{
  "id": 14887533,
  "title": "Google boosts news and link visibility in AI mode",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/google-boosts-news-and-link-visibility-in-ai-mode-14887533",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-16T06:34:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2037556/google-boosts-news-and-link-visibility-in-ai-mode"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Alphabet's Google is set to increase the prominence and placement of website links in its AI-powered search results, a move aimed at countering concerns from brands and news publishers over a potential drop in traffic. The company has been integrating more AI features into its search engine for the past two years, with the introduction of AI Overviews in May 2024 and AI Mode in March 2025. AI Overviews provide summarized answers to search queries, while AI Mode offers a more comprehensive response with additional links.\n\nStarting now, Google plans to display contextual links more frequently and higher up in AI-generated search content. The company will also expand its link carousel, a feature featuring cards with headlines and images of relevant articles, to more countries worldwide. The algorithm will prioritize articles from users' pre-selected \"preferred sources\" and incorporate content from social media posts and other forums.\n\nGoogle's CEO, Sundar Pichai, revealed during the company's second-quarter 2025 results that AI Overviews had reached over two billion monthly users across more than 200 countries. However, several studies have indicated that the use of AI summaries can significantly decrease the likelihood of users clicking on suggested links. A report by consultancy Chartbeat found that news website publishers experienced a 40% decrease in traffic from Google between July 2025 and July 2026.\n\nIn August, Apig, an association representing French daily newspapers, warned the Competition Authority that AI summaries may be violating agreements signed with news publishers in 2022.",
  "summary": "Google announced on Thursday that it will start displaying links to websites and articles more prominently and higher up in search results powered by artificial intelligence (AI), as brands and news publishers warn of a sharp decline in their traffic. The Alphabet subsidiary began integrating more AI features in its search results over two years ago. In May 2024, it launched AI Overviews, where…",
  "key_points": [
    "Google to increase link visibility in AI-powered search results.",
    "AI Overviews and AI Mode introduced to provide summarized answers.",
    "Link carousel expansion to more countries and prioritize trusted sources."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Prioritizing contextual links and expanded carousels within AI-generated responses serves as a strategic attempt to mitigate publisher backlash and reverse the significant traffic declines caused by automated summaries.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "Google boosts news and link visibility in AI mode",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/google-boosts-news-and-link-visibility-in-ai-mode-14860626",
        "published": "2026-10-16T02:53:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}