What are Google AI Overviews and How They Affect SEO
By Daniel Walker
Chat AIs, such as Claude, Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Gemini, have become the mainstay of online research for an increasing number of internet users in recent months. At first glance, it seems that Google Search is facing an existential threat from these AI tools. In fact, it launched Gemini probably just to have its own horse in the AI race, unsure where it's going right now. Nevertheless, Google doesn't intend to lose its Search business yet. And AI Overviews are the latest innovation from Google to tackle the AI challenge. Thanks to AI Overviews, users no longer need to use a chat AI tool for a human-like search experience. They can find it in Google Search itself. Here's everything you need to know about AI Overviews, especially if you're an SEO professional or a digital marketing.
Part 1: What are AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries of search results in Google Search. They appear in Position Zero, well above the ads and organic search results.
Unlike Feature Snippets, which were featured content extracted from a single search result deemed by Google to be most relevant to a user's search query, AI Overviews are created by generative AI using information extracted from multiple search results. It provides search users with a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.
AI overviews are fully customized to the searcher's query, and the answers speak directly to the question raised. They even match the user's query intent.
Part 2: Main Components of AI Overviews
AI Overviews on Google Search typically have 4 components to them:
1. Google Generative Overview
It's the most prominent and visible component of every Google Search AI Overview. It appears at the top of the page and provides a simple explanation of the topic related to the search query, just enough to get the user started.
2. Key Points
After the initial summary, the AI Overview provides a more comprehensive insight into the topic by presenting various aspects of it. These points are generally hidden and need to be accessed by clicking the "Show more" button. Each point discussed here is accompanied by a link to one of the top sources from the search results.
3. Links Overview
On the right of the AI Overview, you'll find a list of all the sources that best match the information presented in the overview. It's usually a compressed list showing only a few links, and you'll need to click the "Show all" button to view all the listed sources.
Part 3: How Do AI Overviews Work?
AI Overviews are generated by Google's in-house large language model (LLM), Gemini. It taps into a variety of sources it has crawled all over the web. However, it's not possible to pinpoint the specific links from which the AI has sourced the information used to generate the AI overview. Therefore, the links accompanying the overviews aren't exactly the sources of information in the overviews, but rather close matches of content within the overview.
Although AI overviews look similar to Featured Snippets, they are vastly different from them. The latter is an excerpt from one of the top search results. It is replicated in its original form, without any changes to the language. Although they can be perfect match answers to the search query, they provide limited information as envisioned by the original author of the respective webpage from which it's pulled.
In contrast, AI Overviews provide relatively in-depth insight into the search query. Besides a high-level introduction, the overview discusses multiple dimensions and aspects of the query, including relevant facts, stats, and reliable citations for those pieces of information.
In a nutshell, each AI Overview is a custom answer generated by Gemini in response to your unique question or query.
Part 4: How AI Overviews Impact SEO and Search User Experience
Since their launch, AI Overviews are appearing in an increasingly higher number of searches, especially for searches with informational intent. As Gemini's capability to provide accurate, useful, and satisfying overviews increases, we can expect AI Overviews to become the mainstay of the Google Search experience for users.
However, this presents several challenges for marketers. For one, AI overviews aim to satisfy the user's search intent completely, providing them with comprehensive knowledge on the topic in an easily digestible format. As a result, users often do not click on any links that appear in the search results.
They may still appear in the linked list of the AI overview, but their likelihood of generating a click is much less now. Such zero-click searches are rising fast. Without clicks, websites are actively losing precious traffic and potential customers.
Some types of searches, such as commercial intent searches, may continue to generate a lot of clicks. However, informational intent searches, which are the primary source of traffic for the majority of websites, may lead to zero-click experiences, effectively ending SEO as we know it.
Part 5: How to Appear in AI Overviews?
For commercial intent searches, it's absolutely essential to appear in AI Overviews to dominate your competition. Even for informational intent searches that result in zero clicks, appearing in AI Overviews can be a game-changer for brands. For one, it shows that your link is trusted by Google/Gemini enough to be cited as a source, which can be a great sign of brand approval. It also boosts your brand awareness among your audiences. So, you must appear in AI Overviews, and here's how you can boost your chances:
- Rank High Organically
- Double Down on EEAT
- Meet Search Intent
- YMYL: Your Money or Your Life
Google's LLM typically cites sources that appear at the top of the search results. So, the higher you rank on the search page, the more likely your brand is to be mentioned or your page to be cited in the AI overview.
Google emphasizes Experience (firsthand knowledge), Expertise (well-researched insights), Authoritativeness (industry recognition), and Trustworthiness (accuracy and transparency) over everything else. If your content ticks all of these boxes, you're sure to gain significant organic traction on Google, Gemini, and other AI chatbots. You're also more likely to appear in AI overviews.
Google values pages and content that fully meet the search intent of the user's query. If your content provides users with complete clarity on the search topic to the point that they don't need to look for additional answers elsewhere, Google ranks it highly and may even feature it in AI overviews.
Google assigns additional criteria for websites to rank for critical topics that directly impact users' lives, such as finance, health, law, etc. YMYL topics demand expert authorship, reputable sources, and transparency to rank high. In short, you need a strong online reputation to rank high and appear in AI overviews for these topics.
FAQs on Google AI Overviews
No. AI Overviews are controlled by Google. Which search results and topics receive AI Overviews, and which don't, is entirely up to Google. Users can neither activate nor deactivate them.
Not always. AI Overviews can often be error-prone. In fact, users have observed that Google's LLM hallucinates and generates inaccurate AI Overviews, despite the search giant's best efforts. So, users must take the information presented in AI Overviews with a pinch of salt.
Conclusion
Google AI Overviews are changing how people search for and find information online. They give quick answers at the top of the page, so users don't always need to click on other websites. This is a significant change for individuals who work with SEO and websites, as it may result in fewer visitors. However, if your website appears in the AI Overview, it can still benefit your brand and help people trust your content.
Fortunately, you can simplify high-quality content creation with HitPaw VikPea. Videos created and enhanced with HitPaw VikPea offer a deeply immersive experience, ultimately ranking higher and generating traction for your brand.
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