Google tests AI Overview links that redirect to AI Mode
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.
The record: Google AI OverviewsGoogle AI ModeGoogle
Glossary: SEOAI OverviewsAI Mode
Via Search Engine Roundtable ↗
Posted to the wire September 22, 2026. Edited by Joe Balewski.