You search for something on Google and get the most important information directly at a glance without even having to click on a link - that's nothing new at first. Google has always been committed to providing users with the best and most convenient search results. And Featured Snippets and additional questions have been an integral part of the Search Engine Result Page (SERP) for years.
What is new, however, is that instead of citing websites directly, Generative AI compiles consolidated answers from various sources in AI overviews. This Google AI Overview, which has also been rolled out in Germany and the DACH region since March 2025, represents a paradigm shift in search behavior that has a noticeable impact on how companies generate visibility, clicks and leads.
"Google will do the Googling for you"
The important thing is: neither SEO nor SEA are "dead", nor are AI Overviews on Google "stealing" all the clicks from your website. That's why, in this article, we want to take a realistic look at Google AI Overviews and their impact and show you which strategies really count now and make your business future-proof for AI search.
The most important things at a glance:
- Google AI overviews are not "ranking killers" but require strategic adjustments to your SEO & SEA strategy
- For SEO & SEA, context, relevance and funnel logic are becoming more important than as many clicks as possible at any price
- Users who continue researching despite Google AI Overview have a higher conversion potential
Our assessment: With Google AI Overviews towards more context & relevance
Google AI Overviews provide users with direct answers to questions and restructure the classic SERP. This can cause organic traffic losses in the short term and affect the visibility of Google Ads. In the medium term, however, AI Overviews open up new placement opportunities and contextual visibility, resulting in clicks with a higher conversion potential.
In plain language this means: Fewer clicks do not necessarily mean fewer conversions.
AI overviews do not mark the end of SEO and SEA - quite the opposite. The sooner you adapt to AI search-compatible online marketing, the better you can strengthen and expand your company's visibility and relevance with context-rich, well-structured and user-focused content. We have already noticed that companies we support with a strong content strategy are displayed more frequently.
In this article, we will show you what is specifically important for you to achieve similar results. To delve deeper, simply contact us for a non-binding strategy discussion.
What is the Google AI Overview?
The Google AI Overview is an AI-generated summary of content from various sources that directly answers a search query. Google usually places the AI overview in position zeroi.e. above the organic search results and either before or after the first paid search results (Google Ads). The sources that Google uses are shown on the right-hand side.
The goal: Users no longer have to click through the organic search results themselves, but can immediately find and understand the information they are looking for. Perhaps you can already guess - whether this works for highly complex questions or products that require explanation, such as in the B2B and IT sectors, is questionable.
Rollout of AI Overviews on Google in Germany, the DACH region & worldwide
Google AI Overviews was launched back in 2023 in the USA, at that time still under the name SGE (Search Generative Experience). The official rollout also began in the USA in May 2024 and in Canada, India and the UK by the end of 2024. Google AI Search Results have also been activated in Europe since March 2025.
Technical background: Google generates the overview with Generative AI (including Gemini) via RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). Instead of only using content from training data (as is the case with some ChatGPT models, for example), the AI combines current content from various sources and generates an answer from this. The sources used by the AI include publicly accessible websites and the Google Search Index and the Google Knowledge Graph. Google uses algorithms (including search intent and E-E-A-T criteria) to assess which websites are relevant. Each Google AI Overview is generated dynamically and cannot be reproduced.
When does Google AI Overviews play?
A study by Semrush examined more than 10 million search queries between January and March 2025 and found that the number of search queries that triggered a Google AI Overview doubled from 6.49 percent in January to 13.14 percent in March. Current estimates even assume that it is now around 50 percent (June 2025).
This means that around half of search queries are answered by Google with an AI overview, but some are not. We assume that this proportion will continue to rise. For the moment, however, there are some decisive criteria for when an AI overview is to be expected and when not:
- Keywords: Google AI Overviews tend to appear for information-oriented long-tail keywords with low entry difficulty - and not for transactional keywords with a high search volume.
- Search intent: According to Semrush, information-oriented search queries have so far (March 2025) triggered the most Google AI overviews at around 88%; ahrefs even speaks of 99%. Transactional and navigation-related searches account for less than 2 percent, commercial queries for around 9 percent.
- Industry: Some industries appear to be more affected by Google AI Overviews than others. While scientific topics account for more than 20 percent of AI overviews according to Semrush, business and industry are (still) at a comparatively low 4.2 percent.
- Complexity: The more specific and complex the search query, the more likely a Google AI Overview appears - this also corresponds to the long-tail keywords we have already mentioned.
- Device: Google Search seems to play out more AI overviews on mobile devices than on desktop.
An outlook: Google is continuously working to improve the output of AI overviews, so we expect the proportion of search queries with AI overviews to continue to rise and expand to all industries. In the future, more transactional keywords are also likely to be affected - because "sparing" these has so far made sense for Google in order not to jeopardize the Google Ads business model. However, more and more Google Ads in AI Overviews are also being tested.
What impact do AI overviews have on SERP & traffic in the B2B sector?
In the wider context, AI Overviews are Google's response to the paradigm shift in search behavior, AI tools and SearchGPT have triggered - away from search and towards answers. Of course, this not only applies to the B2C sector, but also to decision-makers, buyers and IT managers in the B2B sector.
B2B search queries are often complex, include long-tail keywords, are technical and require explanation and advice - so they fulfill various triggers for Google AI Overviews. So what effects can we observe so far?
Structure of the SERP
Most noticeable is the restructuring of the SERP page with the "classic" structure:
- paid search results (Google Ads)
- including organic search results
- Partially interrupted by featured snippets and further questions
The Google AI Overview, on the other hand, appears prominently above or below the paid search results - but in any case before the organic results, which lose visibility as a result.
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Challenges
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Opportunities
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Loss of visibility, especially for organic search results, fewer clicks even with good rankings |
Great potential for sites, that do not yet rank in positions 1 to 3, to gain visibility via source mentions |
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Less focus on paid search results due to prominent display of the AI overview |
New advertising formats are emerging, e.g. Google Ads within the Overviews or possibly also Sponsored Overviews |
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Complex content is presented in ahead of the AI overviews and is often too generic and simplified |
Expert decision-makers with a lot of conversion potential notice the and click through to the sources |
Interim conclusion: The restructuring of the SERP opens up new opportunities for B2B SEO to gain more visibility with technically sound, well-structured content. SEA must keep an eye on new advertising formats in order to adapt to the changed search behavior.
Zero-click behavior
Zero-click searches, i.e. search queries on Google that do not lead to a click on a subsequent page, are at least as old as featured snippets, which have been rolled out since 2014. On average, zero-click searches of around 30 percent were to be expected even before the introduction of AI Overviews.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that Google AI Overviews reinforce this behavior - after all, why should a user continue clicking if the answer has already been provided. But: Even Semrush also confirms that the correlation is by no means so trivial. Although zero-click searches increase on average, this is heavily dependent on the actual interaction of the user with the search results and the search intention.
How do you recognize zero-click searches in analysis tools? A classic phenomenon is increasing impressions and good rankings for certain URLs in the Google Search Console, but the number of clicks does not follow suit.
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Challenges
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Opportunities
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Zero-click searches for purely informative content (e.g. definitions, glossary entries), which can be sufficiently mapped in the AI Overview |
Well-founded, high-quality content is more likely to be called in complex searches than sources and increases brand awareness |
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Purely click-based lead gen strategies no longer work with increasing zero-click searches |
Early adaptation of the content strategy ensures long-term presence, increases trust and reputation |
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Zero-click searches make it difficult to analyze in Google Analytics and Google Search Console |
Opportunity for new lead generation strategies, that offer added value and better channel clicks (e.g. whitepapers, demos) |
Interim conclusion: The zero-click behavior due to Google AI Overwies is real, but it doesn't mean that your website will lose visibility because of it. On the contrary, AI overviews can even increase reach and - even with fewer clicks - achieve just as many conversions due to a higher willingness to buy. For both SEO and Google Ads in B2B, it will be crucial to take the next step towards conversion in an even more targeted way.
CTR (Click-Through-Rate) & Traffic
If we look at the CTR and traffic overall against the background of zero-click behavior, it is clear that both values must fall as soon as a Google AI Overview is displayed. At the same time, caution is advised with CTR as a measured value if you evaluate it via Google Search Console, for example:
The formula for the click-through rate = clicks / impressions x 100. In theory, this means that the CTR is the proportion of users who have seen a search result and then clicked on it. However, the problem is that Google Search Console counts an impression even if users only read the Google AI Overview, but your page appears further down on the SERP and is not actually seenbut only played out was played.
As previously mentioned, a decrease in clicks or a lower CTR does not necessarily mean fewer conversions. The studies are still ongoing, but initial figures from ahrefs indicate that the conversion rate of AI overview traffic is significantly higher than that of "normal" SERP traffic. The logic behind this: Users have already delved deeper into the topic and are no longer in the top-funnel, but in the mid-funnel - and are therefore much more willing to convert.
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Challenges
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Opportunities
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Decline in CTR and traffic even with good rankings, particularly noticeable for pure information searches (top funnel) |
Top rankings are no longer the only "currency" & the conversion probability increases per AI click |
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Purely informative content & former traffic sources such as glossary articles lose significant organic traffic |
Great opportunity for early adopters with well thought-out content structure & well-founded specialist articles |
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Increasing competition for ad clicks on relevant keywords leads to higher budget pressure |
Combination of AI-compatible content & smart SEA and tracking strategy leads to more qualified traffic |
Interim conclusion: The increasing zero-click behavior due to Google AI Overviews means that clicks and therefore the CTR for both organic and paid search results are also falling - especially for informative and top-funnel search queries. This makes it all the more important to dovetail SEO and SEA sensibly and strategically align them with the sales funnel. You may then receive less traffic, but it will be of a higher quality and lead to more leads.
What do Google AI Overviews mean for your B2B SEO strategy?
So if we look at the effects of Google AI Overviews on the SERP structure, click behavior, CTR and traffic, it becomes clear that the classic SEO strategy of landing in the top positions at all costs is alone not sustainable. Even if it will probably take a few more years for AI tools to catch up with classic Google search (there is also an interesting study by Semrush), it is important for B2B companies to implement AI-compatible SEO as quickly as possible.
Because even within the Google system, it's no longer just about rankings, but about relevance for AI. This means that it is not only important what you say, but how you say it. Your content must systematically combine search intent, structure and expertise so that you are cited as a trustworthy source in Google AI Overviews and gain visibility through relevance. We have been implementing many of the strategies that are important for this as SEO best practices for our clients for years. However, there are a few important add-ons:
1. structure content in a way that is AI-compatible in terms of content & technology
All content on your website should of course be technically correct, sensibly organized and clearly structured using heading hierarchies. In order to be relevant for Google AI Overviews, a modular structure aka question - answer - further information is more important than ever. On the one hand, this offers added value for your users, but also makes it easier for the AI to recognize and extract specific information and assign it to the context of the Google AI Overview. This includes:
- Structure sections clearly according to search intention, reflect the specific question in the heading and answer it precisely and completely
- Structure articles using formatting, i.e. work with tables, numbered lists, bullet points, etc. to clearly present relevant information
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Check and optimize technical structure;
or should be created in HTML (most CMS provide this by default) - Use structured data (schema markup) for e.g. FAQs, how-tos or blog articles to make syntax analysis (parsing) easier for AI
- Ensure machine readability, relevant content should not only be reloaded via JavaScript, for example
2. strengthen E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust)
AI overviews are also increasingly focusing on a factor that is also nothing new for Google or SEO: E-E-A-T has been used as a "filter" to assess the quality of content since 2022:
- E - Experience - the author has personal experience with the topic
- E - Expertise - the author is professionally qualified, an expert in the topic
- A - Authoritativeness - the brand or website should be considered an authority in the field
- T - Trustworthiness - the site should be secure in terms of content and technology
Especially in the B2B environment, where products that require explanation and complex decision-making processes with a high investment volume are involved, these quality features are essential. E-E-A-T has been the focus of SEO content production for our customers for years - but we also see time and again that companies are not yet implementing the principle or are not implementing it consistently enough. This includes
- Complete author profile incl. bio with specific reference to the topic (ideally created as structured data)
- Provide demonstrable evidence of the content conveyed via benchmarks, studies, reports or own analyses in order to signal competence
- Demonstrate concrete, practical solutions; incorporate case studies or practical use cases
- Build trust through references, certifications, visible company profiles (e.g. on Google or LinkedIn) and transparent contact information
3. understand topics instead of just using keywords
Just like SearchGPT and other AI tools, Google Search AI analyzes content contextually rather than keyword-based. In practical terms, this means that it is less important to place a large number of individual search terms in a text. Instead, what really counts is what a text says, how it relates to other topics and how completely it covers a subject area.
This is not new territory for us either, but consistent implementation is becoming increasingly important here too. This includes
- Focus on long-tail keywords with specific search intent instead of generic search queries with a high search volume
- Work with synonyms, use technically correct or industry-specific language and incorporate important terms
- Create topic clusters; build content around a central topic (pillar articles) that create structure and context in terms of content
- Set internal links strategically and use semantic anchor texts to create context
- Establish a precise reference to known entities (e.g. standards, persons or companies) if a solution complies with ISO DIN 9001, for example
4. optimize the technical basics of the website
For your content to be crawled and taken into account by Google, the crawlers must be able to read the page - regardless of whether organic search results or AI Overview. Technical SEO basics are therefore still important and must also take the criteria of AI into account. This includes
- Content must always be accessible to crawlers (including AI bots) and should not be hidden or blocked in JavaScript
- Individually weigh up which content should only be available behind login areas, paywalls or after registration
- If relevant: Make technical data sheets or product catalogs crawlable
- Consistently implement technical SEO basics such as heading hierarchies (H1, H2 etc.) and meta texts
- Keep an eye on Core Web Vitals via the Google Search Console and optimize if necessary
- Mobile first still applies, so the entire site should be optimized for mobile devices
- Optimizing loading times is important against the mobile-first background, but also so that bots can crawl the page completely
- And here again: use structured data (schema markup) for e.g. FAQs, how-tos or blog articles
5. topicality as a ranking, relevance and trust signal
There is constant movement in many B2B topics - standards are updated or new functions such as AI become relevant. That's why it's important to keep content up to date. This was already the case in "classic SEO", but AI and its understanding of context makes it even more important.
This means that good content is not just created once, but should be regularly reviewed and updated. For example, we rely on well-structured content plans for our customers, regularly check the texts for content and performance and schedule updates. Consistent implementation also includes
- Make updates traceable and include update date (ideally via structured data)
- Don't just carry out "cosmetic" updates, but update keywords and figures, incorporate new studies and rewrite sections
- Update sitemap regularly and submit via Google Search Console
- Regularly check important content or pillar content (content and performance) and schedule updates
- Use updated content on other channels and promote it on social media or via newsletters, for example
6. build a targeted online reputation for your own brand
Last but not least, the topic of context - in terms of holistic optimization for generative search engines (Generative Engine Optimization or GEO for short), SEO not only takes place onpage, but also offpage. Google's AI doesn't just see your page in isolation, but in the context of all other content that is or isn't on the web in relation to your company.
The reputation of your brand or company online is thus becoming an increasingly important "silent" ranking factor. Or in short: If you are not recommended, the Google AI Overview will not recommend you either. This includes:
- Mentions of the brand or company in industry-relevant media, specialist portals, studies, publications, interviews, etc.
- Testimonials, customer testimonials or reviews for more credibility; ideally also integrated via structured data on the website
- Create company profiles (e.g. Google Business, LinkedIn, Xing, GitHub etc.)
- Monitor brand reputation, e.g. via special tools and/or in AI models such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Copilot
What do Google AI Overviews mean for your B2B SEA strategy?
In addition to the strategic adjustments that are important in the SEO area, you should not neglect your SEA strategy either. Even if the paid search results have so far been less affected than the organic ones, the restructuring of the SERP and the change in click behavior are leading to increasing competition and budget pressure.
Just like for SEO, here too relevance is an important keyword. If you manage to target more relevant keywords, create landing pages and offer CTAs, you have the chance to use your budget more efficiently and generate higher quality traffic. Here are a few more strategic recommendations:
1. focus on bottom-funnel or long-tail keywords
From our point of view, the most important recommendation: The campaign structure for your Google Ads must take into account the increasing zero-click behavior. As with organic search results, users won't click on anything else if the Google AI Overview already provides them with the answer to their question. And AI overviews can do this very well, especially for top funnels or informative keywords. Typical examples are
- What is Zero Trust?
- What is ISO 27001?
- Advantages of the ERP system
If you place ads for such search queries, you may get views, but with the result "no action". Keywords that already contain a concrete intention to act or at least potential for action and are located in the bottom or mid-funnel make more sense. Here again is a comparison of the same top-funnel search queries with an equivalent in the mid- or bottom-funnel:
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Top-Funnel
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Mid-Funnel
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Bottom tunnel
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What is Zero Trust?
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Zero Trust solution GDPR-compliant |
Zero Trust IT security consulting
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What is ISO 27001?
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SASE provider ISO 27001
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SASE solution ISO 27001 Book a demo |
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Advantages of the ERP system
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ERP system for medium-sized companies |
ERP software for SMEs Find a provider |
It is noticeable that the mid- or bottom-funnel keywords are usually longer and more precise than the top-funnel search queries. These long-tail keywords often have a low search volume, but provide more valuable traffic with higher conversion potential due to their higher action orientation.
In addition, the search queries are more complex - i.e. either more difficult to answer in the Google AI Overview, so that the user is looking for more information. Or for some highly transactional keywords, no AI Overviews are displayed by Google at all, so that the focus is clearly on the ads again.
2. strengthen target group understanding & integrate into campaign structure
Speaking of more precise search queries, it is also clear that a list of long-tail keywords alone will not help you. The entire SEA campaign must also be geared towards addressing the relevant target group in the right context. You need to know this:
- Who is your ideal customer?
- In which situation do customers make a decision?
- Which signals are important for a targeted request?
Important for this: You need a good data basis. You can obtain this via Google Analytics 4, for example, ideally in combination with first-party data (e.g. from your CRM system). Your Google Analytics and your Google Ads account should be linked to each other and ideally also your first-party data sources.
Here are a few examples of interesting audiences:
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GA4-Audience
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Conclusion
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Users who visit certain pages for longer than 60 seconds |
Mid-Funnel, interesting for a Consideration campaign |
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Users with a scroll depth of more than 75 percent who download a PDF |
Bottom-Funnel, interesting for a demo request campaign |
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Users with repeated sessions without conversions |
Potential lead, interesting for a remarketing campaign |
With these insights, you can better align your campaign structure with the funnel logic and also use the custom segments in Google Ads even more efficiently.
3. conversion rate optimization of the website becomes (even) more important
The goal of every B2B website is to generate leads and conversions - that's nothing new so far. But if you get less traffic through Google AI overviews and zero-click searches, every click is an even more important contact point that you should use even more efficiently. After all, fewer clicks carry less weight if the remaining clicks convert better.
It is crucial that your landing pages and website as a whole are action-oriented and lead users directly to the next step - e.g. requesting a demo, downloading a whitepaper or filling out a contact form. This will help you secure leads, even if traffic drops, and reduce your costs per lead at the same time. Decisive levers are:
- User must understand your offer in less than 5 seconds; problem, benefit and a clear CTA are visible above the fold
- Align landing pages more consistently with the relevant target group and the funnel logic (see previous tip)
- Condense the content of the landing page and work out a crystal-clear CTA and run through the entire page
- Focus more on soft and micro conversions, e.g. lead magnets such as white papers for download, newsletter subscriptions or webinar registrations
- Optimize the technical basics of the website (e.g. loading time, mobile UX, page speed and core web vitals)
- Make trust anchors visible; references, testimonials or certification form Trust
4. remarketing as an essential measure to retain users
And if users don't convert immediately, are they lost forever? Even if your website is conversion-optimized, not every click will probably lead to a new lead. But if you get less traffic overall, it becomes all the more valuable and you shouldn't just let a click go to waste. This is where remarketing comes into play.
The advantage of every click that goes beyond the Google AI Overview is that users show concrete interest and have conversion potential. In the B2B and IT sectors in particular, it is unusual for users to convert directly on their first visit to your website - the decision-making processes usually take much longer. Remarketing is therefore essential in order not to squander this potential. This is important:
- Align remarketing strategically along the funnel logic (users who have canceled a lead form need a different approach than visitors to a product page)
- Offer soft conversions at different levels along the funnel logic (also include content offers such as white papers, offer low-threshold promotions)
- Use all traffic sources (with fewer clicks it can be difficult to reach the Google Ads data threshold for remarketing, so also include organic traffic via Analytics)
A study on Media Consumption and Vendor Engagement by techtarget shows that IT buyers spend 3 to 4 months researching before they make their first contact with sales another 3 to 4 months before making a purchase decision. It is therefore important that you do not lose the prospective customer in this crucial phase.
5. outlook on new ad formats & placements in Google AI Overviews
If we look at the new SERP structure with regard to Google Ads, two different scenarios come into question:
Ads appear as usual before the Google AI Overview, then come the organic results
The Google AI Overview is in position zero, followed by ads and organic results
However, the more users focus on the AI Overview, the more the ads fade into the background. Of course, this also jeopardizes Google's business model. One of the Group's solutions: Placing ads in Google AI Overviews to place them. Various formats are currently being tested, including
- Sponsored Answers (contextually integrated into the AI Overview)
- Product comparisons (incl. prices, reviews and links)
- Product ads (incl. image, link and CTA)
The rollout has already begun in the USA (as of July 2025) and is expected to be extended to Europe in the coming months. It is important to note that you cannot book these formats separately at this time; rather, Google decides when to display ads in AI Overviews and when not to. It therefore remains important to keep an eye on search intent and context for your campaign plan, your ads and landing pages.
Our assumption is that Google will transfer the ads from the SERP to Google AI Overviews or Google AI Search in Google AI Mode in the long term.
6. further tips and measures for individual testing
In addition to the tips and measures already mentioned, there are a few other adjustments that may be of interest when it comes to SEA and Google AI Overviews. To go into more detail, however, an individual assessment of your current campaigns is always necessary. This can include, for example
- Optimize ad content & assets
- Check budget & bidding strategies
- Update KPIs & conversion tracking
It is important here not to act hastily and to implement changes according to a plan and within a controlled test framework. If you are not an SEA professional yourself, this is best left to an agency.
One last thought on SEO and SEA with regard to Google AI Overviews: In addition to the individual tips and measures, it is particularly important to no longer view the two areas as separate silos, but to interlink them more closely. Relevance and context - which are your most important assets in both disciplines - require context-rich, clearly structured content, which SEO traditionally delivers. At the same time, SEA clicks and data are important to compensate for traffic losses in the organic sector. A future-proof strategy therefore takes SEA and SEO into account in combination.
How does the tracking of mentions in Google AI Overviews work?
Online marketing in any form is of course not something that you should simply implement in the blue - the measurability of results is one of the most important factors and essential for optimizing your campaigns. Tracking mentions in Google AI Overviews is currently still such a "blue box".
There are already the first tools that have integrated functions for tracking Google AI Overviews. Sistrix for example, rolled out such a function in May. The problem is that most tools obtain their data from Google SERPs, but not directly from Google. A separate evaluation via the Google Search Console would be much more reliable.
Although clicks on sources in Google AI Overviews and in Google AI Mode, according to Google are now included in the Search Console data, they are not marked separately.
Can Google create AI overviews just like that?
For many website operators, the question also arises: Is Google allowed to automatically summarize content? In fact, the rollout of Google AI Overviews in Europe is still described by many as a "test" and has been delayed compared to the launch in the USA, mainly due to legal issues.
From a purely technical point of view, Google is on the safe side, as it only accesses publicly available web content for the AI Overviews, according to its own information. The problem is that this content is reinterpreted by the AI and placed in a new context. This leads to questions regarding copyright and responsibility for the content displayed. The European Commission is currently investigating the following points and infringements:
- Digital Markets Act (DMA)
- GDPR & Digital Services Act (DSA)
- EU copyright legislation
- European Media Freedom Act (EMFA)
- AI Act (with regard to transparency and security)
Our assessment: Not making your business website crawlable for AI is not a sustainable strategy. However, it is all the more important that the content on your website is of high quality, up-to-date and demonstrably factually correct. If there are areas with sensitive data, it is better to exclude these specifically via robots.txt or a paywall.
An outlook: What's next for Google AI Overviews & Google AI Search?
Google AI Overviews are not a test run, but mark a profound change in search behavior - away from searches and towards direct answers. The fact that Google has embarked on this path is also demonstrated by the Google AI Modewhich offers a dialog-based search aka SearchGPT and whose rollout has already begun in the USA.
All the features of Google's AI search projects ultimately boil down to the fact that the classic SERP (Search Engine Result Page) is being replaced by direct answers to questions, resulting in a change in users' search behavior. For companies, the most important measures of success are no longer click records and first place in the organic search results, but contextual visibility within overviews and AI search.
This offers enormous potential that you shouldn't squander by declaring SEO or SEA "dead". It's important to make the right strategic adjustments to prepare your website and your content for Google to do the Googling for users in the future. How well positioned are you? You can find out now with our AI Search Readiness Analysis. Simply contact us for a non-binding strategy discussion.
Google AI Overview FAQ
What are Google AI Overviews?
The Google AI Overview is an AI-generated answer box above the search results that bundles information from various sources. The aim is to answer user questions directly - without having to click on external pages. However, this model quickly reaches its content limits when it comes to complex B2B and IT topics.
When will AI Overviews appear in Google Search?
Google AI Overviews currently appear for around 50 percent of all search queries - especially for information-oriented, complex long-tail keywords. Transactional searches have hardly been affected so far, but this is likely to change. Overviews occur particularly frequently in mobile searches and in knowledge-based industries.
Can I trust the Google AI Overview?
According to Google, AI Overviews are generated from publicly accessible sources that have been checked according to E-E-A-T criteria. However, if the information is extracted from various sources and compiled in a new context, this can lead to highly simplified summaries and misinformation.
How do I rank in Google's AI Overview?
There is no classic ranking within Google AI Overviews, as there is in the organic search results. Google does not currently evaluate mentions as a source separately; clicks are included in the organic clicks in the Google Search Console. Initial tools provide data on whether companies are visible in Google AI Overviews (e.g. Sistrix); however, it is not clear where the data comes from and how reliable it is.
Can the Google AI Overview also generate images?
No, the Google AI Overview cannot generate its own images. Sometimes images are displayed in Google AI Overviews, but these are extracted from reference websites or pulled from the Google index.
How does Google create the AI Overview?
Google AI Overviews are based on Generative AI with RAG technology (Retrieval Augmented Generation). This combines content from current sources such as the Search Index, Knowledge Graph and websites. The selection is made algorithmically according to relevance and E-E-A-T. Each overview is generated dynamically and cannot be reproduced exactly.
