Clients keep asking whether links still count now that AI answers do the reading. The short answer is yes, but the job backlinks do in AI search has changed.
For twenty years the formula was simple: earn links, climb rankings, collect traffic. Then Google AI Overviews started answering questions directly, ChatGPT and Perplexity started citing sources, and a new claim spread: backlinks don’t matter for AI.
That claim is half right, and the wrong half can cost you. Here’s where links still work, where they’ve been overtaken, and how to plan for both classic rankings and AI citations.
What the research found
Ahrefs analysed 75,000 brands to see which off-site signals line up with appearing in AI Overviews. In its AI Overview brand visibility study, branded web mentions correlated with AI visibility far more strongly than backlinks did.
Read the fine print. Correlation is not causation: strong brands earn mentions, links and citations together, so mentions may signal brand strength rather than cause citations. Treat the numbers as a map, not a recipe.
A second Ahrefs finding matters for rankings. Its analysis found that only about 38% of AI Overview citations also ranked in the organic top 10.
A big reason is query fan-out. The system runs several related searches behind one question, so a page can be cited for a sub-question it ranks for even if it never ranks for the main keyword.
The indirect route: links feed rankings, rankings feed citations
None of this means links stopped working. They now work one step removed from where they used to.
Google’s guidance on AI features and your website says the same SEO fundamentals apply: a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in search to be shown as a supporting link.
AI answers combine what a model learned in training with live retrieval from a search index. Links influence the second part, shaping what gets indexed, ranked and surfaced.
So links feed rankings, rankings feed the candidate pool, and the pool feeds citations. That explains the weaker direct correlation without making links irrelevant.
Where AI citations actually come from
If links aren’t the main driver, what is? Large citation studies keep pointing at third-party sources, especially earned media.
Muck Rack’s Generative Pulse research found that earned media accounts for around 84% of AI citations across ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.
The message is consistent: AI systems lean on what other people say about you, from news coverage to communities, reviews and video. Your own perfectly optimised service page is rarely the source they reach for first.
What this means for your link strategy
The old thinking chased link counts and authority scores. The new thinking says relevant links from credible sites matter more, and volume has diminishing returns once you’re trusted.
Topical fit and a real audience count as much as any metric, and branded anchors with natural mentions beat exact-match stuffing.
The placements that help most do two jobs at once. They pass a relevant link and put your brand, product and expertise in front of readers and AI retrieval systems in a credible editorial context.
Comparison pieces, expert roundups and genuine contributions on relevant sites fit that description. Random placements on unrelated sites don’t, whatever their authority score. Our guide to guest posting in 2026 covers what still works.
Success metrics need the same update. Track citations in AI answers, branded search growth and conversions alongside links.
The risk side hasn’t gone away
AI search didn’t repeal Google’s spam policies. Paid and sponsored links should still be qualified with rel=”sponsored”, and guest post links placed mainly for ranking with rel=”nofollow”.
Google’s link spam systems are built to neutralise paid link networks, site-wide link selling and thin guest posts that exist only to carry a link.
The safe approach is to buy visibility and editorial placement, not rankings. Work only with sites that publish real content for real readers, and accept that some links will be qualified yet still valuable for exposure and mentions.
Google is also tightening up on manipulative links. Our breakdown of the September 2026 spam update explains what changed.
Frequently asked questions
Do backlinks help you appear in AI Overviews?
Indirectly. Links help pages get indexed and rank, which puts them in the pool AI Overviews draw from. They’re a foundation rather than the deciding factor.
What matters more than backlinks for AI search?
How widely and credibly the web talks about your brand. We cover this in brand mentions are becoming the new backlinks.
Should I stop building links?
No. Build fewer, more relevant, more editorial links that also earn a mention. Our link building fundamentals guide explains how.
The bottom line
Backlinks have moved from the main stage to the foundation. They still decide whether you’re trusted enough to be considered, but they no longer decide on their own whether an AI answer names you.
What separates cited brands from ignored ones is how widely and credibly the web talks about them. That makes media placements and off-page SEO beyond links more important than ever.
Linkuild is built around this shift: editorial placements on real publications your buyers read, chosen for relevance rather than vanity metrics. Contact us to review where your placements land today.