Google Pushes Links Higher in AI Search After Publisher Traffic Drop

On October 15, 2026, Google said links to sites will appear more often and higher in AI-powered search, expanding the link carousel under AI Overviews and making end-of-summary links more prominent. Chartbeat-based reporting puts news publisher traffic from Google down 40% between July 2025 and July 2026.

• Links in AI Overviews and AI Mode will be more prominent worldwide
• Sites marked as preferred sources get priority
• News publisher traffic from Google fell 40% year over year
• The change does not guarantee more clicks for small sites