Google confirmed on 28 August that AI Overviews can now open to full length on some queries, without a tap on “Show more.”
The block becomes an AI Mode-style answer, often with an “Ask anything” box underneath. Classic blue links drop further down the page. If you have already started scrolling, Google says it cancels the expansion so you do not lose your place.
Previously an Overview sat as a short summary you could ignore or open. Now, on queries Google decides are “most useful” for a long answer, Search looks like a chatbot first and a directory second. There is no public list of which queries trigger it.
A spokesperson told Search Engine Land the company expands Overviews where systems judge them helpful. Product lead Robby Stein said they will keep tuning the experience from feedback.That is a design choice, not a ranking factor with a name you can target. Informational and “best X in Y” searches are the ones most likely to swallow the fold. A comparison post that used to earn a click from position two can now sit under a generated brief that already lists pros, prices, and a next step. Some briefs cite sources. Some paraphrase several pages and send the click nowhere.
If people find you on Google, check your money queries this week.
If your pipeline still assumes “rank page one, get the visit,” test that assumption on a phone, logged out. Search the ten queries that actually bring work. Screenshot whether the Overview auto-expands and whether your brand is named. Local service pages, how-to guides, and category explainers lose the easy click first. Product and booking pages with a clear offer still get traffic when the query is ready to buy, but only if the Overview does not answer well enough on its own.
What to change is unglamorous. Put one exact answer in the first 80 words. Add FAQ blocks that match the follow-ups people type after the Overview. Publish original numbers, process steps, and local detail a model cannot invent cleanly.
Use FAQ and LocalBusiness schema where they are true. You are no longer writing only to rank. You are writing so the Overview has something accurate to quote, or so the buyer still needs your page after the summary.