Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 1 hr ago
Google updates AI search features to show more links
Google is updating AI Overviews and AI Mode, its AI search features.
The changes are intended to surface more links in those features.
Google is also expanding news carousels within AI search.
The carousels are being made available in more locations and languages.
These changes affect how people encounter links and news in Google’s AI search features.
The update covers the two features and carousel expansion described here.
Google said it will make links to websites and articles more visible in search results powered by AI.
The changes include showing contextual links more often and higher in AI-generated content.
Google will expand news carousels, which display article headlines and images, to more locations and languages.
The company said links at the ends of AI-generated summaries will become more engaging and prominent.
The announcement comes as publishers warn that AI summaries are reducing traffic to their websites.
- Who
- Google, an Alphabet subsidiary, announced the changes.
- What
- It will make links more prominent in AI-powered search and expand news carousels.
- When
- Google announced the changes on Oct 15; the articles were published on Oct 15 and Oct 16, 2026.
- Where
- Google search features; the carousel expansion will reach more locations and languages.
- Why
- Google said it wants to help users find links and dig deeper. Publishers have warned that AI summaries reduce traffic to their sites.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Google launched AI Overviews, which generate summarized answers to search queries.
Google added AI Mode, which provides more comprehensive answers and more links than AI Overviews.
A Chartbeat report found news publishers’ traffic from Google fell by 40%.
Google announced changes to make links more prominent in AI-powered search.
- AI Overviews launch
- May 2024
- AI Mode launch
- March 2025
- Carousel expansion
- More locations and languages
- Traffic decline
- 40% drop in traffic to news websites from Google between July 2025 and July 2026
- AI Overviews audience
- More than 2 billion monthly users in over 200 countries
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What people are saying
AI Overviews had more than two billion monthly users in over 200 countries.