Google is testing a spot for the official site. Make sure it knows yours.

Someone types "book a cleaning at the dentist on Main Street" or "change my class at the downtown gym" into Google. For a task like that, there is usually one right place to go: the business's own website or booking page. A review site, or a directory that copied your hours two years ago, is a worse answer.

On October 15, Google said it wants to send people to that one right place more often, and it is testing a new way to do it. Part of the change is live. The part that matters most to a local business is still a test.

What happened

Hema Budaraju, a vice president of product management at Google Search, published a post on October 15 called "More ways to connect with the web from Search." It covers several changes to AI Overviews and AI Mode, the AI answers that now sit at the top of many Google searches.

First, links inside the AI answers. Google says it has made "continued and substantial increases to the presence of inline links" in its AI experiences, and that it is showing those links higher in the answer more often. Google did not say how much higher or how often.

Second, a test. Google wrote: "Sometimes, there are only one or two official places on the web to complete a specific task or get the exact info you need." For those searches, it says it will test a dedicated section at the top of the AI answer that highlights those official links, with a short note on why each one is useful. Google called it "testing a new display in Search AI experiences." So far it is only a test. Google did not say which searches will get it or when it might roll out wider.

The same post said the number of people using Preferred Sources, a setting that lets people pick the news sites they want to see more of, "has grown by more than 7x since the start of the year."

One more detail, as reported by Search Engine Journal: in Search Console, every link inside an AI Overview is given the overview's single position. So if your link moves higher inside the answer, your reported position does not change because of it.

Source: Google, October 15, 2026; Search Engine Journal, October 15, 2026

What it means for your business

For a lot of what your customers search, you are the official place: your booking page for booking, your menu page for the menu, your location page for your hours on a holiday.

The question is whether Google can tell. If your website says one name, your Google Business Profile says another, and a directory lists an old phone number, Google has three versions of you and no clear reason to trust yours. In that case the spot meant for the official site can go to whichever page looks most complete. Often that is a directory or an aggregator.

Google's own guidance for site owners is plain here. Its page on AI features says "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary." It also tells owners to make sure their "Merchant Center and Business Profile information is up-to-date" and that structured data matches the visible text on the page. So there is no trick to learn. Google wants your facts stated clearly and stated the same way everywhere.

We wrote about why AI tools recommend some businesses and skip others in Why AI recommends some businesses and ignores others. This test is the same idea with a bigger prize: a labeled spot at the top of the answer.

What to do this week

You do not need a new website. The one you have needs to agree with itself and with the rest of the web.

1. Search your own tasks

   Type the things customers actually do into Google: book, order, reschedule, check hours, find parking. Add your town. Note which site Google points to for each one.

2. Make your facts match everywhere

   Your business name, address, phone, hours, services and booking link should read the same on your website, your Google Business Profile and the big directories. Fix the oldest copies first.

3. Give each task its own clear page

   Your booking page should say it is the booking page. Each location needs its own page with the address and hours in plain text, not only inside an image or a PDF.

4. Check your structured data

   If your site has business details in its code, they should match what visitors see on the page. Google says so in its own guidance.

5. Run a free scan

   See what an AI can read on your site, and what it cannot, before Google decides for you.

This is part of What You Missed, our weekly read on the marketing news that matters to business owners. See the full week: /blog/what-you-missed-week-of-october-12-2026

Sources

• Google, "More ways to connect with the web from Search," Hema Budaraju, October 15, 2026. blog.google
• Search Engine Journal, "Google Puts Inline Links Higher In More AI Search Responses," Matt G. Southern, October 15, 2026. searchenginejournal.com
• Google Search Central, "AI Features and Your Website," last updated December 10, 2025. developers.google.com