On October 15, 2026, Google announced a package of new adjustments to AI mode and smart summaries to drive more users toward visiting open websites. The updates include placing text links in higher positions, testing an upper section for official pages, and expanding news tickers while publishers continue to demand click data.
New adjustments to enhance link visibility in smart search answers
Upper section for official sources and expansion of news tickers and video files
Cool reception in digital marketing circles and demands to disclose click data
The delicate balancing act between AI answers and web traffic
Frequently asked questions
New adjustments to enhance link visibility in smart search answers
Google announced on Thursday, October 15, 2026, a set of new changes to both “AI mode” and the “smart summaries” feature within the search engine, with the aim of driving a larger number of users to transition from AI-generated answers to open websites. The disclosure of this step came in an official blog post written by Hema Budaraju, vice president of product management at Google.
The announced updates include increasing the number of embedded text links and placing them in higher ranks within answers, testing a dedicated upper section for official pages, expanding the scope of scrolling news tickers, and making clickable profile pages available to content creators on video results. This package is the latest link in a series of updates focused on highlighting links, at a time when publishers are expressing growing concern that AI-generated answers in Google search are siphoning off a large portion of their traffic, as noted by The Verge.
Google explained that embedded links—which are links integrated directly within words or phrases in the smart answer text—have witnessed “steady and substantial increases” in their appearance rate, and that the company is now rolling out updates to show them “in higher positions within answers more frequently,” although the blog post did not specify the numerical percentage of this increase, according to Search Engine Journal.
Upper section for official sources and expansion of news tickers and video files
The company noted that certain search queries have only one or two official places to accomplish the required task or obtain accurate information; for these cases, Google will test a dedicated section at the top of the answer that highlights those official links and explains to the user why each link is useful, as one of the illustrative images showed an example of a question about flight ticket refunds. Links at the end of answers within the “Dive deeper” section will also receive thumbnails and a “more clickable design.”
Regarding news coverage, Google first displayed scrolling carousels for real-time articles last May and is now working on rolling them out to more countries and languages around the world, while highlighting each user’s “favorite sources,” confirming that the number of people using the “favorite sources” feature has grown by more than 7 times since the beginning of this year.
This week, the company also began testing clickable names for content creators and publishers on video results within “AI mode,” though these names first lead the user to a profile page within Google rather than directly to the content creator’s website. In a related context, Nick Fox, an executive in Google Search, wrote that more than 400 media organizations around the world are now part of the company’s AI news licensing pilot program.
Cool reception in digital marketing circles and demands to disclose click data
These changes were met with a cool reception by search engine marketing industry experts; Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable wrote that Google changed the format of its AI links for the “countless time,” while still refusing to share actual click data in its AI performance reports.
In response to these criticisms, Google told Schwartz that it “will roll out additional metrics over time.” One of the most prominent technical challenges for site owners is that Search Console grants every link appearing inside “smart summaries” the exact same numerical ranking, meaning that moving a link higher up within the answer does not change the ranking position reported to the site owner in reports.
Google concluded its announcement by emphasizing that it “will continue to improve and develop these experiences based on what achieves the best practical results for users and publishers.”
The delicate balancing act between AI answers and web traffic
The successive adjustments Google is making to “AI mode” and the “smart summaries” feature reflect the mounting pressure exerted by digital publishers and SEO experts to maintain the flow of visitors to open websites in the era of direct generative answers.
While the company seeks to reassure content creators by highlighting text links in prominent positions, expanding scrolling news tickers, and the news licensing program comprising over 400 media organizations, the true test will remain tied to the extent of Google’s commitment to providing transparent and detailed metrics for click and impression data within Search Console reports during the upcoming phase.
Frequently asked questions
Question: What are the most prominent adjustments Google has introduced to links in AI answers?
Answer: Google has moved embedded links to higher positions within answers, begun testing an upper section for official sites, and added thumbnails and a more attractive design to the dive deeper section.
Question: How did Google develop news and video clips presentation in smart search?
Answer: The company expanded scrolling news tickers to new countries and languages while highlighting favorite sources, whose usage grew 7 times, and tested clickable names for video creators leading to their Google profiles.
Question: Why did search engine experts like Barry Schwartz criticize these updates?
Answer: Because Google continues to tweak link formats without sharing independent AI click data, and Search Console assigns all smart summary links the same ranking.
Question: How many media organizations participate in Google’s AI news licensing program?
Answer: Nick Fox, a Google Search executive, revealed that more than 400 publishing organizations worldwide are currently participating in the news licensing pilot program.
