Google is no longer merely testing compact AI summaries: the company is rolling out an update in which AI Overviews expand fully right away for a growing number of search queries. The familiar ‘Show more’ button is disappearing, and AI Mode’s interactive ‘Ask anything’ input box is loaded immediately. Google has officially confirmed this change.
Why this has an immediate impact on your visibility
Until now, searchers were shown a shortened AI summary. Anyone wanting to read more had to deliberately click to reveal the full AI text and source references. In the new display, the AI answer immediately takes up the entire first screen on both mobile and desktop.
The implications for marketers and business owners are clear:
- Reduced visibility for traditional SEO: The classic ‘ten blue links’ are pushed even further down, often well below the fold.
- Direct gateway to AI Mode: By leaving the ‘Ask anything’ box open by default, Google directly prompts users to engage in a follow-up conversation. Searchers remain within the AI environment rather than clicking through to websites.
- Citations become crucial: If your page isn’t cited as a direct source within the expanded AI Overview, you become virtually invisible for these search queries.
According to Google, this dynamic expansion happens based on user intent: the AI determines when a detailed answer best serves the searcher. If a user starts scrolling, the automatic expansion halts so as not to disrupt their reading position.
What does this mean for you?
The shift from traditional search results to interactive AI answers is accelerating. To remain visible on Google, it is essential to adapt your content strategy:
- Focus on source quality: Ensure your content provides clear, factual answers to specific questions. Google AI Mode prefers citing clear definitions, up-to-date statistics, and well-structured information.
- Optimise for follow-up questions: Because users can ask follow-up questions right away, your content needs to address the entire customer journey, rather than just a single search term.
- Monitor your AI presence: Keep testing how your brand and pages appear within AI Overviews and AI Mode. Citations within the answer are the new ‘position 1’.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
