How To Optimise for AI Overviews

In the recently published article about the Future of SEO: Top 5 Trends for 2025 & Beyond, one of the top recommendations mentioned was ‘AI Search Generative Experience (SGE)’. This article explores the topic further.

Announced in mid-2023 at the Google I/O conference, AI Overviews began as an experiment to incorporate generative AI answers into traditional search results, with the original branding “Search Generative Experience’ (SGE)”. In May 2024, they were officially launched in live organic search results in the US, under the new name “AI Overviews”, introducing a new user experience for consumers and new questions for brands. Since autumn 2024, AI overviews are being rolled out globally.

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AI Overviews vs Featured Snippets

Google’s answer boxes that show atop organic search results, featured snippets, take a relevant section from the page on a ranked site, provide it literally as an answer in position zero at the top of the search engine results page, and link to that site. All this is done using the same search technology, web index and Google’s algorithms that brands have been dealing with for over a decade. Example: searches for “average walking pace” show this featured snippet:

In contrast, AI overviews use Google’s language model, Gemini, to provide AI-generated answers to users’ questions. These appear as detailed answers, usually with several paragraphs in ‘position zero’ and may require a ‘click to expand’ action to visualise the full generated response.

How are AI Overviews generated?

As mentioned, AI overviews are collected from two sources: Google’s LLM, known as Gemini, and Google’s organic web index.

Generating an AI Overview uses the following process, according to Google’s patent:

1. A consumer inputs a query into Google search.
2. Google uses a natural language response system to understand the context and meaning behind the query.
3. Google provides a generated summary using data from within their own LLM. This isn’t based on specific context and links from the SERP, but rather what Google’s AI model knows about a subject based on all the content it trained on in the past.
4. Google consults top-ranking websites in its search engine index to find content that best answers the query, linking to these websites as sources within the AIO.

How can your brand appear in AI Overviews?

AI search is growing rapidly. We’ve seen referral traffic to many of our clients’ websites rising sharply as more and more people turn to these new forms of search. This presents a new set of challenges for SEOs to overcome, as these AI search engines operate very differently from traditional search.

Here’s our recommended framework for winning at SEO in the age of AI search:

• Identify opportunity: Understand which systems matter most for your industry, and what triggers them to include specific brands in their overviews.
• Cover your topic from all angles: Covering a topic from all angles is vital for SEO success. It enhances content quality, increases visibility, improves user engagement, and establishes your brand as the ultimate authority.
• Prioritize user experience (UX): Make your site’s information easily accessible and understandable. Use clear navigation and an organized content structure that both users and AI can process effectively.
• Organize information for easy reading: Structure content with clear headings and concise sections. Use bullet points and short paragraphs to present information in an easily digestible format.
• Incorporate multimedia content: Add relevant images, videos, and infographics with proper descriptions and tags to enhance your brand’s digital presence and AI understanding.
• Optimise your site’s technical SEO: Implement proper schema markup, ensure fast loading times, and maintain good technical health of your website for better AI crawling and indexing.

How to monitor the visibility of AI Overviews?

You can track your AI search visibility using different methods and tools.

Manual search:

Search and ask questions like your target audience. Use long-tail keywords and prompts your customer may use to solve their problems and find your solutions.

SEMrush:

Use Position Tracking to check your AI Overview visibility. Here’s how you can use Position Tracking:

1. Click Position Tracking.
2. Enter your website and the keywords you want to track.
3. Go to Overview.
4. Click the SERPs Feature dropdown and select AI Overview.

Ahrefs:

Use the Site Explorer feature. This tool lets you discover which of your pages are visible in AI Overviews and for which keywords. You can do so through these steps:

1. Go to Ahrefs’ Site Explorer.
2. Input your website.
3. Under Organic search, click Organic keywords.
4. Click the SERP features dropdown button.
5. Select AI overview, and click Apply.
6. Click Show results.