Google is making inline links more prominent in AI responses
News Source
β’2026-10-15T13:22:15-04:00
π° What Happened
Google is changing its AI search results so that inline links appear higher up more often. The links show up in AI Overviews and AI Mode. Those features give a written answer instead of the usual list of links. There have been concerns that this style cuts traffic to websites and publishers. Google says it will also test showing relevant links at the top of a response, with context. It is rolling out link carousels to more places and making end-of-answer links more prominent, with image thumbnails. It is also testing clickable links to publisher profiles.
π The Backstory
AI search tools have unsettled publishers, who rely on clicks for advertising money. Google launched a News AI pilot that pays publishers to license content for AI features. More than 400 publishers now take part, with Axios, CNN and the Financial Times recently joining. These changes are partly a response to criticism that AI answers keep users from ever visiting the original sources they draw on.
π― Why It Matters
How search links work decides whether news sites get readers and income. That affects what information people see and who gets paid for producing it. The changes are a test of whether AI search can help publishers rather than replace them. It is also a test of whether AI search can support the news industry instead of slowly starving it.
Google is changing its AI search results so that inline links appear higher up more often. The links show up in AI Overviews and AI Mode. Those features give a written answer instead of the usual list of links. There have been concerns that this style cuts traffic to websites and publishers. Google says it will also test showing relevant links at the top of a response, with context. It is rolling out link carousels to more places and making end-of-answer links more prominent, with image thumbnails. It is also testing clickable links to publisher profiles.
AI search tools have unsettled publishers, who rely on clicks for advertising money. Google launched a News AI pilot that pays publishers to license content for AI features. More than 400 publishers now take part, with Axios, CNN and the Financial Times recently joining. These changes are partly a response to criticism that AI answers keep users from ever visiting the original sources they draw on.
How search links work decides whether news sites get readers and income. That affects what information people see and who gets paid for producing it. The changes are a test of whether AI search can help publishers rather than replace them. It is also a test of whether AI search can support the news industry instead of slowly starving it.