It looks like all the negative feedback around the lack of links within the AI-generated answers that Google’s Search Generative Experience generates has made a difference. Google is testing links directly in those answers in the SGE results.
We are seeing these links in the form of classic-looking citations, in the form of button overlays and in the form of quotation overlays. I first broke this news at Search Engine Land but since then, we have seen additional link formats, which I have below.
Shalom Goodman was the first to spot the test and notified me of it on Twitter, he sent me these screenshots via email showing the links directly in the generative answer (click to enlarge them):
Those are two examples from Shalom, but this was what it looked like before Google added these links:
Here is a screenshot from Brendan OConnel on Twitter showing the button arrow down interface for the source: