Google announced changes to AI Mode and AI Overviews to make links to the pages accompanying its AI-generated answers more visible. The update aims to make sources easier to access as users read, with links higher up in the text and new ways to highlight news articles and official websites.
One of the main changes involves embedded links: words or phrases in an answer that let users open another page. Google is rolling out changes so they appear more frequently near the top of answers. It will also make links to related articles at the end of some answers more noticeable, with thumbnails and a design that makes them easier to identify.
For searches that require visiting one or two official websites to complete a process or find precise information, the company will test a special section at the beginning of the answer. Along with showing the links, it will provide context about the usefulness of each one.
In news, Google has begun expanding its carousels of current articles to more locations and languages. These spaces also highlight sources that users have marked as preferred and aim to show recent coverage for a wider range of queries.
Another test lets users click the names of creators and publishers in AI Mode video results to open their search profiles and learn more about their work. The changes do not all have the same availability status: while some are beginning to roll out, the official websites section and links to profiles are part of tests.
