Google has begun automatically expanding its AI-generated search summaries at the top of results pages, eliminating the Show More button that previously let users control how much AI content they saw and pushing traditional web links much farther down the page.
The change, first spotted by SEO consultant Chris Long on August 27 and confirmed by Google the following day, affects certain queries where Google determines AI Overviews are most useful. Previously, AI Overviews loaded as partial snippets with a clickable Show More button. Now, for some searches, the full AI Overview loads by default with an Ask anything follow-up box already open at the bottom, effectively turning the results page into an AI Mode conversation before the user clicks anything.
Google spokesperson told Search Engine Roundtable that for some queries, AI Overviews may dynamically expand for topics where our systems determine it is most helpful for people. Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, added on X that expansion stops if a user has already begun scrolling to view content below the AI Overview, a safeguard designed to prevent users from losing their reading position.
Traditional Links Pushed Below the Fold
The mechanical consequence is significant. When an AI Overview expands automatically, it occupies the above-the-fold space, the area visible without scrolling. For many users, their entire initial screen view may now be dominated by Google own synthesized content rather than links to external websites.
This is the next step in a progression that has accelerated throughout 2026. In January, Google let users carry an AI Overview into an AI Mode conversation. After I/O 2026, the two ran as one integrated experience. This latest change opens the conversation box without the reader doing anything at all, completing the transition from optional AI enhancement to default AI-first search.
SEO professionals and website owners now face a restructured reality. If the top of the page is consistently occupied by an expanded AI summary, appearing in the top three organic results may no longer guarantee the same level of traffic it once did. The industry may shift toward optimizing content specifically to be included as a source within AI Overviews, rather than just ranking in the traditional list.
Publishers and the Legal Backdrop
The change arrives as Google faces mounting legal pressure from publishers. On August 25, Judge Amit Mehta heard arguments in the consolidated Chegg and Penske Media cases against Google. During the hearing, the judge described Google AI answers as built on the backs of the publishers, a characterization that cuts to the heart of the ongoing dispute over whether AI Overviews constitute fair use of indexed content.
Google position has been that AI Overviews is a product improvement rather than a separate product, and that publishers who dislike it can decline to be indexed. The judge took the matter under advisement, and a written opinion is expected next. Meanwhile, the French press filed a separate complaint with the Autorite de la concurrence on August 11, with nearly 300 titles demanding enforcement of Google 2022 binding commitments.
The tension is structural. Google has historically served as a gateway directing users to external sites. Auto-expanding AI Overviews positions Google as the primary provider of information rather than a traffic conduit. For publishers who depend on search-driven traffic, this represents an existential shift in how their content reaches audiences.
No Transparency on Scale
Two things Google has not disclosed: which share of queries trigger auto-expansion, and whether that share will grow. There is no user setting, no public documentation, and no way to measure the change from outside beyond checking individual queries manually. This opacity makes it difficult for publishers to assess the impact or plan mitigation strategies.
The change also deepens concerns about Google market power in search. With competitors like Bing integrating AI features of their own, the question of whether Google is leveraging its dominant search position to promote its own AI-generated content over third-party sources will likely feature in upcoming regulatory proceedings.
For now, the practical effect is simple. Users searching on Google will increasingly see AI answers first and everything else second. Whether that represents a helpful evolution of search or a fundamental threat to the open web depends on which side of the results page you are on.
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