Google AI Overviews: what they mean for your business and traffic

Google AI Overviews are short AI summaries that appear at the top of some search results, with links to their sources. For your business this means people more often get an answer without clicking through, but the sites cited as sources stand out more than ever. Your goal shifts from just ranking well to also being cited.

What exactly are AI Overviews?

For some searches, Google shows a block with a summary above the regular results. That summary is written by AI based on pages from Google's index. Links to the sources it used appear next to or below the text.

You mostly see them for informational questions, such as "how often should a boiler be serviced?" or "roughly what does a dormer window cost?". They show up less often for searches like a business name. Google currently adjusts when and how they are shown on a regular basis.

What it means for your traffic

When the answer is already at the top, some people no longer click through. For pages that mainly answer simple questions, clicks can drop as a result, even if your ranking stays the same.

At the same time there is an opportunity. The sources in an AI Overview sit in the most visible spot on the page. Being cited there builds brand awareness, even without a click. And the people who do click through often know better what they are looking for.

An example. A landscaper in Amersfoort writes an article on when to prune a hedge. Clicks on that article drop a little, but his name now appears as a source in the answer. People who later search for "landscaper Amersfoort" recognise his business.

How Google picks sources for AI Overviews

AI Overviews use the regular Google index. A page Google cannot crawl or index properly will not appear in them either. Beyond that, these factors usually seem to matter:

• the page answers the question directly and clearly
• the content is trustworthy and shows experience or expertise
• the page is well structured with headings and short paragraphs
• the information is consistent with what other sources say

So good SEO remains the foundation. You can read how it differs from regular SEO in what is GEO.

Step 1: get the basics right

Use Google Search Console to check that your key pages are indexed. Fix errors and make sure your site is fast and mobile friendly. Keep your Google Business Profile complete and up to date, because Google uses that data too. More on this in our article on the Google Business Profile.

Step 2: write answer-focused content

Find out which questions customers ask and create pages that answer them directly. Put the answer in the first two or three sentences. Then expand with steps, examples and exceptions. Use subheadings phrased as questions.

Write from your own experience. "In most homes we insulate, we see..." is stronger than a generic text that could sit on any website.

Step 3: add structured data

With schema.org markup you make clear what a page contains: a business, a product, an FAQ or an article. It does not guarantee a mention, but it helps Google understand your content properly.

Step 4: measure what happens

In Search Console you currently cannot filter AI Overviews separately: impressions and clicks are counted under regular web results. So watch for pages where impressions rise or hold steady while clicks fall. That can be a sign an AI Overview is showing above them.

On top of that, regularly search your most important questions yourself and note whether you are cited as a source.

Look beyond Google

People ask the same questions to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude. With GEO tracking you see every week whether those assistants mention your business and which competitors they do bring up. Want to see where you stand first? Run the free AI visibility check.