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 said in an email.

On Friday, Google clarified that the tests that removed the News filter for some users were finished. “The News filter is available to users now and we do not have plans to remove it,” a Google spokesperson confirmed.

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

This article was updated Friday, Feb. 23 with additional information from Google.