Google says there are no plans to remove the News tab on search results pages, after testing temporarily removing the filter for “a small subset of users”
but the deck is often stacked against them. Threads: Sheila Dang / @sheiladangit : I don't understand how removing the News tab is helpful to anyone https://www.niemanlab.org/... Kali Hays / @kalihays1 : Def not readers imo. But it will keep people on googles page much longer when it starts doing genai summaries of news as the default search result. 🥴. Mastodon: Stefan Bohacek / @stefan@stefanbohacek.online : “AI-generated content replacing links on some of the most valuable space on the internet, in particular, has left media types with a lot of questions [...] — The News filter disappearing from Google search results for some users this week won't help publishers sleep any easier. https://www.niemanlab.org/... … @mhoye@mastodon.social : My heart goes out to anyone who bought into the AMP scam. — https://www.niemanlab.org/... AuliaSays / @aulia.me@aulia.me : With Australia, Canada, and Indonesia passing laws or regulations requiring platforms to pay for news links and the US having introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act last year, removing the News tab looks like Google's response to avoid having to pay link tax to media companies. … Bruno J. Navarro / @bruno_j_navarro@mastodon.social : Google tests removing the News tab from search results — The News filter disappearing from Google search results for some users this week won't help publishers sleep any easier. — https://www.niemanlab.org/... X: Thomas da Silva Rosa / @tdasilvarosa : Came to https://x.com/ to whether I was the only one unable to find the Google ‘News’ tab. Extremely aggravating. @google is on a roll today. Brandon Wall / @walldo : I've been in the “no News tab” Google test group and I do NOT like https://www.niemanlab.org/... Susan Beachy / @susancb : @tomgara Gone for me, too (but not for my colleagues who sit nearby and think I've lost my mind) Chris Hosford / @chosford1 : @laurahazardowen ... This is bad Lia Haberman / @liahaberman : It wasn't just me. Google is testing search results that don't include the “news” filter Google tests removing the News tab from search results https://www.niemanlab.org/... Tom Gara / @tomgara : Anyone else seeing the News tab completely gone from Google search results? Maybe I'm part of a test group or something but have heard from a few others that they're also no longer seeing it anywhere. Giovanni / @giovanni_bouden : @tomgara I've noticed that after logging out, the news tab reappears. Deleting browser cookies hasn't resolved the issue. It seems that this change is associated with the Google profile used for signing in. I tested with another @Google account, and it appears again after logging in. Laura Hazard Owen / @laurahazardowen : the google news tab keeps disappearing bc google is testing disappearing it, @SarahScire confirms https://www.niemanlab.org/... Forums: Msmash / Slashdot : Google Tests Removing the News Tab From Search Results See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Google’s test came shortly after it removed the cache link from result snippets, another change that reduced a familiar way for users to inspect search results. For publishers, the News filter is a distinct discovery route rather than merely another ranking position.
The issue sits within a widening debate over publisher visibility as Google experiments with new search presentation. Later coverage of publisher planning around AI Overviews shows why even limited tests of news-specific navigation draw close scrutiny.
First-order effects
- Google will retain the News tab for now, avoiding an immediate loss of a dedicated news-results entry point for search users and publishers.
- The small-subset test nevertheless establishes that Google is willing to evaluate whether news discovery can be handled without that filter.
Second-order effects
- Publishers and SEO teams have another reason to measure traffic by search surface, since visibility in general results may not substitute for traffic arriving through a news-specific filter.
- Any future reduction in prominent news navigation would increase publishers’ dependence on Google’s ranking and result-layout decisions, including AI-led presentation changes.
Third-order effects
- The episode points to search becoming less a fixed list of links and more a configurable interface in which Google can test which discovery paths remain visible.
- If these interface experiments persist alongside AI-generated result formats, publisher leverage will increasingly depend on controls and measurement for how their content is surfaced, rather than on traditional organic placement alone.
The trend: News discovery is shifting from stable, publisher-facing search features toward Google-controlled, AI-shaped result interfaces that can be tested and reconfigured.