Google tests removing the News tab from search results

News publishers are worried — with good reason — about changes coming to Google Search. 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, starting with “is this going to be a traffic-destroying nightmare?”

The News filter disappearing from Google search results for some users this week won’t help publishers sleep any easier.

help @google where is my “news” tab pic.twitter.com/6ouIaWhwKP

— Sarah Scire (@SarahScire) February 21, 2024

Google confirmed some users were not seeing the News filter as part of ongoing testing. “We’re testing different ways to show filters on Search and as a result, a small subset of users were temporarily unable to access some of them,” a Google spokesperson confirmed via email.

I use the News tab frequently — several times a day, every day — and I noticed its disappearance on Wednesday. The featured filters — Images, Videos, Maps, Flights, Shopping, Perspectives, etc. — change and reorder depending on the search term, but this was different. I wasn’t seeing the News tab as an option for search after search, even if I went looking in the “All filters” drop-down menu. I tried with “Julian Assange,” “public subsidies for sports stadiums,” and “Reckon layoffs.” None showed the News filter as an option.

The next day, on a different computer, my News filter was (blessedly) back. But a few other users confirmed I was not alone.

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.

— Tom Gara (@tomgara) February 22, 2024

Yes, same issue here pic.twitter.com/AAXwl5qPK1

— Susan Beachy (@susancb) February 22, 2024

I've been in the "no News tab" Google test group and I do NOT like https://t.co/Z7yLyb1LV1

— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) February 22, 2024