If your business shows up in Google’s AI Overviews, the short description next to your link may no longer be text from your page. Google is now testing AI-written summaries inside the citation cards that appear beside AI-generated answers, which means the last piece of your own words a searcher sees before clicking could be written by a machine.
SEO consultant Brodie Clark spotted the change on October 23, 2026, and Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable confirmed it on his own test queries the same day. Google has not announced anything. The test is live for some searches right now.
Here is what changed, why it matters for your business, and what you should do about it.
What Are AI Overviews Citation Cards?
Citation cards are the small blocks that sit beside or below Google’s AI-generated answers. Each card shows a source page’s headline, favicon, and a short description. Until now, that description was pulled directly from the page itself, the same way Google builds snippets for regular blue links.
That meant you had some control. Your meta description, your opening paragraph, your heading text, all of it fed into what searchers saw on the card. If you wrote a clear, compelling description, that was usually what showed up.
The new test changes that. The description is now written by Google’s AI to summarise what it considers most relevant about your page for the specific query. As Clark noted, the text does not appear exactly like this on the page. It is being generated based on what Google thinks the searcher wants to know.
Why This Matters More Than a Regular Snippet Change
Google has rewritten snippets before. The difference here is layering. Your page is already being summarised in the AI Overview answer at the top of the page. Now the citation card, which was your direct line of text to the searcher, is also an AI summary of your page. You are getting summarised twice, and neither summary uses your exact words.
For a business owner in Chandigarh or Mohali, this hits in a specific way. Say someone searches “best digital marketing agency in Chandigarh” and your site is cited in the AI Overview. The answer block gives a composite view of several pages. Your citation card used to show your own description, which you could craft to highlight your USP. Now it shows Google’s compression of your page, tuned to the query.
That could work in your favour if Google picks exactly the right detail. It could also flatten a carefully written value proposition into a generic line.
Is This a Full Rollout or Just a Test?
It is a test. Schwartz noted that some of his queries still showed the old page-text descriptions, while others showed the new AI summaries. That mix is the classic signature of a Google experiment or gradual rollout.
Google has a long history of testing citation card formats. Recent months saw tests of a source preferences button inside AI Mode citations and experiments with stacking cards at the bottom of desktop answers instead of the right rail. Some tests ship, some disappear. There is no official guidance yet on whether publishers can influence these AI-written descriptions.
But the fact that two independent observers can reproduce it on live queries means it is real user-facing behaviour for at least some searchers today. If you care about how your business appears in AI search, you need to start monitoring this now, not when it becomes official.
What Should Local Businesses Do Right Now?
First, check whether your pages already appear in AI Overviews for your key queries. Search for your services plus your city, and look for the AI-generated answer block at the top. If you see citation cards, look at the descriptions. Are they your words, or are they rewritten?
Second, make sure your pages are structured clearly. Google’s AI will pick what it thinks is most relevant to the query. If your page leads with a clear, specific answer to the question your customers ask, the AI is more likely to summarise that answer accurately. Vague, keyword-stuffed intros give the AI less to work with.
Third, track this over time. The citation card is the last thing a searcher reads before deciding whether to click. If the AI summary is inaccurate or generic, your click-through rate from AI Overviews could drop even though you are still cited. That is a new kind of SEO problem, and the old tools do not measure it well.
If you want help auditing how your business appears in AI Overviews and other AI search engines, our AEO and GEO services cover exactly this. We check what ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI say about your business, and fix the gaps. You can also learn more about our SEO services for broader organic growth.
For a deeper dive into how AI Overviews work and what Google has changed, the official Google Search blog post from October 15 is worth reading. It explains the inline links and carousel updates that preceded this citation card test.
The Bigger Picture: Google Is Rewriting the Bridge to Your Website
On October 15, 2026, Google announced updates to AI Mode and AI Overviews that put inline links higher in answers and expanded Preferred Sources carousels. The stated goal was sending more traffic back to websites. This citation card test shows the other side of that effort: Google is also reworking how your page is presented when it does send traffic.
More links, but less of your own text. That is the trade-off taking shape. For businesses that rely on search traffic, the playbook is shifting from “rank well and write good snippets” to “get cited and monitor what the AI says about you.”
Semrush analysis puts AI Overviews presence at 88% of commercial keywords. If your customers are searching for your services, they are likely seeing AI-generated answers. The question is whether those answers send them to you, and what they see when they look at your link.
Want a clear picture of how your business shows up in AI search? Talk to us. We help businesses in Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and across India get found in AI answers, not just blue links.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are AI Overviews citation cards?
Citation cards are the small blocks beside or below Google’s AI-generated search answers that show source page links, each with a headline and short description. They give searchers a way to click through to the original source.
Is Google replacing snippets with AI summaries in citation cards?
Google is testing AI-written descriptions inside citation cards instead of text pulled directly from source pages. It is currently a test, not a confirmed rollout, but it is visible on live queries as of October 2026.
Can I control what Google’s AI writes in my citation card?
There is no official guidance yet on influencing AI-written citation descriptions. The best approach is to write clear, specific page content that directly answers the queries you want to rank for, so the AI has good material to summarise.
Does this affect my regular search rankings?
No. Citation card descriptions are about how your page is presented in AI Overviews, not where it ranks in traditional search results. But if the AI summary is less compelling than your own text, it could reduce clicks from AI Overviews.
How do I check if my business is affected?
Search for your services plus your location on Google and look for AI Overviews. If your site is cited, check whether the description on the citation card matches your page text or appears to be rewritten. Track this across several queries over time.