Google is making inline links more prominent in AI responses

Google is updating its AI search results to make inline links appear “higher up in responses more frequently,” according to a blog post. The company’s search results from AI Overviews and AI Mode give you answers in a customized view instead of the traditional list of links, but there are concerns that the format reduces traffic to publishers. Google says it’s been making “continued and substantial increases to the presence of inline links in our AI experiences,” and this new change will help ensure “ensure key sources are easily clickable right when you need them.”

The company is announcing several other changes to highlight links and publishers within its AI results. For sites that are among a few for a specific task or certain information — an example image from Google highlights a query about an airline refund — Google is testing showing the relevant links at the top of a response with context. For “timely” articles, the company is now rolling out the link carousels announced in May to more locations and languages. Google is making links at the end of a query “more engaging and prominent, with image thumbnails and a more clickable design.” And it’s now testing clickable links in AI mode to search profiles for publishers and creators.

Google also says that more than 400 publishers are participating in its “News AI” pilot program, which it announced in December. The licensing program pays publishers for “the delivery and use of enhanced content to develop new AI features,” including “in-depth article overviews on Google News publisher pages,” and Axios, CNN, and the Financial Times are among the partners that are newly onboard, according to Google.