Google forces AI summaries to the top of search results
Searchers are finding the traditional list of links pushed further down the page as Google begins automatically expanding its AI Overviews. The shift replaces the familiar "Show more" button with a full, unprompted summary, forcing users to scroll past a block of machine-generated text to reach standard web results.
The criteria for these expansions remain opaque. While early testing showed frequent auto-expansions, the behavior remains inconsistent across different queries and browsers. Google spokesperson Jennifer Kutz stated that the company is dynamically expanding these summaries for topics where their systems determine the additional information provides higher utility.
According to the company, research suggests this approach encourages deeper engagement with follow-up exploration. To mitigate navigation friction, Google claims the system is designed to cancel an expansion if a user has already begun scrolling toward the organic search results, ensuring the reader does not lose their place on the page.
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