Google AI Mode cites 72% fewer sources for logged-out users since mid-August

David Konitzny, posting on LinkedIn on 10 September 2026, published weekly citation counts for Google AI Mode answers served to logged-out users from January through early September. The average number of sources per answer across seven tracked markets fell from 15 on 16 August to 4 on 6 September.

Every market Konitzny tracks moved in the same direction over those three weeks. India dropped from 20 to 5, a 76% fall. The UK and US each went from 19 to 5. Germany fell from 15 to 4, Spain from 13 to 4, South Korea from 13 to 4, and Japan from 10.7 to 3.6.

Konitzny also notes that the spread between markets narrowed sharply. Before the decline, averages ranged from roughly 11 to 20 sources per answer. All seven now sit between 4 and 5.

What to check on your own site

The reported effect is on logged-out sessions, which is what most tracking tools measure. Earlier reports of a citation bug in AI Mode had focused on logged-in users, so this is a separate signal on a different surface.

A site's own AI Mode citation count over the same window is the number that matters. We think most teams have not pulled it, because logged-out AI Mode is not in standard reporting.

Pull weekly citation counts for your domain from 16 August through 6 September in the markets you care about. Compare the trend to the roughly 70% market drop Konitzny reports. A site tracking the market moved with the retrieval layer. A site holding flat kept its share of a smaller pool. A site falling faster than the market has something of its own to look at.