Google is also testing link icons in the AI Overviews to show citations for statements generated in the AI Answer. These links, when clicked, will take you to an overlay window that shows those links in a search result format page. No, clicking the link icon will not take you directly to the source but you will see the search result snippet.
Glenn Gabe also spotted this one and I am having trouble replicating it. He posted screenshots on X, which he explained how it works. First, he said this was in “non-labs accounts.” He wrote, “They are clustered at the top with small favicons (similar to Perplexity). When tapping the overflow menu, all of those links are provided in a menu. Also, the icons for links in the AI overview were actually link icons. And when tapping the icon, all links for that part of the answer were listed in an overlay.”
Here are his screenshots of this:
Then after you click on them:
This reminds me of some of the early tests on how Google SGE showed links. And let’s not forget Google testing AI Overview cards at the top.
Glenn added this point this morning around this being a great way to inject ads into the AI Overviews:
I’ve been thinking more about the new AI overview link treatment I saw this weekend (and shared yesterday). Tapping the overflow menu and getting a list of links in an overlay is a GREAT way to inject ads into the AI overview experience. Would be so easy… Here’s a mockup of… https://t.co/Nm7mRvHg06 pic.twitter.com/Tugy2O1lJC
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) July 22, 2024
Lily Ray also spotted this:
There also seems to be a new layout for AIO links. Not sure if this was mentioned either.
Sentences in AIO have a little link icon next to them, which expands into a new Google window showing that citation.
Haven’t seen this after many months of Google showing the little… https://t.co/fXChNmuhsN pic.twitter.com/ne8MgaZCxs
— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 20, 2024
I like that Google continues to experiment with ways to drive traffic to the source of the AI Overviews statements but I am worried where this may lead.
Forum discussion at X.