Google has confirmed it's testing a new display format for AI Overviews in its search engine. For selected queries, the system reportedly loads the generated AI answer at full length right away, without you having to manually click a button to expand it. At the same time, Google shows the "Ask anything" follow-up question field by default.
Organic results pushed further down
This change alters the structure of the search results page: the familiar organic results, the ten blue links, get pushed even further down. You have to scroll more to reach the classic references to external websites. A Google spokesperson explained the test by saying AI Overviews expand dynamically for topics where the company's own systems judge that step most useful for searchers. Internal research reportedly showed that users rated search as more helpful with this dynamic interface and conducted deeper follow-up research.
Industry expert Chris Long was the first to spot this change and posted an example on X. He noted that Google now shows the AI mode input field by default for certain queries, further establishing AI mode as the primary search experience.
Expansion stops when you scroll
Until now, AI Overviews only showed a short text excerpt, and you had to explicitly click a button for the full answer. As Google's Robby Stein clarified on X, AI Overviews only expand for topics where the system detects the highest benefit. If you've already started scrolling, the system stops the automatic expansion to preserve your current reading position on the page. Stein added that Google keeps testing and optimizing this user experience on an ongoing basis.
Possible impact on websites
The automatic expansion could also negatively affect traffic to traditional websites. According to an analysis by the Pew Research Center, users clicked a classic result link in only 8 percent of cases involving AI summaries, compared to 15 percent without them. A more recent study points in a similar direction, finding a causal decline in publisher clicks. Both studies, though, refer to the previous form of AI Overviews; naturally, there's no solid data yet on the new fully expanded version itself.