Google enhances news and link visibility powered by AI

Alphabet's Google announced on Thursday that it will enhance the visibility of news and links in search results by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI). This move comes as news publishers express concerns over a significant drop in their traffic. Google has been integrating AI features into its search results for over two years, starting with the launch of AI Overviews in May 2024, which generated summarized answers to search queries instead of displaying links.

In March 2025, Google introduced AI Mode, a more in-depth feature that provides a comprehensive answer and additional links.

Moving forward, Google plans to prominently feature contextual links more frequently and higher up in AI-generated search content. The company will also expand the link carousel—cards displaying headlines with images for relevant articles—worldwide, appearing directly below AI Overviews. The algorithm will prioritize articles from users' previously identified preferred sources and incorporate content from relevant social media posts and forums.

Google aims to make the links displayed at the end of AI-generated summaries more engaging and prominent for users interested in further exploration.

As of the second quarter of 2025, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai reported that AI Overviews have more than two billion monthly users across over 200 countries. However, studies have shown that replacing traditional search with AI summaries can significantly reduce the rate at which users open suggested links. A report by consultancy Chartbeat revealed that news website publishers experienced a 40 percent decline in traffic from Google between July 2025 and July 2026.

In August, Apig, representing French daily newspapers, warned the Competition Authority that AI summaries may be in violation of agreements with news publishers signed in 2022.