Google’s AI Overviews Have Changed Search: Here’s what you need to know.

If you’re a business owner, marketer, or publisher looking to grow your site and improve your rankings, it’s important to understand Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs). Formerly known as the Search Generative Experience (SGE), they represent a major change in how search results are shown.

Google’s SGE was introduced in 2023 and rebranded AI Overviews in 2024. They use advanced AI to generate summaries of information directly to the top of your search results. Say hello to Gemini on Google Search. In less than a year, it’s changing how we use the Internet.

On the one hand, this is an opportunity. AI-powered search can increase visibility by featuring authoritative and well-structured content in the summaries. On the other hand, it’s a challenge. By the law of averages, some of your potential organic visitors that might otherwise have spent time on your site will no longer click through.

It’s a brand new day on the search landscape. And while many SEOs have beat the drum, tom-toms, and tambourines about high-quality content, we’re going to add to the cacophony:

It’s important to focus on creating content that follows E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) principles. This content is more likely to be featured in AI-generated summaries. It also happens to be more likely to convert.

AIOs can impact your visibility and organic traffic. Understanding how they work can help adapt your SEO strategies, improve your content structure, and increase your online visibility.

Google’s AIOs prioritize AI-generated summaries over traditional ranking.

AIOs pull the information for the summaries from multiple sources. The AI-generated summaries are at the top of search engine results, effectively pushing traditional organic rankings lower on the page.

This is different than the “ten blue links” model we’re used to that now hides below the summary. This shift impacts SEO by reducing the visibility and click-through rates (CTR) of traditional search results.

Google wants to provide users with less “search friction.” While this might provide a more streamlined experience for users, it means the AI overviews are another place to compete.

I know people who would cheer and people who would groan at that…

Here are your key takeaways:

AI Overviews (AIOs) pull content from several sources to display a quick, brief response to a user’s search. Links for the top two or three responses are shown to the side of the summaries, but the user may not click. This reduces the need for users to visit a site, which has lead to a shift in search behavior.

Organic traffic patterns are changing. If users don’t visit your site to get the information they need, how will you now attract and engage visitors? This change in search will most likely require adjustments in your campaigns.

Being citied in an AI Overview is a new form of visibility and authority. Google still provides links to sources within the summary. Being including in these overviews can position your site as authoritative, driving qualified traffic. It also boosts your organic CTR if the page is an AIO source, according to the study by SEER Interactive, linked above.

Content structure and clarity are more critical than ever. AIOs prioritize well-structured, detailed, informative content. Sites that follow best practices for readability, schema markup, and factual accuracy have a higher chance of being featured.

AIOs use several factors to choose sources.

Overviews aren’t pulled from “just anywhere.” They rely on specific signals to determine which sources are most useful and trustworthy. These factors make sure the summaries are accurate, relevant, and up-to-date.

Here’s some of the factors that decide featured sources:

• Trust and credibility – Google favors reliable sources with a history of accurate information. Well-known, trustworthy sites are more likely to be included.
• Content quality and relevance – The AI looks for clear, well-written content that fully answers a question. Organizing information well and making it easy to read helps boost visibility.
• Matching search intent – Google tries to understand what people are really looking for. It picks content that best answers their specific question, whether they want quick facts, detailed explanations, or a place to buy something.
• Freshness matters – Newer content gets priority, especially for fast-changing topics like tech, health, and current events.
• User engagement – Google pays attention to how people interact with content. If users spend time on a page, click links, or share it, that signals it’s useful.
• Easy-to-read formatting – Websites that use structured formatting (like FAQs and step-by-step guides) make it easier for AI to pull helpful information.
• Cited and well-referenced – AIOs prefer content that other trusted sources mention or link to frequently.

Authoritative, well-structured content has a better chance of being featured.

AI Overviews tie in neatly with Google’s existing emphasis on E-E-A-T and topical authority. However, AIOs take it a step further. Your content has to be easily synthesized into AI-generated responses.

In reality, optimizing for AIOs isn’t much different from traditional SEO and marketing. It just shifts the focus. Many of the same best practices still apply, but they need to be fine-tuned for AI-driven search results. The focus has always been on high-quality, well-structured, and authoritative content.

Long-tail and question-based search queries are essential.

Long-tail keywords and questions are specific and more natural, which works well with AI’s intent-based processing. Also, voice search continues to grow, and people naturally phrase searches as questions. For example, “How do I improve my website ranking?”

Because AI understands nuanced intent, hyper-targeted content performs better. It not only provides users the specific answers they want, but it also gives smaller websites a chance to rank. With long-tail and question-based searches, there is much more variety available.

Video and multimedia content are more valuable

As Google moves towards AI-generated answers, other content types are gaining value. Why? Because videos, podcasts, and interactive media are harder for AI to summarize. And, multimedia content can drive engagement and improve dwell time, which can signal relevance and authority to search algorithms.

Here’s what you can do about it.

These shifts aren’t drastic. The way search engines find and categorize information has evolved. Your SEO strategies need to adapt.

Optimize your content for featured snippets. Featured snippets pull short, direct answers from one source. AIOs can include expanded explanations, follow-up questions and links to several sources. A more comprehensive search result means you have more opportunity to rank.

Build brand awareness. When users see your site in search results, you want them to recognize and trust you. Learn how to build a digital brand in our article on the topic.

Focus on user experience. Make sure your site is fast and easy-to-use. While sales is expected on a business site, make sure to balance this with customer-centric content. It’s basic math. Targeted content creates higher engagement, which, in turn, boosts ranking. Ranking turns into higher, more targeted traffic, and so on.

Use structured content formatting. Well-structured content makes it easier for AI to understand, organize, and extract information. It also improves user experience. But what does “structured content” look like?

• Breaks down complex topics into clear sections.
• Uses descriptive headers.
• Uses bullet points or numbered lists.
• Includes schema markup.

This type of content is easy to scan and digest. It tells search engines the page is a valuable, well-organized answer to users’ questions.

Final thoughts and predictions…

We try to keep our predictions down to a dull roar; everybody else can do those and we’ll just agree or not. However, I think it’s safe to say that it’s too soon to tell where search engines will take us with AIOs. Fresh content is even more important for many industries. But soon, niche expertise will become the game of the day. Remember, AIOs favor sources that demonstrate a depth of knowledge.

The way search works has changed, and there’s no going back. The fundamentals of SEO are the same, but it’s time to refine and adapt. Don’t just chase rankings. Focus on building brand trust and authority.

Adapt, experiment, and stay ahead of the curve. Search will continue to evolve, and those who evolve with it will come out on top.

When you’re ready to level up your search marketing, contact Level343. We’ve been around since Google was a thing and have the experience to help you reach your online marketing goals. We look forward to serving you!