Google AI Overviews change SEO by answering the query above the organic results, so ranking first no longer guarantees the click. Your strategy has to shift from winning a position to becoming a source the summary cites: clear, direct answers, structured pages, real expertise and a strong local presence for searches with geographic intent.
They reduce clicks for searches the summary can fully answer and concentrate the remaining clicks on the pages the summary cites. A user asking "what is a merchant cash advance" may read the Overview and leave. A user asking "best merchant cash advance broker in Orlando" still needs to click somewhere, and the Overview's cited links are the first places they look.
Google said in its May 2024 launch announcement that links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than they would as a traditional listing for the same query. Whether or not that holds for every category, the direction is clear: the pages inside the summary get the traffic, the pages below it get less.
The practical consequence is that informational pages built purely to rank for definitions will lose traffic, while pages that answer a question and then give the reader a reason to keep going, a tool, a quote, a local option, a next step, will keep or gain it.
AI Overviews appear most on informational and comparison queries: how does something work, what is the difference between two options, what should I do about a problem. They appear less on short navigational searches (a brand name), on many purely transactional searches and on queries where Google shows a local pack or a shopping unit instead.
Google also rolled out AI Mode, a fully conversational search experience, to US users in 2025, so a growing share of complex questions is being answered inside an AI interface rather than a list of links. Both surfaces pull from the same pool of well-structured web content.
Write pages that answer a specific question directly in the first two or three sentences, back the answer with detail that shows real experience, and structure the page so a machine can lift the answer cleanly. Google's own Search Central guidance on AI features says there is no special markup to add and that the same fundamentals that earn rankings earn citations.
This approach has a name, generative engine optimization, and it applies to ChatGPT and Perplexity as much as Google. Our GEO guide covers the full method.
Yes, and mostly in your favor. For searches with local intent, Google still shows the map pack, and the Overview, when it appears, tends to draw on Google Business Profile data, reviews and local pages. That means the fundamentals of local SEO matter more, not less.
A local business that would have fought for the third organic position is now competing to be the source the Overview names and the map pin the user taps. The map pack itself is a separate discipline with its own ranking factors, and it deserves its own plan.
Start with the pages that already get traffic and rewrite their opening paragraphs to answer the query directly. Then add question-style headings and a definition block to each. This is a rewrite of structure, not a new content program, and it can be done across a small site in a few weeks.
Next, fix the technical basics that block citation: pages blocked from indexing, missing or outdated schema, slow load times and thin pages that say nothing quotable. Zeneth SEO, our on-page SEO software, runs a free audit of your first 25 pages and flags exactly these issues, and the Zeneth Indexer submits new and changed pages to Google automatically so they are eligible to be cited as soon as they go live.
Do not try to block AI Overviews from using your content. Opting out of Google's AI features removes you from the surface that is increasingly where the clicks come from. Compete for the citation instead.
Track three things: which of your target queries show an Overview, whether your site is cited in it and what happened to clicks and conversions on those pages. Google Search Console does not separate AI Overview impressions from regular ones, so the practical method is to check your top queries manually each month and log the results.
Watch conversions more than sessions. A page that loses some informational clicks but keeps its leads is healthy. A page that loses leads needs a rewrite. If you want a full plan across on-page, technical and local, our SEO services start with exactly that diagnosis.
They reduce clicks on searches the summary fully answers, mainly simple informational queries, and they concentrate the remaining clicks on the pages the summary cites. Sites that answer questions directly and are cited tend to hold or gain traffic. Sites with thin definition pages lose it.
Once a page is rewritten to lead with a direct answer and Google has recrawled it, citations can appear within a few weeks, though competitive topics take longer. Getting the page indexed quickly is the main variable, which is why automatic indexing submission matters after every update.
Yes. AI Overviews and AI Mode pull their answers from indexed web pages, so the sites that invest in clear, expert, well-structured content are the ones being cited. Search still sends most business inquiries for a typical small business, and the citation itself carries a trust signal.
Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current, collect recent reviews and reply to them, and publish location and service pages that state plainly what you do, where and for whom. Local searches still show the map pack, and the Overview draws on the same profile and review data.