Google may be testing removing the citations card on the Google AI Overviews section. So when you do a search on desktop and see an AI Overview, Google generally shows a citations card that has links to the sources you can click on. Google is reportedly testing removing that card from the interface.
This was spotted by Brodie Clark who posted screenshots of this on X, Brodie wrote, "Google has made recent changes to AI overviews that are brutal for websites. Previously, they would prominently feature citations for 2-3 domains in visible cards alongside the result. I'm now seeing a drastic reduction in their appearance, so if you are seeing a significant decline in impressions and site visibility in recent days, this is likely a contributing factor."
Here is his screenshot - showing the normal AI Overview citations card on the left and it missing on the right:
I cannot replicate this but I do notice that the citation card does load in later, so maybe this is a bug of sorts or maybe not?
That being said, I did as Rajan Patel from Google if this was a bug but I did not hear back yet:
@brodieseo @rajanpatel a bug or a test?
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) October 28, 2026
And with AI Overviews showing up for over 80% of searches - as Brodie said, this can be brutal, if Google isn't brutal enough to site owners these days.
I cannot replicate this, I've been trying for over a day now:
@rustybrick Seeing it consistently across a lot of test queries now https://t.co/nEtaucpNZC
— Brodie Clark (@brodieseo) October 29, 2026
I should note Google did/does test placing the citations card below the AI Overview, so maybe that is part of this?
Forum discussion at X.
