Overview
- Google announced on Oct. 15 that it will place inline source links higher in AI Overviews and AI Mode and will begin testing a top-of-response section that highlights one or two official sites with context.
- The company is expanding timely-article carousels that surface users’ Preferred Sources to more locations and languages after reporting that Preferred Sources use has grown more than sevenfold this year.
- Links shown at the end of AI responses will get image thumbnails and a more clickable 'Dive Deeper' design, and Google has started testing clickable creator and publisher names that lead to Search profiles in AI Mode video results.
- Publishers and regulators are watching whether these UI tests restore referral traffic after independent data showed roughly a 40% drop in Google-origin visits to news sites between July 2025 and July 2026.
- Google says these updates are rolling out and being refined through October and beyond while the company and publishers monitor real traffic effects and adjust tests accordingly.