# Google tests AI Overview links that redirect to AI Mode

Published: 2026-09-22T12:18:51.815Z · Source: Search Engine Roundtable (https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overview-links-to-ai-mode-42132.html)
Source date: 2026-09-22
Flags: single-source — confirmation pending
Entities: ai-overviews, ai-mode, google

Google is testing anchor links inside AI Overviews that look like normal web links but instead open AI Mode with a follow-up question, rather than taking users to an external page. SEO consultant Gagan Ghotra spotted the links on September 21 and shared video and screenshots on X; Search Engine Roundtable's Barry Schwartz said Google had not responded to a request for comment. The links appear at the bottom of some AI Overview responses, in place of the outbound citations that normally sit there.

Why it matters: If a link inside an AI Overview can route to AI Mode instead of a publisher's page, the click Google already discloses as \"organic\" is doing less to send traffic than the same-looking link did before.

## What this answers

**Do AI Overview links ever lead into AI Mode instead of a website?**

Google is testing anchor links at the bottom of some AI Overviews that look like normal links but open AI Mode with a follow-up question, rather than taking the user to a web page, per SEO consultant Gagan Ghotra's screenshots shared with Search Engine Roundtable.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-09-22-google-tests-ai-overview-links-that-redirect-to-ai-mode/
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