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Google is changing how links appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode so that original websites, official pages and preferred publishers are easier to spot and open. The October 15, 2026 changes include higher-placed inline links, a trial “official websites” section, expanded developing-topic carousels, richer links at the end of AI answers and tests for clickable creator or publisher names in video results.
What Google is changing in AI Search
The changes apply to Google’s AI-powered Search experiences rather than the traditional blue-link results page alone. Google says the goal is to help people move from an AI-generated explanation to the underlying sources, especially when they are looking for a particular organization, publisher or creator.
| Change | Where it appears | What it helps users do | Availability described |
|---|---|---|---|
| More prominent inline links | Inside AI Overviews and AI Mode responses | Open relevant sources without hunting through the answer | Announced change |
| Official-websites section | Near the top of some AI Mode responses | Find the official site for an organization, product or topic | Testing |
| Link explanations | AI Overviews and AI Mode | Understand why a particular source is included | May appear in responses |
| Developing-topic carousels | Prominent Search carousel areas | Browse timely coverage from preferred sources | Expanding to more regions and languages |
| Richer end links | Below an AI response | Recognize and open sources through thumbnails and a more clickable layout | Redesign announced |
| Clickable creator and publisher names | Video results | Open a creator’s or publisher’s Search profile | Testing; profiles currently available in the United States for creators with a sizable following |
Inline links will be easier to notice
AI Overviews and AI Mode are being adjusted to show more source links directly within their text. Google also intends to place important links higher in the response. That matters because an answer can otherwise satisfy a question before a reader notices where its information came from.
Inline placement does not mean every sentence will become a link, nor does it guarantee that the first result is an official source. The change is about visibility and access: when Google includes a source, the route to that source should be more apparent.
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A new official-websites area is being tested
Some AI Mode responses may show a dedicated section near the top that surfaces links to official websites. This is aimed at searches where the distinction between an organization’s own site and third-party coverage is important.
Because Google describes the area as a test, its position, appearance and eligibility can change. Users should still check the domain and page details before relying on a result as an organization’s official statement or service page.
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Google is expanding carousels for developing topics
For timely or fast-moving subjects, Google is expanding prominent carousels to additional regions and languages. These carousels are intended to gather coverage while a story is developing, and Google says they will prioritize sources a user prefers.
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Links at the end of AI answers are getting a richer design
Google is redesigning links shown at the end of AI responses with thumbnails and a more clickable presentation. The visual treatment should make a source list easier to scan than a plain group of text links, particularly on a phone.
These links remain separate from the inline references higher in the answer. A source may therefore be encountered in more than one location, depending on the response layout Google serves.
Video results may include clickable creator and publisher names
Google is testing clickable names in video results. Selecting a name can take a user to that creator’s or publisher’s Search profile rather than directly to another video.
Search profiles are currently available in the United States for creators with a sizable following. That is a limited, stated availability condition—not a promise that every video account or every country will receive the profile link.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this means for users
- Faster source checking: More visible links can shorten the path from a summary to the original page.
- Better official-site discovery: The experimental section may reduce confusion between an organization’s own website and commentary about it.
- More context: Explanations attached to links can indicate why Google considers a source relevant.
- More ways to follow publishers: Developing-topic carousels and creator profiles can help readers reach sources they already trust.
AI answers can still be incomplete or wrong. For medical, legal, financial, safety or rapidly changing information, open the cited source and verify the date, author and original claim instead of treating the generated summary as the final authority.
What this means for publishers and creators
Higher inline links, official-site placements, carousels and profile navigation create additional paths to a publisher’s website or a creator’s Search profile. They may help a reader who would otherwise stop after reading the AI response.
However, the traffic effect is not established. More prominent citations could send additional visits, while an AI answer that resolves a question on the results page could reduce the need to click. These changes do not include a measured traffic increase or a guarantee that publishers will recover losses associated with AI Overviews.
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How to recognize the changes when you search
- Run a query that produces an AI Overview or AI Mode response.
- Look within the response for inline source links placed near the relevant text.
- Check the top of an AI Mode response for an “official websites” area, if Google has included the test for your query and location.
- For breaking or developing subjects, look for a news or coverage carousel and note which sources are shown.
- Scroll to the end of the AI response to see whether links include thumbnails.
- In video results, select a clickable creator or publisher name to see whether a Search profile opens. If no name is clickable, the test may not be enabled for that account, query or region.
What is still uncertain
- Google has not stated that every AI Overview or AI Mode response will receive all of these elements.
- The official-websites section and clickable profile names are tests, so their design and coverage may change.
- Expansion of developing-topic carousels varies by region and language.
- No published figure demonstrates how much additional traffic these links will send to websites or profiles.
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