Google Brings Generative UI to AI Overviews
Google has begun rolling out generative UI inside AI Overviews, moving a capability that until now only appeared in AI Mode into the larger of its two AI search surfaces. The feature builds custom visual layouts on the fly, and when Google's model decides it would help, an interactive tool or simulation as well.
A search for "ph scale" can return an interactive visual directly in an AI Overview, and a follow-up question can produce a more specific version, such as plotting citrus fruits on the same scale. Google has also shown the feature handling practical tasks, including a mortgage calculator in AI Mode that lets users compare loan terms.
The company said generative UI has launched globally in English in AI Mode and has started rolling out in AI Overviews, with full availability there expected in the coming weeks. It has not said which types of queries will trigger the feature as the rollout expands.
Google framed the announcement around back-to-school studying and is adding practice quizzes to both surfaces, Lens coaching that starts in an AI Overview and continues in AI Mode, and study notebooks in AI Mode. Generative UI first appeared in AI Mode in November 2025 alongside Gemini 3, and Google said at I/O 2026 that it would reach everyone in Search free of charge.
For brands, the change puts AI-generated calculators, converters and comparison tools directly in front of users on the surface with the most traffic. Sites built around those tools face more direct overlap with the answer itself, which raises the stakes for being the source an AI Overview cites when it builds one.
Reported by Search Engine Journal ↗
Topics: AI Overviews, AI Mode, Google Search