Deceptive overlays, fake buttons, forced actions and intrusive interstitials manipulate users and fall foul of page-experience and spam guidance. The interface should be honest. Deceptive overlays/UX. Harms experience; deceptive-practice risk. Remove deceptive patterns. Medium-high. Direct.
Why does manipulative interstitials/deceptive ux matter for AI search?
Harms experience; deceptive-practice risk.
How do you fix it?
Remove deceptive patterns.
How do you find it on your site?
- Load the page as a new user and note any deceptive or forced UX.
- Flag fake controls, misleading prompts and intrusive interstitials.
- Remove the manipulative patterns.
- Re-test the experience, especially on mobile.
Which ranking and citation factors does it touch?
Deceptive UX harms users and can trigger action or page-experience penalties. An honest interface protects trust and ranking.
What is the impact?
Medium-high. Direct.
What is the evidence?
Deceptive UX/intrusive interstitials harm experience. Google Search Central, Understanding page experience in Google Search results; Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search
Sources
Frequently asked questions about manipulative interstitials/deceptive ux
What does "Manipulative interstitials/deceptive UX" mean?
Deceptive overlays/UX.
How do you fix manipulative interstitials/deceptive UX?
Remove deceptive patterns.