Google Updates AI Search to Increase Publisher Link Visibility

Google is updating its AI Mode and AI Overviews to make inline source links more prominent and visible, moving them higher within AI-generated responses. The changes include adding image thumbnails to links, expanding link carousels for timely articles to more languages, and testing a Quick results from the web category that explains why specific sources were selected for a query. The company is also testing a format that places official site links at the top of responses for task-based searches.

These updates follow data from consultancy Chartbeat showing a 40 percent drop in traffic from Google to news websites between July 2025 and July 2026. In August, the French newspaper group Apig alerted the Competition Authority that AI summaries breached 2022 agreements with publishers. Google aims to address these concerns by ensuring key sources are easily clickable and by testing links to publisher and creator Search profiles.

To further integrate with content creators, Google reported that over 400 publishers, including CNN and the Financial Times, are participating in its News AI licensing pilot program. CEO Sundar Pichai noted that AI Overviews now serve more than two billion monthly users across over 200 countries. The updates are scheduled to roll out throughout October.