Google confirms AI Overviews now auto-expand on some queries

Google confirmed on 28 August 2026 that AI Overviews can now automatically expand into a full, detailed answer on some queries, rather than staying in the compact form behind a Show more control. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land: “For some queries, AI Overviews may dynamically expand for topics where our systems determine it’s most useful for people.” The expanded layout drops the Show more control entirely and resembles the presentation of AI Mode inside standard Search results.

What does the expanded AI Overview look like?#

Instead of a short summary capped by a Show more link, qualifying queries now return the complete detailed answer immediately, pushing the standard organic results further down the page. Google said the change is meant to help people who want depth without an extra click: “Our research has shown that with this dynamic experience, users find Search more helpful and engage deeper in follow-up exploration.”

When does the expansion cancel?#

Google said the automatic expansion can be reversed mid-scroll. If a person has already started scrolling down toward the results below the overview, the system treats that as a signal the person wants standard results and cancels the expansion rather than forcing the longer answer on them. That framing suggests Google is weighing answer completeness against a user’s evident intent to reach the rest of the page, on a per-session basis rather than a fixed per-query rule.

What has Google not said?#

Google has not disclosed which query categories get the expanded treatment, how frequently it happens, or what ranking signals decide it. Search Engine Land reported the confirmation on 28 August 2026; 9to5Google independently observed the larger AI Overviews layout in its own coverage days later, but neither the trigger logic nor a rollout percentage has been published.

Why we care#

A dynamically expanding AI Overview pushes organic results further down the page on an unknown subset of queries, without any stated way to detect which queries are affected before they change under you. Until Google publishes more, the only defensible position is what is confirmed: the Show more control can disappear, the expansion can cancel on scroll, and the selection logic is undisclosed.