"Google is testing using inline, hover-style links for citations in the AI Mode results. When you hover your mouse cursor over the link card, it will hover the link card sources over the answer. Google did tell us they are testing new ways to encourage clicks in AI Mode, so maybe this is one of them. This change was spotted by Brodie Clark at SERP Alert who posted a video of this on X, here is a screenshot from his video:"
"Just to compare, here is what you normally see, and when you click on the link icon, it just highlights those citations on the right side: There is also this variation, with favicons: Here is his video: Google is now testing out inline citations within AI Mode, similar to what we have seen within AI overviews recently. Once the citations are clicked, a separate scrollable feed of links appears. Details: https://t.co/VsXn0potgM--... pic.twitter.com/K6GvWhVg68- SERP Alert ⚡️ (@SERPalerts) November 27, 2025"
Google is testing inline, hover-style citation links for AI Mode search results. Hovering the mouse cursor over a link card overlays the link card sources on top of the AI answer. Clicking a citation opens a separate scrollable feed of links. Brodie Clark at SERP Alert posted a video on X showing the behavior and a screenshot. Standard behavior normally highlights citations in a right-side panel when the link icon is clicked. A variation of the test displays source favicons within the inline link cards. Google confirmed testing new ways to encourage clicks in AI Mode.
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