Google appears to be testing a new placement for AI Overviews in hotel-related search results.
Instead of showing the AI Overview near the top of the search results page, Google is experimenting with displaying it lower on the page, alongside or underneath the hotel knowledge panel. Anything Google sums up there comes from what guests wrote, so hotels still want a steady flow of reviews. These review examples for hotels cover the ask.
The test was spotted in September 2026 and could signal another change in how Google integrates AI-generated answers into local and hotel search experiences.
For businesses in the hotel and travel industry, this is an interesting development because the location of AI-generated information could influence how users interact with hotel listings, websites, reviews, booking information, and other search features.
Google Is Testing a New AI Overview Placement
Normally, AI Overviews appear prominently near the top of Google Search results.
For hotel-related queries, users may see an AI-generated summary before scrolling through many of the traditional organic search results.
Here is an example of the more familiar placement:
However, Google is now testing another layout.
In this version, the AI Overview appears toward the bottom-right area of the desktop search page, underneath the hotel knowledge panel.
This means users searching for a specific hotel could first see information such as photos, ratings, location details, pricing, and other hotel information before reaching the AI Overview.
The test was spotted by Lluc Penycate, who shared screenshots on X.
The screenshots reportedly show the AI Overview appearing below the hotel listing rather than occupying the usual position near the top of the search results.
Here are the screenshots showing the test:
Why This Placement Matters?
Moving an AI Overview lower on the search results page may seem like a small design change, but its position can affect user behavior.
When an AI Overview appears at the top of the page, it can become one of the first things users see. It may answer a question immediately and potentially reduce the need to visit other search results.
However, placing it below a hotel knowledge panel changes the experience.
Users may interact with traditional hotel information first, including:
- Hotel photos
- Reviews and ratings
- Booking options
- Maps and directions
- Hotel amenities
- Website links
- Pricing information
- Other knowledge panel details
The AI-generated summary would then act as an additional source of information instead of being the main feature at the beginning of the search journey.
For hotels and travel businesses, this could be important because prominent knowledge panel information may continue receiving user attention before Google’s AI-generated response.
Google Continues Experimenting With AI in Local Search
This hotel test does not appear to be happening in isolation.
Google has also been experimenting with AI Overviews inside local search experiences and knowledge panels.
Recently, changes involving AI Overviews in local panels were also spotted.
Those tests suggest Google may be looking for different ways to combine traditional local business information with AI-generated answers.
In some cases, the AI experience could appear directly around local knowledge panel information rather than always appearing as a separate section at the top of Search.
Google has been testing several AI Overview formats and placements throughout Search, so this hotel experiment may be another part of that broader effort.
What Could This Mean for Hotel SEO?
It is still too early to know how widely Google will roll out this design or whether it will become permanent.
However, hotel marketers and SEO professionals should pay attention to these experiments.
If Google places AI Overviews further down the page for hotel searches, traditional hotel search features could remain highly visible.
That makes areas such as Google Business Profile optimization, hotel information accuracy, reviews, images, local SEO, and website optimization important.
Hotels should continue focusing on:
- Keeping business information accurate
- Maintaining correct hotel contact information
- Uploading useful and high-quality photos
- Monitoring and responding to customer reviews
- Keeping amenities and property information updated
- Optimizing important hotel landing pages
- Maintaining consistent information across online platforms
- Tracking changes in Google Search and Maps visibility
At the same time, businesses should also pay attention to how their information is represented in AI-generated search experiences.
As Google’s search interface changes, information from websites, business listings, reviews, and other online sources may all contribute to how a hotel is presented to potential guests.
AI Overviews May Become More Connected With Local Panels
The biggest takeaway from this test is not simply that Google moved an AI Overview.
Instead, it shows how Google may be experimenting with the relationship between AI answers and traditional local search features.
Hotel searches are already highly visual and information-rich. Users can often see prices, ratings, photos, maps, reviews, booking links, and other details directly inside Google.
Adding AI Overviews to the same environment gives Google another way to summarize information for users.
However, the placement of that summary matters.
Keeping AI-generated information lower on the page may allow users to explore the actual hotel listing first before seeing a broader AI-generated explanation.
For businesses, that could mean the hotel knowledge panel and other local search elements continue to play an important role even as Google expands AI features.
Is This Available to Everyone?
At the moment, this appears to be a test rather than a confirmed global rollout.
Google regularly tests different search layouts with limited groups of users before deciding whether a feature should be expanded.
Therefore, some users may continue seeing AI Overviews at the top of hotel searches, while others may see the experimental side-panel or lower-page placement.
Google could also change or remove the test completely.
For now, businesses and SEO professionals should treat it as another search experiment worth monitoring rather than a permanent change.
The original discussion about the test can be found on X.
Final Thoughts
Google is continuing to experiment with where AI Overviews appear in Search.
In this latest hotel search test, the AI Overview is being shown underneath or alongside the hotel knowledge panel rather than occupying its usual prominent position near the top of the results page.
If Google continues with this type of layout, hotel knowledge panels, local business information, reviews, photos, booking options, and traditional search elements could remain highly visible before users reach the AI-generated summary.
However, this is still a test, so the design could change again.
For hotel marketers, local SEO professionals, and multi-location businesses, the safest approach is to continue monitoring how Google blends AI-generated content with local search features while keeping business information accurate and optimized across Search and Maps.
