Google’s AI answers now link out more. Here’s how to be one of the links.

1. What changed

Google’s AI answers sit above the normal results, and a common complaint has been that they answer the question without sending anyone anywhere. Google’s October 15 update pushes back on that:

• More links inside the answer. Google says it has made “continued and substantial increases” to the links placed inside AI responses, and will show them higher up more often.
• An official-sources box (being tested). For some tasks, a section at the top of the answer highlights the official pages to use and says why each one helps.
• Better related links. Related articles at the end of some answers now get thumbnails and a more clickable design, and news carousels are reaching more places and languages.

Google also said people choosing “Preferred Sources” for news has grown more than seven times since the start of the year. Searchers are starting to pick who they trust.

Google: the October 15 update

2. How a page gets picked

There is no secret AI tag. Google’s own documentation says a page only has to be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet, and that there are no extra requirements or special optimizations for AI Overviews or AI Mode.

So the work is plain: be indexed, answer the question clearly, and be the most useful page for it.

In practice, the pages that get linked tend to answer one specific thing well: what a service costs to start, which areas you cover, how booking works, what to do before an appointment. A homepage that tries to say everything rarely wins those questions.

Google Search Central: AI features and your website

3. What it means for a local business

Picture someone asking Google, “how much does it cost to have a gutter cleaned in Summerville and how soon can someone come out?” The AI answer will pull from pages that state those things plainly. If your site says “contact us for a quote” and nothing else, there is nothing to link to.

• Give each service its own page with what it includes, who it is for, where you do it and how to book.
• Say the facts in words. Hours, service area, starting prices or what affects the price, and how fast you respond. Information that only lives in a photo or a PDF is easy to miss.
• Answer the follow-up questions customers ask you on the phone, on the page itself.
• Keep your Google Business Profile matching your site. Mismatched hours or services make you look less reliable as a source.

Our guide on showing up when customers ask AI covers the wider checklist for ChatGPT, Copilot and Siri too.

4. Check your pages

Run through this for your most important service. It saves your progress in this browser only.

5. How to tell if it’s working

Google does not break out AI Mode or AI Overview clicks on their own. In Search Console they are counted in the normal Performance report under the “Web” search type, alongside everything else.

So watch the pages, not the feature. If a service page you improved starts getting more impressions and clicks for longer, question-style searches, the work is paying off. And make sure the visitor who does click lands somewhere that captures them: a form that reaches a person, a fast reply and a booking link. That is the part most sites skip, and it is covered in why leads go cold after the form.