Google is testing a third layout variation of AI Overviews on desktop, moving citation cards from the right sidebar to a stacked panel at the bottom of the response. SEO analyst Glenn Gabe posted screenshots of the test on X on September 28, 2026, the latest in a series of experiments that began with a September 2025 test and a follow-up in March 2026.

What changed in the desktop layout?

In the current test, the right-side citation bar disappears entirely. Inline links inside the AI response remain hoverable as before. A separate citation block sits below the answer and expands through a "show all" control.

Gabe described the experience on X: "I'm in an AIO test where the citations are stacked at the bottom of the answer on desktop. The right side citation bar is gone."

He added that links inside the answer behave normally on hover, but the links in the new bottom area "look much more enticing down there."

How it compares to earlier tests

The September 2026 test is the third documented attempt to relocate citations:

• September 2025: First recorded test moving citations away from the right rail
• March 2026: A second iteration of the same concept
• September 2026: Current version spotted by Gabe, with refined stacking and a "show all" expansion

Gabe called the September 2026 build "a nicer variation of the earlier tests."

What stays the same

Inline links inside the AI Overview text remain functional on hover. The shift affects only the surface-level citation cards that Google appends at the end of each response on desktop searches.

What we don't yet know

Google has not confirmed the test, set a rollout date, or signaled whether citations will replace the right rail permanently. Several open questions remain:

• Will the right-side citations disappear for all desktop queries if Google ships the change?
• How will mobile AI Overviews change, given the constrained width?
• Will publishers see different click-through behavior when citations sit below the answer rather than beside it?

Why SEOs are paying attention

Citation placement affects both visibility and click behavior. Links positioned closer to the eye-line tend to receive more attention than those pushed below long AI-generated answers. Gabe's comment that the bottom links look "much more enticing" hints at the visual hierarchy Google may be tuning.

Publishers tracked by SEO tool suites have reported fluctuating citation appearance rates throughout 2025 and 2026 as Google iterated. Any sustained move from the right rail to the bottom would reset the heuristics that monitoring tools use to detect AI Overview citations.

What to monitor next

Watch Gabe's X feed and the Search Engine Roundtable forums for expanded screenshots, additional test variations, or word of a wider rollout. Tracking tools that record AI Overview citation counts should flag any sample-size shifts, since a layout change can temporarily inflate or depress cited-domain tallies depending on whether the bottom panel counts as a single citation event or as discrete link exposures.

If Google ships the bottom-of-page variant broadly, expect a short-term scramble among SEOs recalibrating rank-tracking dashboards and citation-share reports that depend on right-rail detection.