NEW YORK: Google on Thursday announced it will display links to websites and news articles more prominently and higher up in its artificial intelligence-powered search results, responding to growing complaints from publishers and brands over steep declines in web traffic.
The Alphabet-owned company said contextual links would appear more frequently in AI-generated answers under both AI Overviews and AI Mode. It is also expanding its link “carousel” feature worldwide. These cards, which appear directly below AI Overviews, show headlines and images for relevant articles and will highlight sites users have marked as preferred sources. The algorithm may also draw in content from social media posts and forums.
Google began adding AI features to its search engine more than two years ago. It launched AI Overviews in 2024, which summarises answers instead of simply listing links, and introduced AI Mode in March 2025 as a separate, more detailed conversational window.
Studies have shown that AI summaries reduce the rate at which users click through to original websites. Consultancy Chartbeat reported that news publishers experienced a 40 percent drop in traffic from Google between July 2025 and July 2026.
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Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai said during the company’s second-quarter 2025 results that AI Overviews had surpassed two billion monthly users across more than 200 countries.
Google hopes the changes will make it easier for users seeking deeper information to click through to original sources.
