Just a few weeks in the past, we caught Google linking textual content inside its AI Overviews to its personal search outcomes. Nicely, as we speak that has grow to be a brand new official function inside AI Overviews.
“To assist individuals extra simply discover matters and uncover related web sites, we’ve added hyperlinks to some phrases inside AI Overviews when our techniques decide it is likely to be helpful,” a Google spokesperson advised Search Engine Land.
What it appears to be like like. Here’s a screenshot we posted of this again then:

Clicking on these underlined hyperlinks within the textual content of the AI Overview, each on the prime and within the center part, will take you again to a brand new Google Search. The smaller hyperlink icons take you to the facet panel hyperlinks, these go to publishers and exterior web sites.
What Google mentioned. Right here is the assertion a Google spokesperson despatched me:
“To assist individuals extra simply discover matters and uncover related web sites, we’ve added hyperlinks to some phrases inside AI Overviews when our techniques decide it is likely to be helpful. Much like our long-standing “Individuals additionally seek for” function, our testing reveals that folks discover this useful. AI Overviews proceed to have outstanding hyperlinks out to the online, which we’re additionally increasing.”
Why. Google mentioned they’re doing this to make it simpler for searchers to discover matters. Google
advised me they’ve seen that folks usually find yourself manually trying to find sure phrases as a separate question from these AI Overviews. Google mentioned that in their in depth testing, they’ve heard from customers that they discover it useful to be linked on to a related outcomes web page in these instances.
This helps cut back the necessity for searchers to enter a brand new question, as a substitute they will simply click on on these hyperlinks. Google says this results in a “a lot better search expertise.”
Google’s techniques prioritize linking to 3rd social gathering web sites inside the AI Overview response when Google has a excessive confidence that these web sites will assist the consumer discover the data they’re searching for, a Google spokesperson advised me.
The place. Google mentioned this new function is out there in English within the U.S., on each cellular and desktop.
Why we care. Publishers have been begging Google to ship them extra visitors by way of Google Search. Now, with this new function formally launching, you must assume Google will ship much less visitors to publishers and extra visitors to its personal search outcomes.
Once more, Google says that is about giving searchers what they need and making it simpler for them to discover matters. However once more, for publishers and website house owners, this might not be a very good factor.