Sponsored Places tested as vertical business cards that expand on hover

Google is testing a redesigned Sponsored Places unit in Search that lays local businesses out as vertical cards and expands a listing with extra detail when the user hovers over it. The earlier February 2026 test of this unit used a horizontal card layout.

• Spotted by Khushal Bherwani, who posted screenshots on X on September 15, 2026; Barry Schwartz and PPC News Feed covered it.
• Two changes in one: the vertical card layout, and hover-triggered expansion with an overlay showing more business detail.
• Google has tested hover-expanding ads before with Shopping and image ads; this is the first sighting on the Sponsored Places local unit.