[w33ble]

>> If user were to click “x” in the screenshot above, they will be taken back to Google search results.

> As a user, this is what I want.

That's what the back button is for though.

For me, I consider AMP pages a kind of in-between page. I searched on Google, and Google is showing me the AMP page, and not the real website's page. This is apparent by the URL in the address bar.

I expect that clicking the close button will close the AMP page and take me to the real page. It fits the model better, and it solves the problem of not being able to see the actual URL (to share, bookmark, etc). Instead it does something unexpected, it acts like a back button, something I already know how to use.

That broken interaction makes Google's AMP experience super frustrating to me as a user. The side effect is that I don't use Google's search on my phone anymore. I think it's a big reason people complain about it, and want the opt-out option.

[mikewhy]

That's not what I would expect a close button to do, at all. It seems like you're expecting it to actually work like a forward button?

[mthoms]

Every single site these days has a modal or overlay that obscures/distorts the content.

People have learned that clicking that little X gets rid of the obstruction so they can view the page as it was intended.

You probably dismiss hundreds of these EU cookie notices per week.

[w33ble]

I hadn't realized it, but yes, this is exactly the experience I expect. The AMP page is like a modal I front of the actual site. Or that's how I think of it anyway.

[mthoms]

Search engines have never worked like this (up until now that is). It's just not what the average user expects. It's also a dangerous precedent IMHO.

[kuschku]

Why? It’s exactly what the average user expects. They see a site, with some message on top. Be it a cookie warning, the AMP header, etc.

They click the X or OK on the message, the message disappears, the site stays.

If you can find a website where the cookie warning’s X button redirects to your last Google search, please do so.

[mthoms]

Either you replied to the wrong comment or I wasn't clear in my comment. We are totally in agreement.

[mikewhy]

Right, and I consider it a modal over the search results, not the page that hasn't been displayed yet.

[mthoms]

Yes, but the only reason you think that is because you understand the technical underpinnings (ie. the content is indeed being served by the same domain as the search results).

Regular users have been expecting search results to behave a certain way for over two decades. Opening the results in a modal is simply not the expected behaviour. Changing the back button is not the expected behaviour.