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How to Explore the Web Better With Google AI Mode Links

Learn how Google’s October 2026 AI Mode and AI Overviews updates make inline links, official pages, Preferred Sources carousels, and Dive Deeper sections easier to use.

October 16, 2026 Yum News

Google updated AI Mode and AI Overviews on October 15, 2026, to surface web links more clearly. The changes help you move from AI-generated summaries to original sources faster. Preferred Sources usage has grown more than 7x since the start of the year, and the new features build on that.

These updates appear in both AI Mode (the conversational search experience) and AI Overviews (the summaries that appear on regular results). You do not need a special setting to try most of them.

What changed in AI Mode and AI Overviews

Google listed five practical updates:

Inline links appear higher and more often inside AI responses.
A test places one or two official pages for a task at the top of some answers, with short context explaining why each link helps.
Timely article carousels roll out to more regions and languages and highlight your Preferred Sources.
The Dive Deeper section at the end of some responses uses image thumbnails and a more clickable layout.
Creator and publisher names on video results in AI Mode are becoming clickable (test) and lead to Search profiles.

Official pages and higher inline links address cases where only one or two sites hold the exact information or form you need. Carousels and Dive Deeper give visual entry points to reporting and related pages.

Person working at a laptop on a wooden desk

How to use the new link features

Open Google Search and switch to AI Mode, or run a normal query that triggers an AI Overview. Ask a question that needs sources, such as steps to complete a form, recent news on a topic, or a product comparison.

Scan the top of the response for any official-page section. Read the short context Google adds next to each link.
Click inline links that appear early in the answer. These sit on specific words or phrases.
Scroll to any carousel of timely articles. Preferred Sources you have selected appear with a badge.
Check the Dive Deeper area at the bottom. Thumbnails make it easier to choose a page.
On video results in AI Mode, try clicking a creator or publisher name if it is interactive.

Responses still take a few seconds to generate. Follow-up questions in AI Mode keep the same conversation and can surface additional links.

Set Preferred Sources so carousels and badges work for you

Preferred Sources lets you choose sites you want to see more often. Selections influence Top Stories, AI Overviews, and AI Mode for your account. Google reports people are roughly twice as likely to click a Preferred Source.

To add sources:

Go to Google Search preferences for sources.
Sign in if prompted.
Search for a domain (example.com or news.example.com). Subdirectories are not eligible.
Add the sites you trust. You can remove them later.

Publishers can also embed a Preferred Sources button on their pages. For a full publisher guide, see our earlier post on adding the Google Preferred Sources button.

Tips for better results

Ask specific questions. “Official IRS form for estimated taxes 2026” is more likely to surface an official-page section than a broad query.

Combine Preferred Sources with follow-ups. After an AI Mode answer, ask “Show me reporting from [site]” or “What does the official page say about deadlines?”

Check the Dive Deeper thumbnails before leaving the page. They often link to the same sources already mentioned higher up, but the visual layout can reveal extra context.

For news topics, open the carousel first. Preferred Sources badges make it faster to spot outlets you already follow.

Limitations and what stays the same

Not every query shows every feature. Official-page sections and clickable creator names are in testing. Carousels expand by region and language over time.

AI Mode and AI Overviews still generate text. Always open the linked pages to verify details, especially for legal, financial, or medical topics. Google’s updates increase visibility of sources; they do not replace reading the original content.

Search Console still reports AI impressions separately. Click data for AI Mode and AI Overviews is not broken out the same way as classic web results.

Conclusion

The October 15 updates make it simpler to move from an AI answer to the underlying web pages. Higher inline links, official-page callouts, expanded Preferred Sources carousels, and visual Dive Deeper sections all point in the same direction: keep exploring after the summary.

Start by adding a few Preferred Sources, then run a few test queries in AI Mode. The combination gives you clearer paths to the pages you actually want to read.