[UPDATE] Google to show publisher links more prominently in AI Overviews and AI Mode amid traffic-loss complaints
AFP (via Tech Xplore) reports that Google will place in-text links higher and more often in AI-generated answers, expand its link carousel globally, and prioritise users' 'preferred sources'. Publishers have been warning about declining traffic, and AFP cites Chartbeat data showing a 40% drop in Google traffic to news publishers. For the answer-engine economy, this is a change in how Google shares clicks from AI answers with publishers. AFP is the only independent account found in the window. Next to watch: whether referral data shows any recovery, and how regulators or publishers respond.