Google AI Mode flight answers link only to Google Flights
Google's AI Mode returned links exclusively to Google Flights in every flight-related query tested, according to Barry Schwartz, who ran searches for several domestic US and international destinations over the weekend. Natzir first flagged the pattern on X last week, and Schwartz said dozens of screenshots showed the same result.
The finding points to a closed loop inside Google's own answer surface: a user asking AI Mode for flight information is routed to a Google-owned booking product rather than to airlines, OTAs or travel publishers. Schwartz noted that European regulators enforcing the Digital Markets Act are likely to take an interest.
For brands and agencies working on generative engine optimisation, the case is a reminder that citation eligibility in AI Mode is not evenly distributed. Where Google operates a competing product, the answer layer can favour its own links, leaving external sites with little path into the response regardless of content quality.
Reported by Search Engine Roundtable ↗
Topics: AI Mode, Citations, Search policy