Unlike featured snippets, which extract information from a single web page to answer a specific query, AI Overviews pull info from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive summary that’s (in theory) more helpful.
Why should we care about AI Overviews?
Ahrefs found a 34.5% lower Click Through Rate for top results when an AIO appears! This means less traffic coming to your website, even if pages appear in the top three organic results.
However, these overviews often include references to the web pages they sourced the info from, so people can click through to websites from these sources.
Traditional search relied on set keywords without a multi-layered understanding. AI search understands search intent and widens that net to encompass more queries depending on the intent of the user.
For example, the query could be informational, like ‘how to use LinkedIn for lead generation’ and the AIO might provide steps, key takeaways or a link to video content. For a commercial query, such as ‘best email marketing tools for SMEs’, you might be met with product comparisons or a summary of the top tools. Then for branded queries, like ‘Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce pricing’ it might highlight pricing pages or FAQs or reviews.
For local queries like ‘hairdresser near me’, the AI Overview might integrate data from Google Maps and business listings.
In short: AI search is less about keywords and more about context.
What should we do about it?
If you’re putting the user first with your SEO strategy, keep doing what you’re doing. That means optimising pages for authority, authenticity and general helpfulness. There’s a reason why forums like Reddit appear so often in these overviews – it’s people asking questions and sharing information, rather than trying to push a product.
This is basically the principle behind E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), which if you’ve attended any of our workshops on SEO, you will know we like to squawk about here at PDM. If Google’s AI is now sourcing information from multiple pages, generic content (usually AI written in the first place) is less likely to appear in AI-generated summaries.
Instead, it’s sites which demonstrate genuine expertise and authority consistently, in line with strong brand signals like powerful backlinks, consistent listings across the web, a consistent social media presence etc.
Tools & tactics
SEO pros already know the value of tools like Google Search Console, AnswerThePublic, and Google Trends. They’re still gold dust for planning content.
If you’ve attended our SEO courses, you’ll already know the lowdown on content pillars and cluster pages and how to write engaging content. Plus, you’ll get the importance of customer reviews and how it all ties into generating credibility for SEO too.
You may already know why SEO isn’t a one and done job. The fact that Google’s AI is now pulling in real-time or recently updated content, especially for trending topics and product comparisons, hammers home the importance of keeping things fresh. That means regular updates and fresh examples to show search engines content is alive and kicking.
If you’ve got a blog post from 2021 that’s still relevant, give it a makeover. Add new stats (real ones, not Chat GPT ones), tweak the intro, and re-share it. Google loves a glow-up.
AI Overviews in People Also Asked results
But an increasing amount of AIOs are appearing in People Also Asked questions – so where does that leave us? That means your content needs to be not just good, but in fact better than Google’s own summary.
So, next time you’re writing, ask yourself: “How can I say this better than Google’s AI?”
Sources:
Useful source for further information on AI overviews: https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/google-ai-overviews-what-do-they-mean-for-search
Start building a consistent SEO strategy that works
If you’re ready to move beyond one-offs and build a content strategy that compounds over time, Peacock Digital Marketing can help. From content pillar planning to SEO-led blog writing and on-page optimisation, we’ll work with you to create a rhythm that delivers results.
Contact us about SEOAbout the author
Kirsty Nelms is the Director of award-winning Staffordshire-based creative marketing agency, Peacock Digital Marketing. The agency grows businesses through proactive, creative, insightful marketing – helping brands to strut their stuff 🦚.
Kirsty holds a first-class honours degree in Journalism and Editorial Design, has six years of experience as a qualified senior journalist, seven years of experience working at senior level in marketing, holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute, and a number of other advanced-level SEO qualifications.
Connect with her on LinkedIn, sign up for Peacock Digital Marketing’s email newsletter for free marketing tips and goodies, or follow her blog.
