How Does AI Overview Affect SEO? What to Do About It

How Does AI Affect SEO?

At the center of the growing controversy is Google’s new AI Overview feature in search. AI Overview aims to improve search results by combining data from multiple sources, and displaying it in a concise, understandable way.
Quick and easy access to information may seem like a boon to users, but it presents a serious threat to publishers and content creators.

AI Overview has the potential to impact the strategies of companies that rely heavily on search engine optimization (SEO) to drive website traffic. Businesses pay a lot of money to SEO to ensure they rank high in search results, driving organic traffic and, by extension, revenue. These SEO costs can result in lower profits because AI Overview can reduce the need for users to click through to actual content.

For companies that currently rank highly in search results, the AI Overview feature could have a significant impact on revenue streams, potentially impacting billions of dollars in revenue.

There’s a clear sense of concern about this transition. Google regularly tweaks its search algorithm to improve results and weed out spammers and poor-quality information. AI Overview is different, though, and it risks significant SEO investments.

The confusion about AI Overview is for companies that rely on search engine rankings.

How exactly does AI Overview Work?

When Google’s algorithms identify that creative AI answers can offer users particularly useful information, AI Overviews appear in search results. However, they won’t answer every question. Google wants to show AI Overviews selectively. For example, for more complex questions that typically require multiple searches.

According to a study on zero-click searches, 17.9% of users conduct a second search after completing their first search. This could be as a result of not finding the solution they were looking for. Or they discovered a partial answer and tried to refine their question further. One potential way to solve these types of complex questions is to use AI Overview.

Google’s Gemini language model powers the sophisticated generative AI technology used to create content. And it is evaluated on how well it understands the question and the relevant data it finds online.

Because AI Overviews rely on creative AI, biased or inaccurate information can occasionally be produced. Google said it was working to fix this at the time of publication. Google announced that it will soon begin testing the addition of ads to AI Overviews. According to the corporation, these ads will be prominently marked as “Sponsored” in the AI review section.

What do you need to know about AI Overview?

AI Overview, which was introduced in May 2024, uses creative AI — such as Google’s Gemini model — to provide complete answers to search queries in real time. Users can ask more complex questions using Search’s creative AI capabilities, as shown in the example below. AIOs streamline these searches and aggregate data from multiple sources to provide users with complete answers that often include summaries, lists, or actionable plans or recommendations.

Goals of AI Overview

AI Overview aims to improve user search experiences. They have strong research, planning, and multi-step capabilities. For example, AIOs can display lists with images, text paragraphs with headings, and lists with numbers or bullets.

Plan activities, generate ideas, and generate questions using video. AIOs streamline the search process by eliminating the tedious work, allowing you to understand articles faster and find insights.

Additionally, search’s creative AI makes it easier for users to browse and find companies. This includes full product descriptions along with essential details like cost, images, and reviews.

The Impact of AI Overview on Organic Traffic

The biggest direct impact of AI Overviews will likely be a decrease in website click-through rates. Especially for simple, informational queries, users may be less inclined to visit individual websites if they can find complete answers directly in search results.

The impact of AI Overviews on organic traffic was examined in a Growth Memo. The study compared Search Console data before and after AIO adoption, looking at over 1,600 non-branded keywords.

The study found that URLs highlighted in these reviews generally saw less traffic than in the previous era when AI Overview boxes were absent from the SERPS. Compared to when they were displayed as regular SERP links, URLs included in AIOs saw an average of 8.9% fewer clicks.

Impact of AI Overview on SEO Rankings

Let’s take a look at the key ways AI Overviews are impacting SEO and your rankings.

1.    Organic Clicks are Dropping

The data makes it clear: According to SEMrush’s analysis of 10,000 informational keywords, AI-generated summaries dramatically reduced click-through rates for both sponsored and organic content. According to the latest research from Moz, AI Overviews can reduce organic traffic by 18% to 64%, especially for websites that offer simple informational content.

Businesses that rely on organic traffic to generate leads and revenue should be especially concerned about this shift. If users don’t have to click to find the information they need, websites will get fewer visits, resulting in a significant loss of revenue.

How to adjust and keep traffic flowing:

Rather than competing with AI-generated summaries, businesses should focus on producing content that is difficult for AI to replicate or reduce. The secret is to offer depth, uniqueness, and practical applicability to add value beyond a simple solution.

Produce complex and in-depth information because AI is good at summarizing but not deep analysis. Your content will be harder to replace if you publish comprehensive, expert-backed content that examines topics from multiple angles.

For example, Google may have to sell Chrome: Important Information. This piece goes beyond cursory reporting with bold perspectives and expert-led analysis that AI can’t match. An AI Overview can provide a concise summary of essential details, but it can’t tell the nuances of potential future market impacts and insights.

Produce complex and in-depth information because AI is good at summarizing but not at deep analysis. Your content will be harder to replace if you publish complete, expert-backed content that examines topics from multiple angles.

For example, Google may have to sell Chrome: Important Information. This piece goes beyond cursory reporting with bold perspectives and expert-led analysis that AI can’t match. An AI Overview can provide a concise summary of essential details, but it can’t tell the nuances of potential future market impacts and insights.

2.    Brands can be Misrepresented in Content Descriptions

AI-generated summaries pull data from a variety of sources, often omitting important details or important context. As a result, a brand’s messaging can be misrepresented, which can lead to misunderstandings, erode consumer trust, and reduce conversions.

Businesses risk losing control over how they appear in search results because AI Overviews don’t prioritize brand intent in the same way that human-generated content does.

Here’s an example of potential problems with AI summaries: In a Super Bowl commercial in February 2025, Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini AI, falsely claimed that Gouda cheese makes up “50-60% of the world’s cheese consumption.” Due to the social media backlash over this inaccurate statistic, Google carefully modified the ad to remove the misinformation. The event demonstrated how artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content can spread misinformation, potentially misleading consumers and damaging brand reputation.

How to Control Your Brand Message

Businesses can actively influence how AI understands their information, although they have no direct control over the summaries generated by AI. The secret is to organize the content so that AI extracts the most relevant information while also reinforcing the brand’s messaging.

Content organization using AI-friendly summaries: AI favors content that is easy to extract and condense, so brands should design sections that are well-defined and highlight key points.

How to take control of your brand message

Businesses can actively influence how AI understands their information, even though they have no direct control over the summaries generated by AI. The secret is to organize content so that AI extracts the most relevant information while also reinforcing the brand’s messaging.

Content organization using AI-friendly summaries: AI favors content that is easy to extract and condense, so brands should design sections that are well-defined and highlight key points.

3.    More than Ever, Authority Cues Matter

Google is aware of this, which is why content from trusted sources is typically prioritized in its AI Overview, making it harder for smaller or more recent websites to gain traction.

Businesses without a well-established internet reputation run the risk of being eclipsed by sector titans because AI-generated summaries use data from sources that Google deems trustworthy.

When it comes to ranking content, Google’s search quality guidelines place a heavy emphasis on experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EEAT). The same guidelines apply to AI Overview, which prioritizes data from reputable media, official websites, and well-known business titans.

How to Increase AI Visibility and Build Authority

Establishing credibility through targeted content efforts and high-quality backlinks is crucial for companies hoping to increase their chances of being listed in AI Overview. Here’s how to accomplish this successfully:

Secure backlinks from trusted industry websites: AI places a high value on authority, and backlinks from trusted sources serve as proof of a website’s legitimacy. Focus on creating valuable content that people want to cite to gain links from reputable industry blogs, major magazines, and academic institutions.

Publish thought leadership articles with professional insight: AI Overview prioritizes articles written by recognized authorities in their domains. By creating in-depth articles, white papers, and research-backed reports with insights from professionals in the field, businesses can increase their perceived authority. Credibility can be further enhanced by including author biographies that demonstrate competence.

Work with leading industry figures: Brand authority can be increased by collaborating with recognized experts through co-authored content, interviews, and guest posts. The likelihood that an AI will find information from a website credible enough to find it when it is cited or highlighted in reputable sources.

Frequent Update Content: Update content frequently with new information and credible sources as AI prefers content that is backed by appropriate and credible sources. Content stays competitive in AI-powered search results by regularly updating blog posts, case studies, and research pieces with the latest data, reports, and excerpts from credible sources.

4.    Long-Tail and Niche Keywords are Gaining Importance

While AI Overviews are great for general, high-volume search queries, they sometimes fall short in providing relevant results for more focused, nuanced queries. Businesses now have the opportunity to focus on long-tail and niche keywords, which attract high-intent visitors that AI may miss.

AI-generated summaries typically provide one-size-fits-all answers because they draw on general information from trusted sources. However, AI often falls short of providing personalized insights when users are looking for highly specific queries, such as industry-specific advice or detailed comparisons.

How to take advantage of AI’s flaws

To compete successfully, businesses should focus on keywords that require depth, experience, and specific knowledge. To find and capitalize on these opportunities, follow these steps:

To identify AI-resistant queries, use keyword tools: Highly detailed, infrequently searched questions are difficult for AI to handle. Businesses can use tools like AlsoAsked, AnswerThePublic, and Google’s “People Also Ask” to identify issues that AI can’t adequately answer. This allows them to create content that bridges such gaps.

Provide comprehensive, industry-specific content: Content that offers specialized insights may not be matched by generic AI summaries. Companies should focus on writing articles that provide professional perspectives, in-depth comparisons, and practical applications tailored to a specific audience.

5.    Video and Visual Content is Becoming more Popular

As AI Overviews evolve, they give more weight to visual and video content than traditional text-based answers. Businesses that invest in multimedia, especially video tutorials, product demos, and visually engaging content, benefit from this shift.

According to Wyzowl’s Video Marketing Report, 91% of companies claim that video marketing has improved their traffic.

Businesses that successfully use multimedia can outperform their competitors that use only written information, as AI Overviews now automatically include video content in search results.

How to prepare for AI-powered video search

Brands need to ensure that their video content is high-quality and discoverable to boost visibility in AI-powered search. Here’s how:

Create video content that’s search-optimized: Videos should be tailored to specific search queries and include timestamps, full descriptions, and keyword-rich titles to help Google understand their content. Videos that are properly structured and address user intent are prioritized by AI.

Businesses that successfully use multimedia can outperform their competitors that only use written information, as AI Overviews now automatically include video content in search results.

How to prepare for AI-powered video search.

Brands need to ensure that their video content is high-quality and discoverable to boost visibility in AI-powered search. Here’s how:

Create video content that’s search-friendly: Videos should be tailored to specific search queries and include timestamps, full descriptions, and keyword-rich titles to help Google understand their content. Videos that are properly structured and address user intent are prioritized by AI.

The Future of AI and AI-Powered Search Overview

AI Overview is likely to play an increasingly large role as AI is increasingly integrated into search. It will impact how users typically approach search, as well as how content is presented. Some users, including senior corporate executives, are already changing the landscape by choosing AI-native platforms like Perplexity and ChatGPT over traditional search engines.

The president of a company that makes more than $100 million a year, for example, said that he now uses ChatGPT for most of his searches instead of Google, indicating a significant shift in user behavior. AI Overview is the first step towards a future when search traffic is dominated by AI-powered platforms, and businesses need to be prepared for it.

Final Thoughts: Marketing Approach for Now and Up Future

While SEO is still important, it’s essential to understand how consumer behavior is changing. Before the AI review began, consumers were increasingly searching for knowledge and educational content from a variety of sources. As such, it’s crucial to have a flexible strategy that can accommodate changes in the marketplace. Knowing how to rank higher on Google is no longer just about keywords—it’s about aligning content with user intent and delivering real value. Understanding your buyers’ demands is the primary goal of inbound demand generation, regardless of the state of certain channels. Regardless of the most effective medium, this information enables you to inform potential clients and drive them to your website.