Google tests AI Overview links that open AI Mode instead of websites
Links at the bottom of some AI Overviews now trigger follow-up prompts inside AI Mode rather than sending clicks to publishers.
Google is testing anchor links inside AI Overviews that route users into AI Mode instead of a web page. The behaviour was spotted by Gagan Ghotra, who posted a video on X on 21 September 2026. Barry Schwartz wrote it up for Search Engine Roundtable the next day.
In Ghotra's clip, the links sit at the bottom of the AI Overview and look like normal citations. Clicking one fires a follow-up query that opens in AI Mode. The link does not go to a source site.
This is a single tester's observation, not a confirmed rollout. We think it is worth watching because it changes what a link inside an AI Overview actually does. A reader who assumes a citation leads outward may now stay inside Google's own answer surface.
How to check for it on your own queries
Run the queries that show your pages in AI Overviews. Hover each link in the Overview before clicking. Note which ones carry a normal destination URL and which open AI Mode. If you see the AI Mode behaviour, record the query and the link text so you can track how often it appears.
In Search Console, watch impressions from AI Overviews against outbound clicks on the same queries over the coming weeks. A widening gap between the two is the pattern to look for. One tester's video is not a trend on its own.