Google’s AI Overview feature has made some huge changes to the user experience when they perform a search. This new system has altered both the way people view search results and the manner in which brands think about their online presence. Instead of focusing on traditional blue links as the primary vehicle of driving traffic to a brand’s website, the entire method for creating an online presence is now based on understanding what people want based on the summary, context, and intentions behind their searches.
In this post, we’ll explore the impact of AI Overview on our online search behaviours and how to incorporate this functionality into your SEO strategy moving forward.
AI Overview
As a result of AI Overview, Google’s function has evolved from just finding items to being an interpreting and synthesizing data system. Users of the platform receive a single page view of an answer directly from their search action instead of being required to click through to several pages of potential data sources.
This change has a considerable impact on not only CTR (Click-Through Rates) but also on how marketers will develop their content going forward. The focus of content creation will no longer only be on Snippets or organic listing, marketers must now consider how their content contributes to the totality of an AI’s knowledge about a particular topic. AI Overview is an aggregator for a multitude of data sources and, as such, strives for an all-rounded perspective of an issue instead of only the highest-ranking page.
Therefore, SEO in the current market is not simply about the ranking of a page, but rather being included in AI Overview, which is establishing itself as a strong competitor for first-page visibility.
What is Google AI Overview?
If you’re wondering, “what is Google AI overview?”, it represents a progression of the previous Search Generative Experience (SGE). Google AI Overview makes use of generative artificial intelligence to distill the most accurate, reliable, clear, and helpful information into an answer for a query. While the traditional search result consisted of ten blue hyperlinks, Google AI Overview will provide a brief explanatory paragraph followed up by sources that were utilized by Google AI Overview.
What makes this all the more interesting is that the method by which a page is chosen to be used within an answer is very different from how pages used to rank in the Google search engine. For example, a page does not necessarily have to be ranked in the first position for its content to be referenced within Google AI Overview’s answer. Rather, it needs to demonstrate that it is helpful, reliable, accurate, current, and that the way in which the content on the webpage has been structured can easily and clearly be processed by AI.
Google’s focus on understanding these three factors (intent, context, and user behavior) is an effort to provide users with a better search experience and to provide SEO professionals with guidance on how to create content that algorithms can easily interpret, and that users will trust.
How to rank in Google AI Overviews in 2025
Now the question arises: “How to rank in Google AI overviews in 2025?”
Ranking as a standard search result and ranking as an AI Overview from Google are related but different objectives. The 2025 Algorithm will be more focused on showing clarity, depth of context, and signals of authority than simply matching keywords.
- Content must provide direct answers to the questions being asked. Google provides searchable content as an answer to any question that has been posed in a specific way by its users, which means that by writing clearly, using appropriate language, including definitions, and writing “How-To” guides, you will have greater success.
- Structured formatting (e.g., tables, lists, bullet points, and sub-headings) support the AI’s ability to parse topics efficiently.
- How current or recent your content is will also impact how favorable your content is for inclusion. So, consistently revising your “Key Page” content and keeping that “Key Page” up to date will encourage more frequent inclusion.
- Lastly, the more consistent you are with building your niche authority, the more likely your site will be trusted by Google as a reliable source of information for the Google AI overview. You should think of your website as an information repository rather than simply a collection of blog posts about random topics.
What is the Search Labs AI Overview?
Prior to the full deployment of generative search answers, Google employed AI Overview in Search Labs to test out generative responses. With AI Overview, users were able to preview generative answers and give feedback to Google regarding the quality of responses. Early tester feedback also allowed Google to refine its process for creating more accurate and desirable results for users.
Looking back to the first few months after Search Labs was launched, one could see that many users found unique insights from this platform that would benefit SEO specialists. These users could determine which types of pages had been cited by Google and how the AI created the summary of the content included in the article. Additionally, it provided insight into the way the AI preferred to interpret the content of different articles, which helped marketers develop strategies for using the AI effectively.
The experiment showed that Google is not merely copying the text that appears in the top-ranking articles. Instead, the technology synthesizes many trusted sources into an aggregate response. With the lessons learned from this initial testing period, marketers can now develop their strategies based on what they know about when a given page is more likely to be visible to search engines. Additionally, while Search Labs does not presently exist, the many lessons learned from AI Overview’s experimental use of AI will continue to inform and improve marketers’ optimization techniques.
AI Overview Ranking Tips
To be successful in getting featured in a generative summary, you must have a different way of thinking compared to traditional ranking methods. The following tips reflect common themes we’ve seen in many test cases around how AI Overview ranks content. Let’s take a look at some of these AI overview ranking tips:
- Keep it short but informative
AI will prefer creating a summary of an article if it has direct, clear, and friendly language. Thus, there is a greater likelihood of selecting your article as a source for its summaries when written this way.
- Use structured responses
Use format lists, step-by-step instructions, FAQs, definitions, etc. The AI system recognizes these types of structure as they are often referenced to in an AI overview, so this will help it to identify your content more easily.
- Create semantic clusters
Create additional pages for other topics related to the subject at hand, i.e. internal linking clusters. Make sure your semantic clustering shows SEO value; links coming from the same domain will have higher rankings than links from multiple different domains
- Build EAT Elements
Author bios, citations, updates, and real-world insights will be the key to Google trusting them to produce reliable AI results.
- Regularly update content
Old content will be outdated fast. So, be sure to have a revision cycle of 60 to 90 days for your key pages.
Generative Search AI
With the emergence of generative search AI, it becomes necessary for the internet to shift from keyword matching SEO to understanding the intent behind searches. In other words, generative search Engines don’t simply analyze/query it, they try to determine the Reason behind why users are searching, as well as what their expected response would be from the search engine.
Generative search AI engines are composed of three parts: a neural network model to understand and generate contextually relevant content, a semantic index of similar types of data, and retrieval-augmented generation which creates potential question and answers. The result will be that your content should support and allow an AI engine to interpret meaning not just for the purpose of matching keywords to queries.
As a result, content creation will also change, as instead of creating multiple short paragraphs with a lot of filler text in each, content creators will create longer, deeper, layered contextual content that provides much longer contextual explanations to users. The most effective way to create content to get a product is through examples, case studies, and research-based udates that improve you chance of getting a click, and the better the article or section of the page expresses your expertise the more valuable you will be to a generative ecosystem.
Google AI SERP Changes
The most noticeable changes to the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) of Google AI is that the results are now more comprehensive, dynamic and layered than ever before. In one scroll of the page, the user can see a summary of information along with citation links, videos, carousels, answers to commonly asked questions (FAQs) as well as the traditional organic search results.
The biggest impact for marketers that has occurred because of the implementation of Google AI into the search engine results pages (SERPs) is the transformation of how the user interacts with the results. Many users will receive the information they need from the summary provided by Google AI before they ever click on a link to the site. As a result, there will be variations in how traffic flows to sites due to a decrease in traffic flowing from broad keywords and an increase in engagement with the sites from more specific, high-intent keywords/queries.
In addition, because there are now more layers to the search result formats, brands need to develop ways to stand out among their competitors. Using schema markup, rich media (videos/images), product detail pages, and reviews will be more critical to getting that attention.
How AI Overviews Have Rewritten SEO Playbooks
AI has profoundly influenced the direction of SEO. SEO has transitioned from being about optimising for Google’s crawler, to focusing on creating meaningful content for the Google AI Interpreter.
In the past, SEO rewarded optimisation techniques to influence Google. In today’s digital market, Google rewards those web pages that have true value and assistance to online users because they answer user questions.
To achieve this goal, businesses must therefore adopt a holistic approach. A single stand-alone blog article will no longer achieve a high ranking. Instead, a comprehensive network of interconnected content that explores all aspects of a particular subject will have far greater success in this environment, which is driven by Generative Search AI and continually-changing ranking algorithms.
Final Thoughts
Conducting a search in 2025 will be an even smarter, more conversational, and more helpful experience than it is today. With the implementation of Google’s AI in their SERP and the increasing use of AI Overview, the traditional SEO process has evolved into a more strategic approach.
Instead of simply trying to rank, your goal is now to be a part of that conversation through your content. To maintain that presence in the search results, you will need to provide content that is clear, credible, organized, and fresh.
Embracing this evolution of SEO is the best approach to gaining all the potential opportunities it can provide. Quality content is still King, but it is now important to provide quality content that speaks fluently to both humans and machines.
