If you’ve been using Google as your search engine over the last few months, then you’ve likely noticed that the first thing you often see in the results is not sponsored ads, nor top ranking organic search results. Instead, Google has begun to show users “AI Overviews” at the very top of the search results page.
What is Google’s AI Overview?
This new feature that Google started rolling out in May 2024 was designed to make it easier and faster for users to find the information they’re looking for. The idea is that rather than have to click through one or more sites that come up in the search results, read the content on those pages, and try to find the answer to your question or the piece of information you’re searching for, these AI Overviews will do the heavy lifting for you and give you a snapshot of the key information, along with links to dig deeper.
As marketers, we are carefully following the latest AI developments so that we, and therefore our clients, can understand what tools may be available to them and how these developments are impacting consumer behaviors.
As consumers ourselves, we have already found these AI Overviews to be helpful ways to quickly get the info we need. However, it raises the question of how this generative AI is deciding what info to show you. Is it customized based on your search history (and all the other data Google knows about you)? Traditional search results certainly are – someone living in New York City searching for “motorcycle dealership” is going to get vastly different results than someone running the same search in Los Angeles.
Let’s find out what Google has to say. First of all, like all AI engines, this is an ever-growing and ever-learning machine. Users can give feedback to let Google know whether the AI Overview is unsafe, offensive, or even just unhelpful. Second, this is now a core feature of Google Search, which means it can’t be turned off. However, those users wanting to avoid it can use “Web filter” after running a search – this filter only shows text-based links.
Can you get your content to show up in AI Overviews?
Now, as marketers, our first thought when we saw this was “can we do something to get our clients’ content or links in these overviews?” Some of you may remember Google’s “Featured Snippets,” which still show up, by the way. These were quick summaries pulled from highly relevant web pages to help quickly answer the question posed in the search. A predecessor to AI Overviews, you might say. With a little research, content writing and SEO best practices, companies were able to get their website to show up as a Featured Snippet for certain search queries.
And based on what Google says, it seems the process to get featured in an AI Overview is much the same. Specifically, Google says “Google’s systems automatically determine which links appear. There is nothing special for creators to do to be considered other than to follow our regular guidance for appearing in search, as covered in Google Search Essentials.”
The moral of the story? Go follow Google’s best practices and you’ll have a shot at being featured. Which reinforces the big opportunity presented in the days of Featured Snippets – if there is a question or phrase that your customers are likely to use, that doesn’t already have a Featured Snippet or AI Overview displaying in the results, then you have the opportunity to create content specifically to fill this gap. Here are some more tips from Exposure Ninja:
- Start from a strong SEO foundation – if your website is solid from an SEO standpoint and you rank well in organic results for relevant searches, you’ve got a better chance at getting into the list of links in the AI Overview.
- Create content that closely matches the phrase you are trying to rank for
- Make sure your content is simple and easy to read
- Get to the point and give users what they’re looking for quickly on the page
Have unique questions about your business? We’d love to talk! Reach out to us anytime, even if you just have a question you’d like answered!