Google is testing an AI summary inside its news feed
A new button in Google's phone feed sends readers to a summary page first, and it starts with videos.
Google is testing a "Dive deeper" button inside Discover, the feed of articles and videos that shows up on phones. Tapping it opens a short AI written overview of the topic rather than taking the reader straight to the site that published the story.
Gagan Ghotra flagged the news on Friday evening, quoting Google's Robby Stein announcing it as an official experiment. Barry Schwartz reported the test minutes later, describing it as a feature "that takes you to an AI-generated overview instead of directly to the publisher's site".
What the button actually does
According to the announcement Ghotra quoted, the overview comes with prominent links to related stories, community reactions and original reporting. So the links are still there, they just sit one tap further away than they used to.
Google says it will test the experience on videos to start, and will try multiple designs in the weeks ahead as it works out what performs best. Nothing has rolled out to everyone.
Why people are watching it
Discover sends a lot of traffic to publishers, and that traffic arrives without anyone searching for anything. A summary page that sits between the feed and your site could take a share of those taps.
Glenn Gabe called it a big heads up for anyone whose business depends on Discover, and said he hopes it never rolls out fully. That is one SEO's opinion, not a forecast. Nobody outside Google knows how far the test will go or what it will do to clicks, and Google has not published any numbers.
What to do
If Discover is not a traffic source for you, do nothing. This is a test on videos in a feed, and it may never reach your kind of content.
If you do get traffic from Discover, find out how much. Open Google Search Console, look for the Discover report in the left menu, and note your clicks over the last three months. That gives you a baseline, so if the number moves later this year you will know whether the change hit you or whether something else did.
This fits a pattern we have been tracking. Google keeps adding AI summaries in front of links, from AI answers in the box about your business to the question boxes in search results. The practical response has not changed. Publish pages that answer a real question well enough that a summary is not a substitute, and keep an eye on where your visits actually come from.
By tapping “Dive deeper,” you’ll see a short topic overview with prominent links to related stories, community reactions & original reporting.
If Discover is important for your business, a big heads up. I hope this never rolls out fully.