Google says it has made "continued and substantial increases" to inline links in AI Mode and AI Overviews, and it does not say by how much. The post, by Search product VP Hema Budaraju and reported by Search Engine Journal on 2026-10-15, packs three kinds of news into one announcement: a change already made, two tests, and a rollout. Sorted that way, one of the tests and the rollout touch how publishers and brands are named inside an AI answer, and one detail in SEJ's report touches how that placement shows up in reporting.
Credibility: MEDIUM. The lead source is Google's own post, but we could not locate its URL or confirm its date, so every fact below comes through Search Engine Journal's report of it. The line about Search Console positions is Search Engine Journal's own, and we could not verify it as Google's wording in the post.
- Made: more inline links, with more of them placed higher in responses. Google's phrase is "continued and substantial increases"; it published no figure.
- Testing: for task-based searches with only one or two official sources, a section at the top of the response lists those sources, with a reason each one is useful. No timeline given.
- Testing: AI Mode began this week to show creator or publisher names on video results, linked to that creator's or publisher's Search profile.
- Rolling out: carousels of a user's Preferred Sources are expanding to more locations and languages, which Google did not name. Google says Preferred Sources usage is more than seven times its level at the start of 2026, with no user count or method given.
- Background: Search profiles launched in June 2026 for the US, Canada and India. They require 10,000+ followers on YouTube, Instagram, X or TikTok and an account holder aged 18 or over. As of 2026-10-15, Google's help page listed knowledge panels and Discover as access points; AI Mode was not on the list (SEJ).
- Per SEJ: a site must be included in Search Console's generative AI features to qualify as a Preferred Source in AI Mode and AI Overviews, and Search Console assigns all links in an AI Overview the same position.
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For marketing leads who report on AI-answer visibility, what moved this week is where a link sits inside the answer, and the standard Search Console position number may not see that at all. Google chose an adjective over a number, which tells you how far to lean on "substantial". The placement change still matters. A link that climbs from the bottom of an AI Overview into its first paragraph changes what a reader sees. If SEJ is right that every link in an Overview shares one position, the report draws a flat line through that climb. If SEJ is wrong, the line moves, and checking cost you an afternoon. Either way, keep the position report and the visibility tracker, and add the view neither gives you: what the answers actually show for the queries you care about. The official-source section and the creator names are tests. Watch them; don't plan a quarter around them.
- Run a monthly check of 20 priority queries in AI Mode and AI Overviews and log whether the brand's link appears, where in the answer it sits, and which page it points to. File it beside the tracker and the Search Console exports, so a move in one can be explained by the others.
- Ask the web team to confirm in Search Console that the site is not excluded from the generative AI features, since SEJ reports that inclusion is needed for Preferred Sources.
- Check whether any client creator or publisher account clears the Search profile follower threshold (10,000+, US, Canada or India) and record the answer for the next quarterly review.
Search Engine Journal (Matt G. Southern): Google Puts Inline Links Higher In More AI Search Responses, 2026-10-15 — https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-inline-links-higher-ai-search-responses/593089/
Google blog post by Hema Budaraju on links in AI Mode and AI Overviews, mid-October 2026 — primary URL and date not located (blog.google Search index checked, not listed there)
Google: A new profile to help publishers and creators highlight their work on Search (Search profiles launch, June 2026; background only), as linked by SEJ — https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/a-new-profile-to-help-publishers-and-creators-highlight-their-work-on-search/