On October 29, 2026, Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google is testing query refinement bubbles at the top of AI Overviews in Search. The bubbles show related queries you can click to dig deeper. But here is the twist: clicking a bubble does not refine your search results. It takes you into AI Mode with that bubble’s text as the prompt.
This was spotted by Gagan Ghotra, who posted a screenshot on X. The bubbles appear for some languages, not all users, and they sit at the top of the AI Overview answer. If you click one, you leave the regular search results page and enter AI Mode, where the bubble text becomes a new prompt for a fresh AI conversation.
For businesses watching how search traffic behaves, this matters because it changes the path users take from a search to your website. Let me explain what it means and what to do about it.
What Query Refinement Bubbles Do
Query refinement is not new. Google has offered related searches at the bottom of search results for years. You type a query, scroll to the bottom, and see a list of related queries you can click to start a new search. What is new here is the placement and the destination.
The bubbles sit at the top of the AI Overview, not at the bottom of the page. They are visible before the user scrolls, which means they get attention earlier in the search experience. And instead of triggering a new regular search, they trigger an AI Mode conversation. That is a meaningful difference because AI Mode generates a new AI answer rather than showing a list of links.
Think about what this means for your business. A user searches for SEO services Chandigarh. They see an AI Overview. At the top, they see a bubble that says best SEO agency in Chandigarh or how much do SEO services cost. They click the bubble. Now they are in AI Mode, reading a new AI answer that may or may not mention your business. If your business is not cited in that AI Mode answer, you lose the click you might have gotten from the original search results page.
How This Connects to Google’s Broader AI Search Push
The refinement bubbles are part of a larger set of changes Google announced on October 15, 2026. In a blog post titled More ways to connect with the web from Search, Hema Budaraju, VP of Product Management, outlined four updates to AI Mode and AI Overviews.
First, more inline links. Google has substantially increased the number of inline links in AI responses and is showing them higher up in the answer. Second, a dedicated section for official websites at the top of AI responses, with context about why each link is useful. Third, prominent carousels for timely articles, expanded to more locations and languages. Fourth, more engaging related article links at the end of AI responses, with image thumbnails.
Google also said the number of people using its Preferred Sources feature has grown by more than 7x since the start of the year. That means users are actively choosing which sources they trust for AI answers. If your business is not on their list, you are invisible in their AI results.
The refinement bubbles fit into this pattern. Google is building more entry points into AI Mode from regular search. Every bubble is a door from search results into an AI conversation. The question for your business is whether you appear on the other side of that door. Our AEO and GEO services are built for exactly this: making sure your business gets cited when AI answers the question.
What This Means for Your Search Traffic
There are two ways to think about the refinement bubbles. The optimistic view is that they keep users in Google longer, which means more opportunities for your business to appear in AI answers. The pessimistic view is that they move users away from organic search results and into AI Mode, where fewer businesses are cited and the AI answer itself satisfies the query without a click.
The data we have so far suggests the pessimistic view is closer to reality. On October 30, Search Engine Roundtable reported a 0.9 percent click-through rate for AI Overviews and AI Mode. That means out of every 100 users who see an AI Overview, fewer than 1 click through to a source. If refinement bubbles move more users into AI Mode, the click-through rate for the original search results page drops further.
But this does not mean search traffic is dead. It means the traffic goes to the businesses that are cited inside the AI answers. If your business is one of the sources the AI mentions, you get the click. If it is not, you do not. The refinement bubbles make this more important, not less, because they create more AI Mode sessions from every regular search.
How to Prepare Your Business
Three things matter right now. First, make sure your business is citable in AI answers. Write content that directly answers the questions your customers ask, with answers in the first sentence under a clear heading. Include your business name, location, and contact details in the text the AI can extract. If the AI cannot find a clear answer from your site, it will cite someone else.
Second, think about the related queries your customers might see in refinement bubbles. If someone searches for your service, what follow-up questions would they click? Write content that answers those follow-up questions too. Each follow-up is a potential AI Mode session where your business needs to appear. The more of these you cover, the more likely you get cited when a user clicks a refinement bubble.
Third, track which queries show AI Overviews for your business and which related queries appear as refinement bubbles. Search for your own services and see what Google shows. If refinement bubbles are visible, note the queries they suggest. Those are the queries you need to win in AI Mode. Our SEO services include AI visibility tracking so you know exactly where you stand.
The Bigger Picture for Chandigarh Businesses
For local businesses in Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula, the refinement bubbles are a early signal of where search is heading. Google is building a search experience where users move between regular search and AI Mode fluidly, with the AI answering more questions and linking to fewer websites. The businesses that adapt now will be the ones the AI cites. The ones that wait will see their search traffic shrink as more users click into AI Mode.
The good news is that the adaptation is not complicated. Write clear answers to the questions your customers ask. Make sure your business name and location are in the text. Cover the follow-up questions, not just the main query. These are the same things that help with traditional SEO, applied to AI answers. The difference is that AI answers only cite a few sources, so being one of them matters more than being in the top 10 organic results.
If you want help making your business visible in AI Overviews and AI Mode, get in touch or book a meeting. We work with businesses across Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, and the rest of India.