Google tests top-of-answer links for sites that are the official place to finish a task

Take Google's own example: someone asks AI Mode about an airline refund ^[3]. In the test Google is running, a site that is one of the "one or two official places on the web to complete a specific task or get the exact info you need" would get its link at the top of the response, with "context about why each link is useful" ^[4].

That is a narrow definition. In our view, the airline's own refund page fits it and a travel blog's refund guide does not.

The rest of the announcement is broader. Inline links will appear "higher up in responses more frequently" ^[1]. Links at the end of some responses get image thumbnails and a "more clickable design" ^[5]. Carousels for timely articles and Preferred Sources are moving to more locations and languages ^[6]. A second test would make creator and publisher names clickable on video results, leading to Search profiles ^[8]. Google presents the inline-link change as a continuation, saying it has made "continued and substantial increases to the presence of inline links in our AI experiences" ^[2].

Neither The Verge nor 9to5Google reports click-through or referral numbers. The Verge notes concerns that the format reduces traffic to publishers ^[11], and Google's stated aim is to ensure "key sources are easily clickable right when you need them" ^[12].

The one growth figure comes from 9to5Google, and it counts use of a setting: usage of the customization feature has grown 7x since the launch earlier this year ^[7].

Payment is separate. Google says more than 400 publishers are in its News AI pilot, announced in December ^[9]. It pays publishers for "the delivery and use of enhanced content to develop new AI features," and Google lists Axios, CNN and the Financial Times among the newly onboard partners ^[10].

For Monday, we'd sort the pages that bring in search referrals on two tests: whether the page is one of the one or two official places for a task or an exact answer, and whether the reader has to leave the answer to finish the job. The tradeoff is that Google describes the top-of-response section as a test ^[3].

- Official place, and the job ends on your site (a refund form): the top-of-response test is written for you. Compare AI Mode referrals before and after it reaches your queries. - Official place, and the answer is enough (a fee or a deadline): we'd expect the link without the visit. - Not official, and the reader needs more: inline links, end-of-response links, carousels and Preferred Sources are your positions. - Not official, and the answer is enough: the placement changes help least here, and the News AI pilot is the only payment in the announcement.