# Google confirms AI Mode citation bug in Gemini 3.8 Flash

Published: 2026-09-04T01:47:42.897Z · Source: Search Engine Land (https://searchengineland.com/google-to-fix-citation-bug-with-gemini-3-8-flash-in-ai-mode-486892)
Source date: 2026-09-04
Entities: gemini, google, ai-mode

Robby Stein, Google Search's VP of product, confirmed on X that Google AI Mode responses generated with Gemini 3.8 Flash are failing to cite or link sources as intended, and said a fix is coming soon, per Search Engine Land. The admission follows reports a day earlier from SEO practitioners Gagan Ghotra and Glenn Gabe, who posted screenshots of AI Mode queries on the new model returning no source links. Gemini 3.8 Flash rolled out to AI Mode for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers on September 2.

Why it matters: Confirms, from Google itself, a report that ran a day earlier flagged single-source and unverified — AI Mode's citation behavior keeps proving unstable across model swaps.

## What this answers

**Did Google confirm the Gemini 3.8 Flash citation bug in AI Mode?**

Yes. Robby Stein, Google Search's VP of product, confirmed on X that citations were not working as intended in AI Mode responses generated by Gemini 3.8 Flash, and said a fix is coming soon.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-09-04-google-confirms-ai-mode-citation-bug-in-gemini-3-8-flash/
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