Google Brings Developing-Topic Link Carousels to AI Mode
TLDR
Google has rolled out developing-topic link carousels to AI Mode, giving timely articles prominent placement alongside AI-generated responses.
Optimixed Overview
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Google VP of Product Robby Stein announced that developing-topic link carousels are now live in AI Mode, expanding a feature the company first introduced in May. The carousels display a horizontal row of article cards—each with an image, headline, source, and publication date—between sections of AI-generated responses for searches about trending or developing topics. The carousel creates larger visual link placement than smaller inline citations, potentially increasing clicks and visibility for featured sources, though Google notes the format appears only for some searches and currently lacks a dedicated Search Console filter for tracking.
Google's Preferred Sources Program Has Nearly Doubled Since May
The developing-topic carousel isn't new on its own — Google introduced the format in May as part of a push to connect AI Search users with original reporting, and it's been available in AI Overviews since then. What's new is its arrival in AI Mode specifically, alongside a related program that's grown substantially since its debut: Preferred Sources, which lets sites signal they should be favored within these carousels, now counts more than 600,000 unique sources, up from roughly 345,000 when Google reported the figure in May.
For sites trying to track whether this is actually driving traffic, the measurement picture is incomplete. AI Mode links do generate impressions and clicks that show up in Search Console's existing reports, but there's currently no way to isolate data for this specific carousel format from AI Mode traffic more broadly — so a site can see its overall AI Mode numbers move without being able to confirm the carousel specifically is the reason.
Google has also acknowledged the carousel doesn't appear for every developing-topic search, only some, and hasn't said whether the format will expand to other query types beyond trending and developing topics.