Google Expands Links in AI Mode and AI Overviews as Preferred Sources Use Grows More Than 7x

Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, 16 October 2026.

Google announced on 15 October 2026 a set of changes to how its AI search features link to websites. In a post on The Keyword, Hema Budaraju, VP of Product Management for Search, said AI Mode and AI Overviews will carry more inline links, show them higher in responses, and test a dedicated section for the one or two official pages that complete a task. Google also said the number of people using its Preferred Sources feature has grown by more than 7x since the start of the year.

The announcement lists five changes. Some are launches and some are tests, and the distinction matters for anyone trying to explain traffic shifts to a client or a board.

What changed

Change	Status per Google	Where it appears
More inline links inside AI responses	Google says it has made "continued and substantial increases" and is launching updates to show them higher up more often	AI Mode and AI Overviews
Dedicated top section for one or two official pages, with context on why each is useful	Testing	Search AI experiences
Prominent carousels for timely articles, highlighting Preferred Sources	Starting to roll out to more locations and languages	AI Search features
Related article links at the end of responses with image thumbnails	Being made more prominent	Some AI responses
Clickable creator and publisher names on video results that open their Search profiles	Testing since this week	AI Mode

Inline links

Inline links are links attached to words or phrases inside the AI answer itself, as opposed to the source cards shown beside or below it. Google did not publish a baseline or a target number. It said only that it had already increased their presence substantially and will now place them higher in responses more frequently, so that key sources are clickable at the point a reader needs them.

A section for official pages

The second change is a test. For queries where only one or two official pages can complete a task or supply a specific piece of information, Search will try showing those links in a dedicated block at the top of the AI response, with a line of context about why each link is useful. Google framed this as an extension of what it already does when someone is clearly trying to reach a specific site.

News carousels and Preferred Sources

Carousels of timely articles inside AI features are starting to roll out to additional locations and languages. They highlight the outlets a user has chosen through Preferred Sources. Google linked this to its earlier work on prominent carousels. The more than 7x growth figure for Preferred Sources users covers the period since the start of 2026; Google did not give an absolute user count.

Creator profiles

In AI Mode, Google is testing clickable creator and publisher names on video results. The click opens the creator's Search profile rather than the video itself. Google pointed eligible creators and publishers to its help page on getting started with Search profiles.

Context: links up, click data still missing

The same day, Google said in a separate post that more than 400 publications worldwide now take part in its News AI pilot licensing program, under which Google pays publishers for the delivery and use of enhanced content to build AI features.

Site owners still cannot see how often these links are clicked. Search Console's generative AI performance reports, launched in June and rolled out to all sites worldwide by 31 August, show impressions, pages, countries, devices and dates, but no clicks. Search Engine Roundtable's Barry Schwartz made that point in his coverage on 15 October and reported that Google told him it will introduce additional metrics over time. Google's June post said the same: it is working with site owners on which insights would help most, including adding metrics.

Google has not said whether the new inline links or the official-pages section will be reported separately in Search Console.

What this means for SEO teams

• Treat the official-pages block as a navigational opportunity. If your product has task pages (pricing, login, cancellation, refund, status, documentation), make sure each has one clear canonical URL, a descriptive title and copy that states plainly what the page lets a user do. Duplicate or thin task pages make it harder for any system to pick the right one.
• Annotate the date. Add 15 October 2026 to your reporting so that any change in AI feature impressions or referral traffic in the following weeks can be read against it.
• Watch impressions by page in the generative AI report. More inline links may surface different URLs than the source cards did. Compare the pages list week on week.
• Publishers: ask readers to add you as a Preferred Source. Google now says those choices feed the news carousels inside AI features, not only Top Stories.
• Video creators: set up a Search profile. If the AI Mode test expands, an incomplete or missing profile is where a click on your name will land.
• Keep measuring clicks yourself. Until Search Console separates clicks from AI features, segment analytics referrals from Google by landing page and compare against AI feature impressions.

Conclusion

Google is adding more and better-placed links to AI Mode and AI Overviews, testing a top slot for official pages and widening news carousels that favour sources users pick themselves. Two of the five changes are still tests, and Google has not published click data for any of them.

For now, SEO teams can prepare their task pages and profiles and track impressions, but they will have to wait for Google's promised extra metrics to see whether more links mean more visits.

Questions and answers

When did Google announce the AI Mode and AI Overviews link changes?

Google announced them on 15 October 2026 in a post on The Keyword by Hema Budaraju, VP of Product Management for Search.

Which of the changes are tests?

The dedicated section for one or two official pages at the top of a response is a test, and so are clickable creator and publisher names on video results in AI Mode. Inline link increases, wider news carousels and more prominent related article links are described as updates or rollouts.

How much has Preferred Sources use grown?

Google said the number of people using Preferred Sources has grown by more than 7x since the start of 2026. It did not publish an absolute number.

Does Search Console show clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode?

Not separately. Google's generative AI performance reports show impressions, pages, countries, devices and dates. Google has said it will consider adding more metrics over time.

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