Google’s AI Overviews are increasingly featuring various link types, including those that direct users to new Google queries or internal AI Mode conversations rather than solely to external websites.
This development indicates a shift in how Google integrates information, balancing direct external web navigation with features designed to keep users within its ecosystem, according to recent analyses.
Data from Peec AI showed a significant rise in external links within AI Overviews, climbing from nearly zero to 26.2 percent between August 25 and September 20, 2026. However, not all links lead to traditional web pages.
Gagan Ghotra demonstrated an instance where a link embedded within an AI Overview initiated an AI Mode conversation, bypassing an external website entirely.
Google considers a link to an external page within an AI Overview as a click in Search Console, but a link that triggers a new Google query does not register in the same manner, according to company statements.
Robby Stein, Google’s Vice President of Product, communicated several updates regarding AI Overview link displays. These updates included inline links, link carousels, and pop-up link groups, he said.
Hema Budaraju, Google’s Vice President of Product Management for Search, described additional updates such as suggestions for next steps, clearly labeled subscription links, and previews of public discussions.
Google stated that early testing indicated users were “significantly more likely to click links that were labeled as their subscriptions.”
AI Overviews now contain diverse link types, including inline links, article suggestions, discussion previews, and follow-up questions specifically for AI Mode, according to Google.
Source: Search Engine Journal
