Developing
Google offered no click-through figures; "we'll introduce additional metrics over time."
In 60 seconds
- More inline links are embedded directly in responses.
- A new top section "highlights the 1-2 links you need to complete a specific task", per Google's Nick Fox.
- Timely news carousels expand globally with Preferred Sources, whose use has "grown by 7x since the beginning of the year".
- "Dive Deeper" gets image thumbnails, and publisher and creator names on videos become clickable in a test.
Impact Layer
- What changed
- Google is adjusting how AI answers link out, again.
- Why it matters
- Whether AI answers send clicks decides if publishers and brands see traffic from AI results.
- Who is affected
- Publishers, SEOs and content marketers.
- Martech stack area
- SEO & Search, Content
- Stack impact
- Check referral traffic from AI results over the next weeks and confirm you are a Preferred Source if you are a news publisher.
- Business impact
- Moderate Reported by Search Engine Roundtable. The article gives no click-through data; its view that such efforts "continue to fail" is the author's opinion.
- Related technologies
- Related vendors
- What to watch
- Whether click data appears in Search Console and independent traffic studies.
Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz reported on October 15, 2026 that Google updated links in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
What changed
- “More inline links embedded directly in the response”, per Google’s Nick Fox.
- A new section at the top that “highlights the 1-2 links you need to complete a specific task”.
- Timely news carousels are expanding globally, highlighting Preferred Sources, whose use Fox says has “grown by 7x since the beginning of the year”.
- The “Dive Deeper” section gets image thumbnails.
- Publisher and creator names on videos are clickable, though in a test they open Google Search profile pages first.
Metrics
Google said “we’ll introduce additional metrics over time”. The article notes click data does not currently appear in AI performance reports.
Not stated
Any click-through figures or evidence that the changes increase clicks, a timeline for new metrics, how links are selected, whether the 400-publication News AI pilot affects link placement, and rollout dates for the video profile test.
Our read
Links are changing, but there is still no public evidence of clicks. Measure your own referrals.
Sources
- Search Engine Roundtable: Google Updates Links In AI Mode & AI Overviews Again, Won't Show Click Data (opens in a new tab)
Source for the changes and Google's statements.