diff --git a/packages/injected/src/ariaSnapshot.ts b/packages/injected/src/ariaSnapshot.ts
index c1f2ab4bdc411..c1f4dc436c426 100644
--- a/packages/injected/src/ariaSnapshot.ts
+++ b/packages/injected/src/ariaSnapshot.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,14 @@ type AriaRef = {
 
 let lastRef = 0;
 
+function isVisible(element: Element, options?: { forAI?: boolean }): boolean {
+  if (!roleUtils.isElementHiddenForAria(element))
+    return true;
+  if (options?.forAI && isElementVisible(element))
+    return true;
+  return false;
+}
+
 export function generateAriaTree(rootElement: Element, options?: { forAI?: boolean, refPrefix?: string }): AriaSnapshot {
   const visited = new Set<Node>();
 
@@ -61,6 +69,9 @@ export function generateAriaTree(rootElement: Element, options?: { forAI?: boole
     visited.add(node);
 
     if (node.nodeType === Node.TEXT_NODE && node.nodeValue) {
+      if (node.parentElement && !isVisible(node.parentElement, options))
+        return;
+
       const text = node.nodeValue;
       // <textarea>AAA</textarea> should not report AAA as a child of the textarea.
       if (ariaNode.role !== 'textbox' && text)
@@ -72,11 +83,12 @@ export function generateAriaTree(rootElement: Element, options?: { forAI?: boole
       return;
 
     const element = node as Element;
-    let isVisible = !roleUtils.isElementHiddenForAria(element);
-    if (options?.forAI)
-      isVisible = isVisible || isElementVisible(element);
-    if (!isVisible)
+    if (!isVisible(element, options)) {
+      if (options?.forAI)
+        // skip this element, but still process its children https://github.com/microsoft/playwright/issues/36296
+        processElement(ariaNode, element, []);
       return;
+    }
 
     const ariaChildren: Element[] = [];
     if (element.hasAttribute('aria-owns')) {
diff --git a/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot-ai.spec.ts b/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot-ai.spec.ts
index 35d591bf9fc8e..9fd5ac603eb69 100644
--- a/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot-ai.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot-ai.spec.ts
@@ -252,3 +252,16 @@ it('should auto-wait for blocking CSS', async ({ page, server }) => {
   `, { waitUntil: 'commit' });
   expect(await snapshotForAI(page)).toContainYaml('Hello World');
 });
+
+it('should show visible children of hidden elements', { annotation: { type: 'issue', description: 'https://github.com/microsoft/playwright/issues/36296' }  }, async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.setContent(`
+    <div style="visibility: hidden;">
+      <div style="visibility: visible;">
+        <button>Foo</button>
+      </div>
+      <button>Bar</button>
+    </div>
+  `);
+
+  expect(await snapshotForAI(page)).toEqual(`- button "Foo" [ref=e3]`);
+});
diff --git a/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot.spec.ts b/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot.spec.ts
index ce19ea435106f..d1b35a452eae1 100644
--- a/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot.spec.ts
@@ -658,3 +658,27 @@ it('should not report textarea textContent', async ({ page }) => {
     - textbox: After
   `);
 });
+
+it('should not show visible children of hidden elements', { annotation: { type: 'issue', description: 'https://github.com/microsoft/playwright/issues/36296' }  }, async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.setContent(`
+    <div style="visibility: hidden;">
+      <div style="visibility: visible;">
+        <button>Button</button>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  `);
+
+  expect(await page.locator('body').ariaSnapshot()).toBe('');
+});
+
+it('should not show unhidden children of aria-hidden elements', { annotation: { type: 'issue', description: 'https://github.com/microsoft/playwright/issues/36296' }  }, async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.setContent(`
+    <div aria-hidden="true">
+      <div aria-hidden="false">
+        <button>Button</button>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  `);
+
+  expect(await page.locator('body').ariaSnapshot()).toBe('');
+});