Google is testing links inside AI Overviews (the AI-generated answer boxes that appear at the top of search results) that, when clicked, open AI Mode instead of any external website. First documented by Gagan Ghotra on September 21, 2026, and reported by Search Engine Roundtable, the test signals another step toward keeping search users inside Google’s own AI environment rather than sending them to the open web.
What is Google actually testing with these AI Mode links?
At the bottom of certain AI Overview panels, Google is placing anchor links (standard-looking, clickable text links) that do not navigate to any web page. Instead, clicking them triggers a follow-up question inside AI Mode, which is Google’s conversational search interface that generates fully AI-written answers without presenting a list of external sites to visit.
Ghotra first captured the behavior in a video posted to X on September 21, 2026. He described them as “anchor links which instead of taking to a webpage takes to AI Mode,” and characterized the pattern as “another tactic from Google to push users from usual search results to AI Mode,” according to Search Engine Roundtable.
How are these links different from standard AI Overview citations?
Standard AI Overview source links appear as labeled citations, and clicking them opens an external web page. The new test links are visually similar to ordinary inline hyperlinks, appear at the bottom of the AI Overview body, and route the click back into Google, not outward to a publisher.
- Standard AI Overview citation links: displayed as labeled source references; clicking opens an external web page.
- New test links: displayed as inline anchor links at the bottom of the panel; clicking opens AI Mode with a follow-up query instead of a web page.
- First documented by: Gagan Ghotra, via video on X, September 21, 2026.
- Current status: an active test; Google has not confirmed scope, affected query types, or rollout plans.
What this means for AI-search visibility
Plain version first: if someone clicks what looks like a normal link inside a Google answer panel and ends up inside more Google AI instead of on your website, you lost a visitor without ever knowing the link existed.
The analysis below is Hingewise’s assessment, not a statement from Google.
Being cited inside an AI Overview has been treated as a form of AI-search visibility, the ability for a brand to be found and referenced by AI systems when users search. But there is a meaningful difference between a citation that drives a real visit to your site and a citation whose link stays inside Google’s ecosystem. If these test links scale, a portion of AI Overview citations would function as traffic dead-ends for publishers, regardless of whether the brand name appears in the AI-written text.
A relevant comparison: when Google introduced featured snippets (the answer box above search results) years ago, publishers raised concerns about zero-click searches, where users get an answer without visiting any site. This new test raises a structurally similar question one layer deeper: not just “will the AI Overview answer the question before anyone clicks?” but “will the links inside the AI Overview even point to the web?”
One dimension the source does not address: query intent is likely to matter significantly here. Navigational queries (where someone is trying to reach a specific site or brand) are probably treated differently from informational queries (where someone wants an explanation or comparison). Brands that primarily serve informational search intent may face more exposure to this behavior than those capturing navigational or transactional queries, where users have a clear destination already in mind.
Hingewise’s read: tracking citation link destinations inside AI Overviews, not just citation frequency, is becoming a necessary part of AI-search monitoring. A brand that appears often in AI Overviews but whose associated links route users to AI Mode faces a fundamentally different situation from one whose citations still drive web visits. That distinction is now worth measuring separately.
What to check before this test expands
- Run your 10 to 20 highest-priority queries in Google and note which ones trigger AI Overview panels.
- For queries where AI Overviews appear, hover over or long-press any links at the bottom of the panel to inspect whether they point to external URLs or appear to be AI Mode follow-up triggers.
- In Google Search Console, check click data for queries where AI Overviews are common and look for unexplained drops in clicks that do not match impressions trends.
- In your web analytics platform, segment organic sessions by landing page and look for declines on pages that historically benefited from AI Overview citations.
- Note whether your brand name is mentioned in AI Overview text even in cases where the accompanying link may not point to your site.
- Follow Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land for any updates on whether Google confirms or expands the test.
Search Engine Roundtable reported the behavior on September 22, 2026, based on Ghotra’s documentation from the day prior. Whether this test expands to a broader rollout or remains limited is the question most relevant to anyone tracking organic and AI-referred traffic over the next few months.
Author: Lam Nguyen · Hingewise
Source: Search Engine Roundtable, September 22, 2026
This article was drafted with AI assistance from the sources cited above and checked against them before publishing. The "What this means for AI-search visibility" section is Hingewise's editorial analysis, built on the frameworks and positions we use in our GEO work. How we work: Editorial policy.