Google adds more links to AI Mode and AI Overviews, but still no click data

Google published a post on 15 October called More ways to connect with the web from Search. It's written by Hema Budaraju, VP of Product Management, and it lists five changes to how AI Mode and AI Overviews show links to websites. Some are rolling out now. Some are tests.

What's changing

More inline links, placed higher

Google says it has "made continued and substantial increases to the presence of inline links in our AI experiences", and is launching updates that show those links higher in responses more often. It gave no numbers for either.

A section for official sites (test)

Some tasks really only have one or two official places on the web where you can get them done. For those, Google is testing "a dedicated section at the top of a response, with context about why each link is useful." Google didn't give examples, but think of renewing a passport or paying a parking fine, where the real answer is one official page.

News carousels in more places

The prominent carousels of timely articles are rolling out "to additional locations and languages globally", and they now highlight the publications a user has chosen as Preferred Sources. Google says the number of people using Preferred Sources "has grown by more than 7x since the start of the year." It didn't say which countries or languages are getting the carousels next.

Bigger links to related articles

The links to related articles at the end of some AI responses are getting image thumbnails and what Google calls "a more clickable design". The post doesn't say whether that's live or still a test.

Clickable creator names on videos (test)

In AI Mode, Google has started testing clickable creator and publisher names on video results. Those names link to the creator's Search profile, which is a Google page, so the first click stays on Google.

The missing piece: clicks

None of this comes with data. Search Console's reporting for generative AI features still doesn't show clicks. When Search Engine Roundtable asked about it, a Google representative said: "We're continuing to work with website owners to understand what insights will be most helpful to inform their strategies," and added that Google will "introduce additional metrics over time."

So Google is telling site owners it's sending more traffic their way, and site owners still can't check that inside Google's own tool. Google's Nick Fox wrote on X that "We're committed to iterating and improving as we learn and hear feedback." Click data would be the obvious place to start.

Our take

More links is better than fewer, and the official sites test is good news for any business that genuinely is the canonical place to do something: book it, pay it, log in to it. If that's you, make it easy for Google to tell. One clear page per task, a title that says exactly what the page does, and consistent organisation details across the site.

For publishers, Preferred Sources is the part worth acting on. Growth of 7x tells you nothing about the absolute numbers, but it's the one lever in this announcement that a publisher controls. Readers who pick you as a preferred source now see you highlighted in the news carousels that are expanding.

The creator name test is worth watching for a different reason. Those clicks go to a Google profile page first. That only helps you if your profile is set up and points somewhere useful.

What to do

1. If you're the official source for a task, make that obvious. Don't spread one task across five near-identical pages.
2. Ask loyal readers to add you as a preferred source. It's a small ask with a direct payoff in news results.
3. Set up a Search profile if you're a creator or publisher. Google's Search profiles documentation explains eligibility, and since 16 September it also covers adding a Search profile badge to your own site.
4. Keep measuring the old way. Until Search Console shows AI clicks, watch landing page clicks and impressions for the queries most likely to trigger AI answers, and compare them against queries that don't.

For more on how AI answers pick their sources, read our look at whether llms.txt affects AI citations. Short version: it doesn't, yet.