Google announced at their I/O developer conference earlier this year, that they will be rolling out new AI products and functions to their suite. This included the rollout of Google’s AI Overviews in search, which users are already seeing for a handful of queries.
In this blog post, Danny Conlon, VP of Product and Marketing, will dig deeper into Google AI Overviews, what they mean for the future of search, and how these results will impact your rankings.
What You’ll Learn:
- What Are AI Overviews?
- Will AI Overviews Appear for All Queries?
- Will the Increase of AI Overview Answers Decrease My Website Visibility and Traffic?
- Everything You Need to Know About Ads in Google AI Overviews
- How to Measure Your Website Appearance in AI Overview Answers
- How to Turn Off Google AI Overviews in Search
- Will AI Overviews Replace Featured Snippets?
What Are AI Overviews?
So, what is an AI Overview, exactly? AI Overviews allow for a quicker and more intuitive way to find answers to complex queries. These overviews may include relevant ads for products or services, especially for shopping-related queries.
Here’s an example of Google search results featuring AI Overviews.
Going off of the question of “what is an AI Overview,” you might also wonder, “Where do Google AI Overviews get information from?” When users enter a query, a Google Search AI Overview pulls relevant information from one or multiple resources to compile the best possible answer.
My Expert Insight into Google’s AI Overviews
With the rollout of Google’s new AI Overview feature, digital marketers must take this opportunity to better understand how Google users will see results, and also how they change their search behavior over time.
Now is also the time to educate yourself on what it takes to appear in these AI-powered summaries and reverse-engineer results in order to gain visibility. Knowing how to get your content featured as a source in a Google AI Overview will be important to ensure your brand stays visible and at the top of search. Now is the time to integrate generative engine optimization strategies into your marketing plan.
Just remember, AI doesn’t always get it right, and SERPs are volatile. Don’t change your content just for the sake of AI overview optimization if it strays away from SEO foundations like producing unique, relevant, authoritative and helpful content.
Action Item: Stay on top of SERPs by conducting your own searches on your top money-terms. Use what is served in AI Overviews to inform your content. In the process, watch fluctuating AI Overview results as they attempt to figure out what users really want—these AI-generated results won’t always give you the answer.
Will AI Overviews Appear for All Queries?
No, AI Overviews won’t appear for all queries.
You’re most likely to see them appear at the top of search results for complex queries that warrant longer summaries of information.
For instance, a question like “steps for building a website” might include an AI Overview featuring basic steps and considerations for designing and developing a site, with links to more in-depth articles on the subject.
A query with a more simple, straight-forward answer like “who is the author of The Lord of the Rings,” will just serve a featured snippet with the answer.
Will the Increase of AI Overview Answers Decrease My Website Visibility and Traffic?
The short answer here is no, supposedly.
In fact, there’s a possibility you could benefit from more clicks to your website with the help of these Google AI search results.
According to Google’s Senior Director of Product, Hema Budaraju, the link cards included in AI Overview results encourage more people to click than regular organic results. Google’s most recent data supports this, showing that users who engage with AI Overviews and the ads within them are more satisfied with their search experience and are more likely to interact with the suggested content.
Only time will tell how clicks will be affected if you land in the AI Overview, but positive user interaction will likely lead more people to use this feature, especially if Google AI Overview fails less as the algorithm improves.
As for those who don’t earn this coveted spot, I think we can expect a decrease in click-through rates with the AI Overview section pushing down organic search results even further.
Everything You Need to Know About Ads in Google AI Overviews
If you want to maximize your reach with Google’s AI Overviews, you can more easily do so with ads that integrate into users’ feeds alongside conventional Google Search AI Overviews and Featured Snippets. So, if you’re worried about Overviews stomping out your SEO efforts, it should put you at ease knowing that your ads will work together with them.
Now, when people enter certain queries, such as information about certain products, Search and Shopping ads will show up in the top results. Even if people are entering top-level informational queries like “what is the best way to clean my car’s windshield,” Google’s AI Overviews could provide basic steps while ads showcase various cleaning products, giving users all the resources they need with a single search.
To differentiate these results from organic search, Google still marks these ads with a “Sponsored” label.
Generally, these ads show how marketers can use a combination of SEO and paid media campaigns to stay on top of search in various ways using their Google Ads accounts.
Even if a Google AI Overview fails to convert users and lead them to your website, complementary ads could convert them. The more prevalent your brand and offerings are in these search results, the more you’ll also gain people’s trust, encouraging them to click on your links over less dominant competitors.
How to Measure Your Website Appearance in AI Overview Answers
The best way to determine how your website is performing in AI Overviews will be to view impressions for search queries within Google Search Console.
When discussing AI Overviews, Google mentioned that it would eventually start to include AI Overview impressions and clicks in Search Console data. However, it will blend this data with all other organic impressions and clicks.
So, if you want to gauge performance, look for an increase or decrease in organic impressions and clicks in your reports. You can also perform manual searches to see where your website stands in relation to AI Overviews and adjust your content and SEO strategy accordingly.
Google has not provided separate metrics for AI Overview interactions, but given the potential impact of AI-powered results on organic performance, it’s crucial to keep a close eye on changes in Search Console.
How to Remove AI Overviews from Google Search
If you’re wondering how to turn off Google AI Overviews when viewing search results, now you can.
You’ll need to select the Web button.
This button is a filter that will only show relevant text-based links to searchers. It’s similar to the other filters you see at the top of the SERPS such as Images or Videos. Once you select the Web button all of Google’s knowledge panels, including featured snippets, Shopping features, and Google’s new AI Overviews will be removed from your search results.
This method has been tested but might not be universally available, especially as Google continues to refine the search experience, so some users who are looking into how to remove AI Overviews from Google might not be able to do so. There is no recent confirmation from Google that this filter option is consistently available.
Will AI Overviews Replace Featured Snippets?
No, Google AI Overviews won’t replace featured snippets, knowledge panels, or other types of features stemming beyond traditional results.
Instead, they’ll work alongside featured snippets to give users the most valuable information for complex searches, incorporating a mix of summary content to give them what they’re looking for right at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Now, with the addition of Search and Shopping ads in Google’s AI Overviews, you can also ensure people find your business through PPC efforts in addition to snippets and other organic content.
Get Seen in AI Overviews With Our Generative Engine Optimization Services
Search engine results and search engines themselves are quickly evolving, and so are our optimization strategies.
Now, with ads integrated into AI Overviews, the landscape is even more dynamic, offering new ways for marketers to connect with users at the perfect moment in their search journey.
If you’re looking to gain visibility in AI powered search results like Google’s AI overviews, ChatGPT, CoPilot, Perplexity and more, Ignite Visibility can help. We offer Generative Engine Optimization services that are sure to help you stay ahead of your competition.
Our Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Services Includes:
- Authoritative content creation
- Multimedia asset management
- Structured data implementation
- Brand analysis and research
- Online community management
- And much more!
To put your next plan into action with our experts, contact Ignite Visibility today to discuss your unique marketing needs.
