Overview
- Google, which announced the updates on Thursday, October 15, 2026, has begun rolling out changes that put inline links higher in AI Mode and AI Overviews so users can click to sources sooner.
- The company is testing a dedicated top-of-response section that will surface one or two official pages for task-based queries with short context explaining why those links are relevant.
- Google is also trialing clickable creator and publisher names on video results that open creators' Search profiles, which are available to eligible accounts in the US, Canada and India that meet follower and age rules.
- Visual and UX changes include thumbnailed, more clickable related-article links at the end of responses and expanded carousels for timely news that highlight users' Preferred Sources, which Google says have grown more than sevenfold this year.
- Google reports more than 400 publishers in its News AI pilot but has not given full rollout timelines or absolute user metrics, leaving publishers and newsrooms watching to see if the changes restore traffic and improve source discovery.