What is Google AI Overviews and impact on SEO?

Get ready for a revolution in how you search the web! Google AI Overviews, a powerful new feature powered by artificial intelligence (AI), are here to shake things up. Let’s dive into everything you need to know about AI Overviews, how they work, and their potential impact on SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

What is Google AI Overviews?

Imagine searching for something online and seeing a concise, informative summary right at the top of your results page, alongside the familiar blue links. That’s the magic of Google AI Overviews! Launched in the US in 2024, AI Overviews use Google’s custom Gemini AI model to analyze information from the top-ranking webpages for your query. This analysis helps AI Overviews provide you with a quick and easy-to-understand answer directly on the search results page.

Here’s a timeline of the key events:

• Formerly known as SGE (Search Generative Experience): AI Overviews were initially tested under the name SGE (Search Generative Experience) before their public rollout.
• Public rollout in US: May 2024 marked the official launch of AI Overviews for all users in the United States.
• Global Expansion Plans: Google plans to expand AI Overviews to countries like India and Pakistan in the coming months, with a goal of reaching over a billion users by the end of 2d024.

How Google AI Overviews Work

Dive deep into the Difference between Search Engine and AI Answer Engine.

When you enter a search query, Google’s AI goes to work behind the scenes. Here’s a simplified breakdown of the process:

1. Identifying Relevant Webpages: Google analyzes your query and identifies the most relevant webpages based on its complex algorithms.
2. AI Analysis: The custom Gemini model swings into action, analyzing the top-ranking webpages to extract key information.
3. Generating the Overview: Using its understanding of the information, the AI crafts a concise and informative summary tailored to your specific query.
4. Presenting the Results: The AI Overview appears at the top of your search results page, along with the traditional blue links to the original webpages used to create the summary.

Can You Turn On or Off Google AI Overviews?

Currently, there’s no on/off switch for AI Overviews. However, you can choose to see only traditional search results by clicking the new “Web Filter” option located next to existing filters like “Images” and “News.” This ensures you see search results as you always have.

How Will Google AI Overviews Impact SEO?

The introduction of AI Overviews has sparked discussions and concerns among SEOs (Search Engine Optimization specialists). Here’s a breakdown of the potential impact:

• Traffic Fluctuations: Some worry that users satisfied with AI summaries might not visit websites, potentially leading to traffic decline for those websites.
• Revenue Concerns: With users getting answers directly, there’s a chance that Google Ads might see a decrease in clicks and impressions. This could impact websites that rely on ad revenue.
• Copyright Considerations: As AI Overviews summarize content from top-ranking pages, copyright issues could arise in the future, although Google rephrases the content.
• Niche Impact: Websites with content focused on easily answerable questions like: (What is the height of Burj Khalifa building?) might experience a decline in traffic as AI Overviews provide direct answers.

However, there are also potential benefits for SEO:

• Prioritizing Top Rankings: As AI Overviews often pull data from the top 10 results, focusing on securing high rankings in organic search remains crucial.
• EMB Content Creation: Consider creating “Exact Match Blog Posts” that target specific user questions with focused and informative content.
• Front-Load Key Info: Provide clear and concise answers in the opening paragraph of your content, especially for informational topics. This can increase your chances of being featured in AI Overviews.

The Discussion about SEO and AI Overviews

People are actively discussing the implications of AI Overviews on platforms like Twitter and Reddit. Key areas of concern include user behavior changes, potential bias in AI summaries, and the future of Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) with the integration of AI.

What does this all mean? While the full impact of AI Overviews on SEO is still unfolding, it’s clear that SEO practices will need to adapt to this new landscape.

You can also learn about Future of SEO with Googles SGE that I have previously discussed

Here are some additional points to consider: and things.we need to know from Google as SEO.

• Google Search Console Integration: Currently, there’s limited information on how clicks, impressions, and other metrics will be tracked and displayed for websites featured within AI Overviews. Will Search Console provide a dedicated report for AI Overview performance? How will click-through rate (CTR) be measured when users might get some of their answers directly from the summary, without needing to visit the website?
• Data Attribution: It’s unclear how Google will attribute data (impressions, clicks, etc.) if your webpage is featured in an AI answer. Will these metrics be attributed to the organic ranking or a separate AI Overview section within Search Console? This lack of clarity makes it difficult for SEOs to understand the true impact of AI Overviews on their website traffic.

Google Ads and Revenue Sharing:

A significant question mark hangs over how Google Ads will integrate with AI Overviews. Here are the certainties and uncertainties:

• Monetization for Publishers: Will Google display ads alongside AI Overviews? If so, how will revenue be shared between Google and the publisher whose content is featured in the answer? There’s currently no official information on revenue sharing.

Is SEO Dead because of Google AI Overviews?

By the way, if you’re wondering if SEO is going away with Google AI Overviews, the answer is a resounding no! Search engines are here to stay, and as long as humans have questions, SEO will continue to play a vital role. However, SEO practices will undoubtedly need to adapt to this evolving landscape.

Here’s what we know so far: Google hasn’t mentioned any specific ranking factors for AI Overviews. This means that the current SEO best practices, creating high-quality Relevant content, optimizing for top results especially top 3, obtaining high-quality and relevant backlinks, and understanding user intent – will likely remain crucial.

Looking Ahead: Experimentation and Transparency

The lack of transparency surrounding Google Search Console integration and data attribution for AI Overviews presents a challenge for SEOs. However, there’s still room for optimism. If Google provides access to relevant data in the future,SEOs can leverage experimentation and analysis to develop new methodologies for ranking and gaining visibility in AI Overviews. By studying user behavior and the results retrieved in AI Overviews, we can develop strategies to optimize content for this new landscape.

What are your thoughts?

This is a rapidly evolving space, and there’s still much to learn about the impact of AI Overviews on SEO. Share your opinions and questions in the comments below! Who knows? Your one word can help me or others.

You can learn more from these additional resources, maybe it can help you.

1. Documentation from Google search Central about Google AI Overviews.
2. Let generativeAI do Google searching for you, official blog by Google.
3. What’s next for SEO with the announcement of Google AI Overviews? by Barry Schwartz.