What are AI Overviews?
For searchers, the difference is that the results page opens with a short written answer to the query, not a list of links. The pages the answer drew on are linked from the overview.
Google tested the feature as the Search Generative Experience and launched it as AI Overviews in 2024, then expanded it to more countries and languages. Google also offers a separate, more conversational AI Mode in search.
How do AI Overviews work?
- A query comes in. Google decides whether an AI Overview would help, which is more common for informational questions than for simple navigation.
- Relevant pages are retrieved. The system draws on pages from its search index that address the question.
- A summary is generated. A language model writes a short answer from those sources.
- Sources are linked. The overview links to pages it drew on, so searchers can go deeper.
Because overviews draw on indexed pages, the usual search fundamentals still apply. A page that isn't in Google's index can't be drawn on, however good its answer.
What is an example of an AI Overview?
A how-to question
Someone searches "how to remove a red wine stain from a carpet." Instead of opening with a list of links, the results page shows a short summary of the steps, with links to the cleaning guides it drew from.
The brands whose guides are cited get visibility at the top of the page. Guides ranked lower may get fewer clicks, because the searcher already has the answer.
AI Overviews vs. featured snippets
| Featured snippet | AI Overview | |
|---|---|---|
| What it shows | An excerpt from one page | A generated summary drawing on several pages |
| Sources | One | Usually several, linked |
| How the text is made | Quoted from the page | Written by an AI model |
| What brands optimize for | Being the quoted page | Being one of the cited sources |
Why do AI Overviews matter for brands?
AI Overviews move the answer to the top of the results page. That changes both who gets seen and how many people click through.
- Citations become visibility. Being linked in the overview can matter as much as a top ranking.
- Clicks may shift. When the answer is on the page, some searchers don't click through, which can change traffic patterns.
- Brand descriptions matter. If an overview describes your category, you want your brand described accurately within it.
- Measurement has to widen. Rankings and clicks alone no longer show the full picture of search visibility.
How does Alli do this?
Earning visibility in AI Overviews is part of PMG's core service offering. PMG's teams, and its Forward Deployed Engineering team, work on the content, structure, and sources that AI Overviews draw on, so brands are more likely to be cited in them.
Alli Brand Equity measures the effect: Share of LLM Presence tracks how a range of AI models describe, rank, and recommend your brand against competitors, and share of search tracks branded search interest over time, both in a weekly brand equity score.
Explore Alli Brand EquityAI Overviews FAQ
Can you opt out of AI Overviews?
Searchers can't fully turn them off in standard search. Site owners can use Google's documented snippet controls to limit how their content is shown, but that can also limit how it appears in regular results.
How do you get cited in AI Overviews?
No special markup will get a page cited. Pages that answer a question clearly, are well structured, and are seen as trustworthy and helpful are more likely to be drawn on.
Do AI Overviews reduce website traffic?
They can for some queries, because the answer appears on the results page. The effect varies by query type and by whether a page is cited in the overview.
Are AI Overviews the same as AI Mode?
No. AI Overviews are summaries shown within regular search results. AI Mode is a separate, more conversational search experience where people can ask follow-up questions.
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