Google Updates Search and Discovery Features with New Expandable Ads and AI Capabilities

Google is rolling out a series of updates across its Search and Discover surfaces, as detailed in multiple announcements. These updates introduce new AI-powered features to key pages, improve navigation, and allow users to collapse ads directly within Google Search.

At first glance, the inclusion of an ad-collapsing feature may seem surprising given that advertising is Google's primary revenue source. However, users can now hide ads appearing at the top of search results by clicking a new “Hide sponsored results” button.

While this action removes the ads from immediate view, sponsored results aren't entirely gone. Google explains that the “Sponsored results” label will still appear at the top of the screen as users scroll down. In a way, this makes the ads more noticeable, as they follow the user while scrolling, even when collapsed.

In addition, Google mentioned that the “Sponsored results” heading may appear both above and below AI Overviews—those brief, AI-generated summaries shown at the top of search results to provide quick answers. Text-based ads labeled as “Sponsored results” will also be grouped together at the bottom of the page. Users who wish to focus solely on organic content can use the same “Hide sponsored results” button to collapse these ads.

According to Google, the new layout makes it easier to navigate back to the top of the page while keeping ad sizes consistent. Users will see no more than four text ads per group.

The updated “Sponsored” label will also appear elsewhere on Google, including in shopping ads, where it will be labeled as “Sponsored products.”

These updates will be available on both desktop and mobile platforms.

Additionally, Google is making other changes to Search and Discover. When searching for sports-related topics—such as players or teams—a new “Trending” button will appear, displaying a feed of recent updates and news articles to keep users informed. This feature will roll out in the U.S. via Google Search over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the mobile version of the Google app's Discover feed will introduce an AI-powered feature designed to help users stay updated on topics they care about. The app will display short previews that can be expanded for more details, along with additional links for further exploration. Google states that this feature aims to help users keep track of stories from various publishers—an effort that comes at a time when publishers are experiencing declining search traffic due to the rise of AI-generated answers and shifting media consumption habits.

This follow-up feature is now available in the U.S., South Korea, and India.