Google further buries search results under AI mode

image via The Verge

August 28, 2026, 10:48 PM

• •Google has begun automatically expanding some AI Overviews at the top of Search results pages.
• •The expanded layout can place a full AI summary and an 'Ask anything' box above the standard list of links.
• •The behavior appears inconsistent across queries and browsers, and Google has not detailed the exact criteria for triggering it.
• •Google spokesperson Jennifer Kutz said the expansion is used when Google's systems determine it is most useful and that expansion is canceled if a user has already started scrolling.
• •The Verge noted one query that more consistently triggered the behavior: 'what is the best game on switch 2.'

Google is automatically expanding some AI Overviews at the top of Search results pages for certain queries. The change can push the usual list of links much farther down by showing a full AI summary and an 'Ask anything' box first. The Verge found the behavior inconsistent across searches and browsers, and Google did not explain the exact triggers. Google says the feature appears when its systems think it will be useful and stops expanding if a user has already begun scrolling.

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