TL;DR
- Google's Hema Budaraju said on 15 October 2026 that the number of people using Preferred Sources has grown more than 7x since the start of 2026; Google gave no base figure or method.
- Two of the five changes are tests with no timing: an official pages section for the 1-2 pages a task needs, and clickable creator names on AI Mode video results linking to Search profiles.
- Timely-article carousels, which highlight Preferred Sources, are starting to roll out to more locations and languages; Google named none, so Thai availability is unconfirmed.
- Google told Search Engine Roundtable it will 'introduce additional metrics over time' but still shows no click data for AI features, and Search Console gives every AI Overview link one shared position.
Google said on 15 October 2026 that it is moving inline links higher in AI Mode and AI Overviews responses, testing a dedicated section at the top of some answers for the one or two official pages a task needs, and rolling out its timely-article carousels to more locations and languages. The announcement, a post on The Keyword titled "More ways to connect with the web from Search" by Hema Budaraju, VP of Product Management, lists five link changes in total and says the number of people using Preferred Sources has grown by more than 7x since the start of 2026.
What Google announced on 15 October 2026
The Google Keyword post groups the changes into five numbered items. Two are launches or rollouts, two are tests, and one is a design change. Google framed all of them around making it easier to "dive deeper" from an AI response to the sources behind it.
The post opens with one usage figure: the number of people who use the Preferred Sources feature "has grown by more than 7x since the start of the year." Google gave no starting number, no current number and no method for the count, so the figure tells you the direction and the rough multiple, nothing more.
1. Inline links shown higher, more often
Google defines inline links as links embedded in words or phrases inside an AI response. Budaraju wrote that Google has "made continued and substantial increases to the presence of inline links" in its AI experiences and is now launching updates to show inline links higher up in responses more frequently. Google did not say how large the increase has been, which queries are affected, or whether the change applies equally to AI Overviews and AI Mode in every market.
2. A test of an "official pages" section
For some tasks there are only one or two official places on the web to get the job done or find the exact information. Google said it will test a new display in its AI search experiences that puts those links in a dedicated section at the top of the response, with context about why each link is useful. Google described this as an expansion of what it already does when someone is clearly trying to reach a particular site. It is a test only. The post gives no start date for a wider rollout, no list of query types and no markets.
3. Timely-article carousels in more locations and languages
Google said it is starting to roll out the prominent carousels it shows for timely articles in AI search features to "additional locations and languages globally." The carousels also highlight a user's Preferred Sources, and Google said the feature makes timely articles visible on a wider range of queries. The post does not name the new locations or languages.
4. Related-article links get thumbnails
Some AI responses end with links to related articles on other angles of a topic. Google said it is making those links more prominent, with image thumbnails and "a more clickable design." No timing or market detail was given beyond the announcement itself.
5. Clickable creator and publisher names on video results
Google said that this week it started testing clickable creator and publisher names on video results in AI Mode. The names link to the creator's or publisher's Search profile. Google pointed eligible creators and publishers to its help material on Search profiles.
The five changes at a glance
The table below sets out each change as Google described it on 15 October 2026, with the status the post gives it.
| Change | Status in Google's post | Detail Google did not give |
|---|---|---|
| Inline links shown higher in AI responses | Launching | Size of the increase, markets |
| Official pages section at top of a response | Test | Query types, timing, markets |
| Timely-article carousels with Preferred Sources | Starting to roll out to more locations and languages | Which locations and languages |
| Related-article links with image thumbnails | Announced design change | Rollout timing |
| Clickable creator names on AI Mode video results | Test started this week | Expansion plans |
How this connects to Google's earlier link changes
This is not the first time Google has adjusted links in its AI answers this year. Search Engine Journal's Matt G. Southern noted in his write-up that Google said in May that users would see more inline links next to the relevant text in AI responses, and that in May Google also said it would start showing suggestions at the end of many AI responses that link to articles on other facets of a topic. The 15 October thumbnails apply to that end-of-response block.
The carousel thread is also older than this week. Relevant Audience reported on 27 August 2026 that Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, had said on X on 25 August that link carousels for developing topics were live in AI Mode, having already appeared in AI Overviews; Google first introduced the carousel in May. That earlier report also noted Google's figure that more than 600,000 unique sources had been selected as Preferred Sources, up from more than 345,000 in May. The 15 October post moves the same carousel format to more locations and languages.
Preferred Sources has its own run of updates. Relevant Audience covered on 21 August 2026 Google's 20 August launch of an embeddable Preferred Sources button that publishers can place on their own pages, and on 8 October 2026 the Search Console emails that began arriving on 6 October with a "Preferred source selections" count for each site. The new 7x figure measures something different from the 600,000 figure: one counts people using the feature, the other counted sources that had been selected. They should not be combined into a single growth rate.
On the same day as the Keyword post, Google's Nick Fox summarised the updates on X. According to Search Engine Roundtable, which reproduced the post, Fox also said more than 400 publications worldwide are now part of Google's News AI pilot licensing programme.
What Google did not say
The gaps decide what a site owner can and cannot measure.
- No click data: Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable wrote that Google still will not show click data in the AI performance reporting site owners have asked for. Google told him it is working with site owners to understand which insights help most and "we'll introduce additional metrics over time." No date was given.
- No size for the inline link increase: "Substantial" is Google's word. There is no percentage, no baseline and no query sample.
- No market list for the carousel expansion: Google said "additional locations and languages globally" and stopped there.
- No timing for the two tests: Search Engine Journal pointed out that both the official pages section and the AI Mode profile links are tests, and the post does not say when either might expand.
- No method behind the 7x figure: Southern noted the post gives no user count and no explanation of how Google measured the increase.
Measurement caveats for site owners
Search Engine Journal raised a reporting point that is easy to miss. Search Console assigns every link inside an AI Overview the single position of the Overview itself. Moving an inline link higher inside the response does not, on its own, change that link's reported position. A site could gain a more visible inline link and see nothing different in its average position data.
Search profiles have their own limits. According to Search Engine Journal, Google's help page on Search profiles, checked on the morning of 15 October, listed knowledge panels and Discover as places where a profile may appear and did not yet list AI Mode. The same help page limited Search profiles to the US, Canada and India, to creators and publishers with at least 10,000 followers on YouTube, Instagram, X or TikTok, and to Google Accounts owned by someone aged 18 or over. Google introduced Search profiles in June, Southern noted.
For Preferred Sources, Southern pointed to Google's documentation, which says a site needs to be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console to qualify as a Preferred Source in AI Mode and AI Overviews. The same documentation offers a button and a deep link that sites can use to ask readers to add them.
What site owners can check now
None of the changes needs a setting switched on. They change where links appear, so the work is checking and preparing. This is analysis based on the facts above, not guidance Google published.
- Look at live AI responses for your key queries: The carousel rollout has started, so check AI Overviews and AI Mode in each location and language you serve and note when timely-article carousels begin to appear.
- Confirm Preferred Sources eligibility: Check in Search Console that your site is included in Search generative AI features, since Google's documentation ties Preferred Sources in AI Mode and AI Overviews to that.
- Decide whether the Preferred Sources button belongs on your site: Carousels highlight Preferred Sources, and the button is the documented way to ask readers to choose you.
- Read Search Console AI data with the position caveat in mind: A higher inline link will not show up as a better position, and click data for AI features is still missing.
- Make official pages easy to identify: If your brand owns the official page for a task, such as a booking, an application or an account action, that page is the kind Google says its test will surface. Clear titles and on-page context help any system understand what a page is for.
- Check Search profile eligibility for video creators: Only creators and publishers in the US, Canada or India with 10,000+ followers qualify today, according to the help page Search Engine Journal cited.
These are the basics of AI SEO: being the source an AI answer chooses to link, then being able to see that it happened.
What this means for Thai marketers
Google did not name Thailand or Thai among the new carousel locations and languages, so there is no confirmed Thai date. The practical step is to watch Thai-language AI Overviews and AI Mode results for news-led queries in your sector and note when carousels show up. Preferred Sources, the button and the Search Console eligibility check apply to Thai sites in the same way as any other. Search profiles, on the help page's own terms, are not open to creators based only in Thailand. For brands planning visibility in AI answers, this update is one more reason to treat generative engine optimization alongside classic SEO in Thailand rather than as a separate project.
FAQ
What did Google change about links in AI Mode and AI Overviews on 15 October 2026?
Google said it will show inline links higher up in AI responses more often, test an official pages section at the top of some answers, expand timely-article carousels to more locations and languages, add thumbnails to related-article links, and test clickable creator names on AI Mode video results. The changes were announced by Hema Budaraju, VP of Product Management, on The Keyword.
Are the new timely-article carousels available in Thailand?
Google has not said. The post says the carousels are rolling out to "additional locations and languages globally" without naming any, so Thai availability has to be checked in live results.
How much has Preferred Sources usage grown?
Google said the number of people using Preferred Sources has grown by more than 7x since the start of 2026. It gave no base or current user count and no measurement method.
Will Search Console show more clicks from inline links?
Not as a separate figure, because Google still does not report click data in its AI performance reporting. Google told Search Engine Roundtable it will "introduce additional metrics over time" without a date, and Search Engine Journal noted that Search Console gives every link in an AI Overview the Overview's single position.
Do I need to do anything to get the new link formats?
No setting is required, since Google applies the formats itself. Sites can check that they are included in Search generative AI features in Search Console, which Google's documentation requires for Preferred Sources in AI Mode and AI Overviews, and can offer readers the Preferred Sources button.
The bottom line
Google's 15 October 2026 update moves links up and around inside AI answers, but it adds no new measurement for site owners. The work is in checking live results market by market, confirming Preferred Sources eligibility and reading Search Console data with its limits in mind. If you want help mapping where your brand appears in AI answers and how to earn more of those links, Relevant Audience's AI SEO team can review your current visibility.
