Google is rolling out an update that automatically expands AI-generated summaries (AI Overviews) for specific queries, removing the need for users to click a "Show more" button. This change pushes traditional organic links significantly further down the results page, requiring substantially more scrolling to reach external websites.
Automated AI Summary Expansion
Under the new behavior, for certain searches, Google displays the full AI Overview at the top of the page, followed by an "Ask anything" box. The list of organic links only appears after these AI elements. Google spokesperson Jennifer Kutz stated that this dynamic experience is intended to make Search more helpful and encourage deeper exploration. To prevent disrupting the user's reading position, the expansion is cancelled if the system detects that the user has already started scrolling down.
Inconsistency in Deployment
The rollout appears inconsistent across different queries and browsers. Tests show that the auto-expansion triggers sporadically, even for identical search terms, suggesting a targeted or experimental deployment. This is part of a broader shift toward AI Mode, a generative experience powered by Gemini 2.0 designed for more nuanced and complex queries than standard AI Overviews.
Impact on the Web Ecosystem
By further burying organic results, Google intensifies the pressure on publishers already struggling with declining click-through rates. Despite efforts to introduce Preferred Sources to mitigate traffic loss, the trend toward a "zero-click" environment continues.
This strategy follows a period of high tension, with French media reporting traffic drops of up to 38% and platforms like Reddit considering blocking data access to protect their business models. Google's transformation from a search index into an AI-driven answer engine is fundamentally altering the economic viability of the open web.
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