Google Discover Tests 'Dive Deeper' Topic Overviews—What Publishers Need to Know

Google is testing a "Dive deeper" feature in Discover that opens brief topic overviews with links to related stories, community reactions, and original reporting, Google VP of Product Robby Stein announced on X on September 19. The experiment starts with videos; multiple designs will follow in coming weeks.

For AEO Soup readers focused on answer engines and discovery surfaces, Discover is increasingly an AI-mediated feed—not just a headline carousel.

What users will see

Tapping "Dive deeper" surfaces a short topic overview plus prominent links. Stein framed it as easier exploration of subjects users touch in Discover—extending Google's October 2025 AI previews on trending Discover topics in the U.S., South Korea, and India.

Those previews already expanded with more information and web links. Dive deeper pushes further toward mini-answer-engine experiences inside the feed.

Measurement implications

Search Console's generative AI performance report—rolled out worldwide August 31—tracks impressions from generative AI features in Discover, grouped by page, country, and date. Impressions are the primary metric described; clicks and queries remain limited compared to traditional Search reporting.

Stein's experiment may increase impression opportunities for cited publishers—or concentrate attention on overview boxes with fewer outbound clicks. Early Discover AI previews produced mixed publisher results by vertical.

AEO strategy adjustments

Entity clarity. Topic overviews favor sources Google trusts to define a subject completely.

Multimedia first. Video-first testing suggests strong motion assets improve inclusion odds.

Original reporting signals. Stein explicitly mentions "original reporting" in overview links—generic aggregation may lose.

Structured freshness. Breaking topics with clear updates beat stale evergreen mistaken for current.

Opt-out awareness. Search Console's generative AI opt-out removes eligibility for AI Overviews, AI Mode, and related features—including Discover generative placements. Use deliberately, not reactively.

Relation to AI Overviews expansion

Separately, Google confirmed some AI Overviews auto-expand into AI Mode-style answers, pushing organic links down. Discover Dive deeper is parallel product evolution: Google testing how much answer stays inside Google versus how much flows to the open web.

Publishers optimizing for LLM visibility must track both Search and Discover generative surfaces—treating them as one visibility funnel with different UX skins.

AEO Soup takeaway

September 19's Discover test is small in user percentage but large in direction: feeds become conversational topic hubs. Optimize for being the cited depth, not only the clicked headline—and monitor Search Console generative reports weekly, not monthly.