Google Tests URL Tracking Parameters To AI Overviews & AI Mode
Google appears to be testing tracking parameters on links inside AI Overviews and AI Mode. The parameter is appended to the end of a URL as ?st_source=ai_overview, which would let site owners tell an AI Overview click apart from a click on a standard web result.
Tom Pool spotted the parameter and posted about it on LinkedIn, asking whether it marked the start of proper attribution reporting. He said the parameter also showed on links in the source list. Barry Schwartz could not replicate it across several browsers.
An anonymous source told Schwartz the parameter is a black hat tactic, with operators forcing Google to index parameterised URLs at scale so they can measure exact clicks from AI Overviews.
For brands and agencies tracking whether AI answers send traffic, the parameter would be a direct signal if it ships. Until then, clicks from AI Overviews remain hard to separate from ordinary search clicks.
Reported by Search Engine Roundtable ↗
Topics: AI Overviews, AI Mode, Measurement