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Alexander Todosuik
Alexander Todosuik

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Google Confirms Gemini 3.8 Flash Stopped Citing Sources in AI Mode

#seo #ai #google #geo

Google confirmed a bug on September 4, 2026: AI Mode running the Gemini 3.8 Flash model stopped citing sources in its answers, especially on broad, top-of-funnel queries. Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, responded directly on X: "This isn't working as intended, and we'll roll out a fix soon." No fix date has been given.

What happened

Google rolled out Gemini 3.8 Flash inside AI Mode on September 1-2, 2026 - the third Flash model release in six weeks, available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Within days, marketer Gagan Ghotra posted dozens of AI Mode results with zero citations on queries that previously returned several source links reliably. Analyst Glenn Gabe then ran a direct side-by-side comparison: the default model cited sources normally, 3.8 Flash produced identical answers with none.

Who is actually affected

This bug is exclusive to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers - the free tier of AI Mode runs a different model and shows no issue. If some of your tracked accounts show a citation drop and others don't, subscription tier is the first thing to check, not content quality.

What to do

  • Don't rewrite content or GEO strategy based on one anomalous week of data
  • If you have Pro/Ultra access, spot-check your key queries manually
  • Keep building signals that earn citations regardless of model: direct answers up front, specific data, clear authorship
  • Watch Robby Stein's account and Search Central for the fix announcement

This is a different story from the long-term AI Overviews CTR decline - that's a permanent structural shift. This is a specific, acknowledged bug in one model release that Google itself called unintended behavior.

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