Google is putting links up front in AI search answers

Google is changing how links are presented in AI Mode and AI Overviews. According to Google's announcement the changes fall under five headings; Search Engine Journal covered them from a site owner's point of view.

What is Google changing in AI answers?

Google says it has made "continued and substantial increases" to the presence of inline links in its AI experiences; these links will now appear higher up in answers and more often. No data on the size of the increase was shared. Related-article links at the end of an answer will also get image thumbnails and a more clickable design.

What does the official-site section do?

When there are only one or two official places to complete a task, Google will test showing those links in a dedicated section at the top of the answer, with an explanation of why each is useful. The section is still in testing, and no date for wider rollout was given.

What is in it for publishers and creators?

Carousels of timely articles are starting to roll out to more countries and languages; which ones was not stated. The carousels also highlight sites a user has added as Preferred Sources. Google says use of the feature has grown more than 7x since the start of the year. This week it also began testing creator and publisher names in AI Mode video results that link to their Search profiles.

What should sites in Turkey do?

The changes are in testing and staged rollout, and the sources give no timeline for Turkey. Still, being a source in AI answers is turning into a clickable link inside the answer. For AI visibility work, these points stand out:

• Confirm in Search Console that you are eligible for AI features; according to Google's documentation, being a Preferred Source requires it.
• Add a button or link to your site that lets visitors add you as a preferred source on Google.
• Do not rely on a single ranking number in reports: because Search Console assigns every link in an AI Overview the same position, the reported position does not change even when a link moves up.
• Keep the addresses of your service, booking and application pages clear and unambiguous; these are the pages that could qualify for the official-site section.