AI Overview, AI Search and Google SGE: What Businesses Need to Know to Stay Visible
What is an AI overview and why does this really matter for your website or your business’s online position?
You may have done a search on Google or Bing recently and seen a block of AI-generated text at the top of the page. That is called the AI overview.
Why is this AI Overview really important for your business?
This article intends to break down the importance of AI overviews, along with explaining how AI overviews can support your business in the AI search results.
What is an AI overview?
An AI overview is really a summary generated by, perhaps Google’s Search Generative Experience or SGE.
Instead of moving through the typical approach that you would have when you do a search, which shows a page layout to be 1. ads, then 2. perhaps your Google Business profiles and then 3. your organic searches, what is now happening is that an AI overview tends to supersede or come in front of those other searches. It appears right at the top of the page and search results.
It is Google’s way (and we will refer to Google, but it would be the same in any of the other search engines) of giving users faster and perhaps more direct answers, particularly if the request is a little bit more complex or has multiple parts to it.
E.g. “I am looking for a red dress for a ball. Where will I find the best red dress in town?” as an example. Or “How to compare solar panel types for a small home in New Zealand with low winter sunlight”
To further explain why I believe this would trigger an AI Overview result.
- It’s long and specific
- It combines multiple intent layers: such as comparison, context and location (NZ), and adds in an environmental condition (low winter sunlight)
- Google’s AI recognises this as a question that needs synthesis from multiple sources, not a single-page answer.
- This possibly showcases why a keyword focused piece of content may no longer be appropriate for this type of search.
How does a Google AI overview work?
What happens behind the scenes when you ask a question of Google? (And again, I ask you to substitute any other search engine as I use the term Google only for purposes of discussion.)
- Google receives your query.
- The AI, which could be like MUM or Gemini, analyses the intent of the query and then pulls all the reliable content from across the internet.
- From that source of content, it generates what is a cohesive and reasonable or readable response called the overview. You’ll see it, typically, as I’ve explained already, at the top of those search engine results.
- And sometimes, not always, it will include links to the sites used to substantiate the search overview that it has provided. Sometimes it doesn’t, but getting mentioned in an AI overview is becoming critical for a business’s visibility.
What triggers an AI overview?
Not every search will show one. They usually tend to appear when the researchers use words like “how to” or “what is” or “how will something happen,” when they’re looking for potential comparisons between option one and option two, or when explanations may require multiple viewpoints.
They could be searching for product advice: “How to turn on a DishDrawer Fisher and Paykel dishwasher that is showing an error message xxx,” as an example. It might be product advice, or it might be somebody looking for step-by-step guidance.
Google’s AI is really trying to anticipate what you may ask for next and answer it up front.
How are AI overviews generated?
They are typically built using things such as NLP, or Natural Language Processing.
They could be used and generated from generative models like Gemini that used to be called BARD, focused on all search-intent signals from the user.
What websites get into AI Overview or AI Search results?
AI overview generation can come from information contained in highly trusted website with semantic relevance to the search phrase that was queried. With the previous explanation, it is way less focused on keywords and way more focused on user intention and information seeking.
This does mean that for your website to show in an AI overview, your website needs to be topically strong, well-structured, and filled with content-rich information.
FACT: Keywords of the past may help, but keyword stuffing is definitely big “no-no”.
How do we compare AI overview versus traditional search results?
| Feature | Traditional Search | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|
| Shows links? | ✅ Yes | ✅ Sometimes |
| Auto-generated content? | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Based on exact match keywords? | ✅ Often | ❌ Mostly intent-driven |
| Offers summary or synthesis? | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Replaces need to click? | ❌ Not usually | ✅ Often does |
Explaining the above table:
- In the feature, it will show links. Yes, in traditional search, you would also have links.
- In AI overview, links are shown sometimes.
- Autogenerated content: definitely not in your traditional search, but a definite yes when it comes to AI overviews.
- Being based on exact match keywords, often, when it came to traditional search. However, with an AI overview, most of the search results are driven by intent.
- Offering a summary or synthesis of search results: no for traditional search, but a definite yes in an AI overview.
- Replacing the need to click in traditional search: not usually, because you would click into the website to assess the level of information that had been displayed.
- With AI overviews, often there’s enough content that negates the need for a click. And this last point is why AI overviews can reduce organic click-throughs unless your site is being cited as a source for that information.
We have to ask the question: is AI overview replacing the traditional featured snippet?
In many cases, the answer is yes. AI overviews are becoming the new future-focused featured snippet, especially when it comes to mobile and desktop results looking at the SGE view.
Google is obviously still testing, but early signs show that snippets may become secondary to that AI block of information.
Where will you find or see AI overviews in your Google search results?
In your region or area, you’ll spot AI overviews generally, as I’ve explained already, at the top of the Google search result on a desktop, in the Search Labs setting, or perhaps under certain longer, more complex queries.
Has AI overviews arrived in New Zealand?
AI overview has been rolled out in New Zealand, although only in part. But AI overviews are certainly becoming more prevalent across the globe.
Google has said that they are testing regionally and plan to extend these SGE (Search Generative Experience) features globally as they phase in, or globally in phases.
If your audience is international or you want to stay ahead of the search curve, then AI does matter for you.
Looking at SEO impact: how AI overviews can impact your website or affect your website.
That’s surely a big one as we see the impact of AI on search.
The question to ask if your website is not currently in that AI Google overview is:
- Do you have a clear content structure?
- Does your website address the user’s questions directly?
- Does your website have the depth to provide that topical information that is required to place you in a position of authority?
- And is AI-generated content loaded to your website without actually providing anything new? That can perhaps be a negative signal to actually be included in those AI overviews results.
FACT: Google definitely favours well-written, trustworthy, and content-focused on a human-first.
How can your business benefit from these AI overviews?
If you appear in one, your brand is seen to have instant authority.
You get impressions of your brand, even if you don’t always get the click. And it certainly helps your customers early in their journey. You are instantly ahead of competitors who are not optimising for this AI shift.
What’s next and what local digital marketing agency can help?
If you’re wondering how to get your content onto AI overviews, if you’re wondering how to optimise your landing pages for search, or if you’re wondering how to determine a clear SEO strategy that takes all of this into account, we are here to help.
Net Branding is a trusted digital agency for AI overviews in New Zealand and globally. We stay ahead of what Google is doing and ensure we understand the impact this has on your business.
So, whether you’re wanting an AI overview audit, you’re looking for some content support to trigger your results in an AI overview result, or need further support with SEO, let’s chat.
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