Google updates AI features to highlight sources

Google is updating its AI Overviews and AI Mode features to make sources more visible and clickable in the AI-generated responses it provides. These changes are part of an effort to improve transparency and give users more options when interacting with AI-generated content.

User preference drives changes in AI responses

Google cites the growing use of tools that allow users to select preferred sources as a key reason for the updates. The company reports that the number of users utilizing the Preferred Sources feature—where users can highlight preferred media—has increased "multiplied by more than seven since the beginning of the year."

New formats for linking to sources

The updates include embedded links, which are clickable words or phrases directly inserted into the text of a response. Google plans to increase the frequency of these links at the top of responses. Additionally, the company is testing a new display format for queries that require answers from one or two official sites, grouping these links in a dedicated section with explanations of their relevance.

Expanding visual elements for links

News carousels, introduced in May, are expanding to new countries and languages, though Google has not specified which. These carousels feature media selected through the Preferred Sources tool. At the end of some responses, links to related articles now include thumbnails and a design intended to encourage user interaction. In AI Mode, Google is also testing clickable names of creators and editors on video results, which lead to their Search profiles.

French publishers report traffic declines

French publishers have reported a decline in clicks following the launch of AI Overviews and AI Mode in France on July 22. A study by Ahrefs found that websites where more than one in five queries triggers an AI summary have lost 23% of their click-through rate in the nine days after deployment, although their search rankings have not dropped.

Citation concerns and legal actions

Citation issues have also emerged, with findings from The Black Room showing that several well-positioned titles in Google, including Le Monde and Radio France, are rarely cited in AI Overviews. This has led to legal action, as the Alliance de la presse d'information générale (Apig) filed a complaint with the Autorité de la concurrence in August, alleging Google has not honored its 2022 negotiation commitments regarding neighboring rights.

Google's compensation program for publishers

Google states that 400 publishers are now participating in its pilot program, News AI, which pays them for the provision of enriched content used to develop new AI features. Recently, Axios, CNN, and The Financial Times have joined the program as new partners.