Google Search Tests AI Overviews with Long Answers Expanded by Default

On August 28, Google Search began testing a new feature that expands AI Overviews by default into a response interface closer to “AI Mode.” For certain queries, the system now directly loads longer AI-generated answers and simultaneously displays a “Ask away” follow-up prompt—no longer showing only brief summaries that require users to click “Expand” to view the full content. This change pushes traditional organic search results, with their familiar “blue links,” further down the page. A Google spokesperson stated that AI Overviews will dynamically expand for topics the system determines are “most useful.” Internal research shows this experience makes users perceive search as “more helpful” and encourages deeper follow-up exploration. Robby Stein, Google’s Head of AI Products, noted that if a user has already started scrolling down the page, the system will halt automatic expansion to preserve their current reading position. The new interface remains in active testing and refinement.