably call up the format

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

Our Read

Our read: 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.

Related coverageBrainlabs Tracks 10.5% Fewer Sessions as AI Referrals Rise 163% Across 54 ClientsGoogle Lets Publishers Add a Preferred Sources Button to Their Sites

Sources

  1. me.pcmag.comHate AI Search Results? Tough. Google Is Expanding Them Even More

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