Google Tests Link Icon Citations For AI Overviews

Jul 22, 2024 - 7:51 am 33 by
Filed Under Google

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Google is also testing link icons in the AI Overviews to show citations for statements generated in the AI Answer. These links, when clicked, will take you to an overlay window that shows those links in a search result format page. No, clicking the link icon will not take you directly to the source but you will see the search result snippet.

Glenn Gabe also spotted this one and I am having trouble replicating it. He posted screenshots on X, which he explained how it works. First, he said this was in "non-labs accounts." He wrote, "They are clustered at the top with small favicons (similar to Perplexity). When tapping the overflow menu, all of those links are provided in a menu. Also, the icons for links in the AI overview were actually link icons. And when tapping the icon, all links for that part of the answer were listed in an overlay."

Here are his screenshots of this:

Google Ai Overviews Link Icons

Then after you click on them:

Google Ai Overviews Link Icons Expand

This reminds me of some of the early tests on how Google SGE showed links. And let's not forget Google testing AI Overview cards at the top.

Glenn added this point this morning around this being a great way to inject ads into the AI Overviews:

Lily Ray also spotted this:

I like that Google continues to experiment with ways to drive traffic to the source of the AI Overviews statements but I am worried where this may lead.

Forum discussion at X.

Update: This may be the desktop version of this user experience:

 

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