AI Overviews: What They Are & How to Optimize for Them
9 Minute Read
In the latest stage of the robot uprising, AI overviews have now taken over the coveted real estate at the top of many Google SERPS. This makes AI overview SEO a major focus in today’s search marketing.
People want answers to their questions, and they want them right away. Google has introduced a number of features to address queries without requiring users to sift through multiple search results, including featured snippets, People also ask, and more. This has led to a behavior known as “zero-click searches,” where users survey information at a glance without clicking on the links in the SERPs.
Zero-click search is here to stay, and AI overviews represent the next frontier. SEO experts treasure showing up in search features because they are highly visible rankings—even if they don’t always drive traffic to the website. This makes AI overview SEO a key component of search engine optimization.
What Is an AI Overview in SEO?
AI overviews rely on generative artificial intelligence to produce a summary of information for online search. Google crawls pages across the internet and its massive Knowledge Graph database to create a succinct AI summary to answer the user’s questions. These results may appear in a dedicated AI Overview section (similar to a featured snippet).
You might also find AI overviews in the expandable part of People also ask, as well as other search results.
Google’s automatically generated AI snapshots aren’t perfect (remember when a Google AI overview said that children should eat “at least one small rock per day”?), but they can provide helpful information at a glance. And, thankfully, Google shows its work, displaying a list of webpages the AI accessed to create the synopsis. Users have the option of clicking links in the AI Overview to learn more about the topic, verify that the information is correct, etc.
The only guidance Google offers for getting featured in AI overviews is to make sure your site and your pages abide by the Google Search Essentials. As always, it falls on SEOs and search marketing agencies to experiment with search optimization and find ways to come out on top in the AI summary
Why AI Search Matters for SEO
Many businesses rely on organic search traffic to drive leads and sales. AI snapshots (and zero-click searches generally) might seem like a major obstacle for driving organic traffic. In reality, however, brands that rank in AI overviews and other search features are the ones getting traffic from the SERPs.
A recent study by global brand management firm Terakeet found that top ranking pages for transactional queries that appeared in AI overviews got 3.2 times more clicks than pages that didn’t make the AI Overview. Similarly, top ranking pages for informational queries got 1.5 times more clicks when they were included in an AI synopsis than pages that didn’t get featured.
Bottom line: Getting your site to rank in organic search might not be enough to drive traffic anymore. However, being included in AI overviews can and does drive clicks to your website. If you see a Google AI Overview for the queries you want to rank for, you should make ranking in AI recaps a priority.
How to Optimize for AI Overviews
Some aspects of Google search are a black box. Everyone likes to think that their website is the best, so it can be hard to fathom why a bunch of scrubs are outranking you. We don’t know exactly what Google AI is looking for when creating overviews, and we likely never will. However, this seems like the latest iteration of Google’s emphasis on E-E-A-T content.
We’ve written about E-E-A-T before. The acronym stands for:
- Experience
- Expertise
- Authority
- Trustworthiness
For years, these have been the standards your content needs to meet to top the search results. Google appears to be looking for the same stuff when populating its AI overviews. The keys to AI overview SEO include:
1. Emphasize Experience
The first “E” in E-E-A-T refers to the experience customers have with your business. Pages on your website need to convey what the customer experience is like. Written reviews, video testimonials, pictures showing satisfied customers using your products—all of these are assets you should be adding to your site. Google will see them and recognize that they convey firsthand experience that can help consumers make decisions about your business.
2. Amplify Your Expertise
Customers turn to experts in their field, especially when education, training, and credentials really count (medicine, legal, etc.). If you’ve received awards, have certifications, or possess other proof of your expertise, these accolades and signifiers should be prominently featured throughout your website so Google (and users) can see you as an expert.
3. Be an Authority
Whether you create content yourself or partner with an agency, you need to position yourself as an authority in your industry and the products or services you offer. Our comprehensive guide to developing an SEO content strategy lays out all of the steps you need to take to be an authority in people’s eyes and according to the Google algorithm.
Multiple factors can help build your authority:
- Clear understanding of the audience’s needs, goals, and interests
- Alignment of keywords and phrases with the audience’s concerns
- In-depth information that clearly and fully addresses the query
- Backlinks from reputable domains; Google sees these as a “vote of confidence” in your website and brand
- Keeping content on the website updated; reviving older pages and blog posts shows your commitment to being an authority and delivering up-to-date information
In the old days, people and brands built authority through robust media portfolios. Look for opportunities to be quoted in articles by reputable publishers, get your images and videos shared on social media—anything that shows people trust you enough to turn to you for your insights. Google will see these as authority signals, which are critical for organic and AI overview SEO.
4. Build Trustworthiness
Trust is extremely important in the business world. Customers show their trust in your brand (or lack thereof) by leaving reviews, discussing their experience on social media, and recommending you to people they know. Google sees all of this, but it also evaluates whether your business is trustworthy.
Providing accurate, up-to-date information is one way to show that your content is trustworthy. Another is a commitment to security and privacy on your website. Google offers security checklists for small and medium to large-size businesses. Business websites that fail to follow these guidelines will likely be seen as less trustworthy, resulting in lower search rankings.
5. Make UX a Priority
The user experience on your website can demonstrate your alignment with all aspects of E-E-A-T, and so much more. Key components of positive UX include:
- Mobile-first functionality
- Fast-loading pages
- Security (HTTPS protocol)
- Clear navigation in menus, internal linking, etc.
- Easy-to-read text
- Strong visuals
- Dynamic content (design elements, videos, etc.)
- Robust site search
- An intuitive browsing or shopping experience
Remember, your website is being accessed by human beings and robots alike. There is some overlap between these two separate audiences, but the differences in how they interact with a site make professional website design and development essential for optimal UX.
6. Perform Keyword Research
Google AI overviews show up in approximately 30% of online searches. AI overview SEO won’t apply to all the queries you want to rank for, but it’s important to keep an eye out for search terms with an AI Overview. You want your website to be included in those results, especially for problem-solving queries (where AI summaries appear on 75% of searches).
Whether you’re striving to rank in organic SERPs, voice search, AI search, etc., there are a few key components of keyword research:
- Identify queries that align with your business offerings and goals
- Understand user intent for the search
- Perform competitor research to see what the top-ranking pages say
These steps will enable you to create content that drives results for your business, aligns with the purpose of the user’s search, and overtakes your competitors. Many of the AI overviews we see are for long-tail keywords, which are perfect for blogging and fleshing out your service pages. Success isn’t guaranteed, but we’ve gotten multiple clients to rank in AI summaries with a thoughtful keyword strategy and top-quality content.
7. Do the Work for Google
Search engine crawlers look for the best information for a given query. Structured data markup is added to the backend of a page or website, and it can convey critical information to bots so they know what the page is about and gauge its relevance for different search terms.
We make frequent use of schema markup to help search engines understand our content and know how to rank it. It’s not a slam dunk every time, but the added optimization can be a huge edge in all types of search—especially if competitors have neglected to take this step.
8. Manage Your Digital Reputation
Reviews help your SEO. Google and other search engines see what reviewers say, and that information is often reflected in search results. This includes Google AI searches, especially those where someone searches for the “best” or “top” business or product. A lot of positive reviews are going to send a strong signal to the artificial intelligence, making it more likely that your business will be included in the AI Overview.
There are no days off when it comes to digital reputation management. You need to stay on top of what people are saying about you on Google, social media, and other sites. Businesses that do are not only likely to drive new customers, but see their rankings for certain search queries improve.
9. Optimize Your Content
Writing and publishing great content isn’t enough. You need to take full advantage of opportunities to optimize your content for search. These include:
- Writing a title tag (also known as a search tag or meta title) that aligns with your target search query and the user intent
- Creating a meta description (also called a search description) that supports the title tag and enticingly summarizes the content
- Optimizing the URL slug or alias; instead of having URLs default to the title, go for something short, snappy, and aligned with the search query
- Using heading tags (H1s, H2s, H3s, etc.) to break up the text and integrate keywords and related terms
- Implementing SEO best practices for images, including file names, titles, and alt text
Of course, you should already have keywords strategically integrated into the content. If you haven’t done this, all the optimization in the world isn’t going to help you rank in an AI summary or elsewhere. After all, there’s no way to polish a turd.
10. Don’t Miss Out on Other AI SEO Opportunities
Contrary to popular belief, Google isn’t the only game in town when it comes to online search. Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo have limited market share but they are still viable from a search marketing standpoint. Notably, all of the platforms have launched their own versions of AI overviews.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Search Engine Market Share
Each search engine has its own best practices for ranking. We recommend checking your website analytics to see where you’re getting organic traffic. If you have a significant number of visitors from search engines other than Google, you should look for opportunities to improve your rankings and secure a place in AI snapshots and other search features.
Start Optimizing for AI Search
AI overview SEO is an emerging tactic in search marketing. You don’t have time to stay up on the latest Google updates and features; you have a business to run and customers to serve. Twelve Three Media has the knowledge, acumen, and skill to implement tried-and-true SEO strategies while pursuing new opportunities for your business.
We believe your website should be your hardest working employee. Our diligent focus on SEO best practices, creating authoritative content, and building websites on the cutting edge helps our clients stay competitive in search amid a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Ready to take your SEO marketing by the horns and start standing out in AI overviews and other search features? Contact Twelve Three Media today!