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Google is planning to update its AI-powered search feature, AI Mode, to include more in-line links to the sources it’s pulling information from. The company included the update as part of a broader change to the way it interacts with sources, saying it will also introduce the links embedded inside AI Mode with an AI-generated snippet to explain why they’re useful.
As shown in an example shared by Google, AI Mode will place its description of relevant sources directly above the carousel containing their links. “These articles suggest budget-friendly decor ideas, including secondhand shopping, architectural updates like molding and hardware swaps, and DIY projects to achieve a vintage look,” the example description from AI Mode reads.
You’ll start seeing more words or phrases linked inside AI Mode, along with an AI-generated description of embedded sources. Image: Google
The change comes just days after the European Commission opened an investigation into Google over whether it is violating competition rules by using content from web publishers in AI features without “appropriate compensation.” In August, Google pushed back on a study that claimed people were “less likely” to click on links when an AI Overview appears on the page, saying click volume has remained “relatively stable.”
Google is also launching a pilot program with several publishers, including The Guardian, The Washington Post, and the Washington Examiner, to “explore how AI can help drive more engaged audiences.” One experiment involves displaying AI-written overviews of articles inside Google News. It’s working with The Associated Press and other organizations to provide real-time information in the Gemini app as well.
Google is rolling out preferred sources to English speakers around the globe. Image: Google
In addition to this update, Google announced that it’s expanding access to “preferred sources” globally, allowing English speakers around the world to select the news outlets they want to see in the search engine’s top stories. It’s also adding a new feature that will highlight links from your news subscriptions while putting stories inside a dedicated carousel. Google says it’s rolling out this feature to the Gemini app in the coming weeks before bringing it to AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Google is bringing an update to Web Guide, too, that is an experiment in Search Labs that uses Gemini AI to organize your search results into AI-generated categories. The company says it has made Web Guide load “twice as fast,” adding that it will now appear for more kinds of searches.