Google's AI answers now show more links: what to do

If you have searched on Google lately, you have probably seen an AI-written answer sitting above the normal results. Many small business owners worry that these answers keep people on Google instead of sending them to their website.

On 15 October 2026 Google announced changes that push in the other direction. Here is what changed, what we still do not know, and what is worth doing this week.

What Google announced

In a post on its Keyword blog, Google's Hema Budaraju, a vice president of product management, listed five changes to AI Mode and AI Overviews (Google, 15 Oct 2026):

• More inline links, higher up. Links placed on words and phrases inside the AI answer, now shown higher in responses more often.
• An "official sites" section (a test). A section at the top of some answers pointing to the one or two official pages for a task, with a note on why each is useful.
• More news carousels. Carousels of timely articles, which highlight people's Preferred Sources, are starting to roll out to more places and languages.
• Better "related" links. Links at the end of some answers now carry image thumbnails and a more clickable design.
• Clickable creator and publisher names (a test). Names on video results in AI Mode can link to the creator's or publisher's Search profile.

Google said the aim was to "make exploring the web simpler". 9to5Google and Search Engine Journal reported the same list.

What we do not know yet

Google gave no figures on how many more clicks these links send, a gap Search Engine Journal pointed out too. So treat this as a direction of travel, not a promise of more visitors.

It is also worth remembering why people worry. In a study of the real browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025, Pew Research Center found users clicked a normal search result on 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, against 15% when one did not. More links in the answer may help close that gap, but nobody has measured it yet.

Our take: the "official page" test matters most

For a local business, the most interesting change is the "official sites" test. When someone asks Google how to book a table, get a quote or check opening times for a named business, Google wants to point to the one page that does that job.

That rewards websites that are clear and simple. If your prices live in a photo on Facebook, your booking form is three clicks deep, and your opening hours are different on your site and your Google profile, Google has a hard time picking you as the official answer.

Google also says there are no special tricks for AI features. Its guidance says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no special files or markup are needed (Google Search Central).

What to do this week

1. Give every common task its own page. Booking, prices, menu, contact, and each main service should each have a page with a clear title. One page, one job.

2. Make your business details match everywhere. Your name, address, phone number and hours should be the same on your website, your Google Business Profile and your social pages.

3. Put the answer near the top. If the page is about prices, show prices in the first few lines, in text, not only in an image.

4. Add a good picture to every page. Google now shows thumbnails on some related links. A clear, real photo of your work, set as the page's share image, gives you a better-looking card.

5. Check Search Console. Google counts visits from AI Overviews and AI Mode inside the normal "Web" figures in Search Console's Performance report, so compare the next few weeks with the last few. If you have never set up Search Console, that is the first job.

A note on Preferred Sources

Google says the number of people using its Preferred Sources feature has grown more than seven times since the start of the year, though it did not give a starting number. This mainly affects news sites. For most small businesses it is not something to chase. A clear, useful website matters far more.

The short version

Google is putting more links into its AI answers. Nobody knows yet how many extra visits that means. The businesses most likely to benefit are those whose website is the obvious, official place to do the thing a customer wants.

Moon Websites builds every site around the business's own services and gives it an llms.txt file, so AI assistants can read your business details; see what is included.