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On October 15, 2026, Google announced product and algorithmic updates to enhance the visibility of external links within its AI--powered search results. Addressing mounting regulatory pressure and publisher concerns over steep declines in referral web traffic, Google is placing contextual website links higher up within AI--generated summaries and expanding its global link "carousel" displayed directly below AI Overviews. The system will also prioritize content from users' preferred news sources and prominent discussion forums, aiming to balance native AI synthesis with referral traffic preservation to the open web.