Google further buries search results under AI mode

Google is making another major change to Search that could make traditional website links harder to find.

The company has started automatically expanding AI-generated summaries at the top of some Google Search results pages. When the expanded AI Overview appears, users may have to scroll considerably farther before reaching the familiar list of traditional web links.

AI Summaries Take Up More Search Space

Previously, Google could display a shorter AI Overview with an option such as “Show more.” The new behavior can automatically open a much larger AI-generated response for certain searches.

Below the expanded summary, Google can display an “Ask anything” prompt before showing the conventional search results.

That means the traditional list of websites that users have relied on for years is being pushed further down the page.

The change does not appear to happen for every query. Google says the expanded experience is triggered when its systems determine that it could be particularly useful based on research into how people interact with Search.

Google Says It Is Designed to Be More Helpful

Google spokesperson Jennifer Kutz said the feature is intended to help users when a larger AI-generated response is likely to be useful.

The company has also designed the behavior to stop automatically expanding if a user has already started scrolling. That is meant to prevent the interface from unexpectedly changing while someone is reading the page.

The change is part of Google’s much broader shift toward AI-powered Search.

At Google I/O 2026, the company described its latest Search developments as a major upgrade, introducing more advanced AI capabilities and agent-style experiences directly into Search.

What It Means for Websites and Publishers

The bigger concern is what happens to websites that depend on Google Search traffic.

When AI-generated information appears before traditional results and takes up more screen space, users may be less likely to scroll down and click individual websites.

That could increase the pressure on publishers, bloggers and businesses to optimize not only for conventional rankings but also for visibility inside Google’s AI-generated answers.

The broader shift is already generating concern across the publishing industry. Critics argue that AI summaries can answer users’ questions without requiring them to visit the websites that produced the underlying information.

Google Search Is Becoming Less About the “10 Blue Links”

For decades, Google’s core Search experience was built around a relatively simple model: type a query, receive a list of links and choose which websites to visit.

AI Overviews and AI Mode are changing that model.

Instead of simply directing users to information elsewhere on the web, Google increasingly tries to interpret a question, generate an answer and allow users to continue the conversation directly within Search.

That could make Search more convenient for users, but it also creates a difficult question for the open web: if Google provides the answer, will users still visit the websites behind it?

A Bigger Change Could Be Coming

Google’s latest move suggests that AI is becoming an increasingly dominant part of the Search experience.

For users, the change could mean faster answers and less need to open multiple websites. For publishers, however, it could mean competing for visibility in a search environment where the traditional organic results are increasingly pushed below Google’s own AI features.

As Google continues expanding AI Mode and AI Overviews, the relationship between Search and the wider web is likely to become one of the biggest issues facing publishers and SEO professionals.

For now, the message is clear: Google Search is moving further away from a page of links and toward an AI-generated answer engine.