Glossary · AI search and AEO
What are Google AI Overviews?
Also known as: Google AI Overviews, formerly Search Generative Experience (SGE)
AI Overviews: AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results, with links to the web pages used to build the summary. They appear for certain queries only, alongside the normal list of results.
Why does it matter?
For queries where an overview appears, it typically sits above the organic results, so a searcher may read it before seeing any listing. Being one of the linked sources puts you in the most prominent spot on that page.
Because AI Overviews live inside Google Search, Google's normal indexing and quality systems still apply. Google's own guidance says there's no special markup required to be eligible; a page generally needs to be indexed and eligible to show a snippet.
How do you act on it?
- Check in Search Console that the page is indexed and not restricted with nosnippet or similar controls you didn't intend.
- Answer the underlying question directly and early, then cover the follow-up questions an overview is likely to address.
- Watch queries where impressions hold but clicks fall; that pattern can indicate a summary is answering the searcher on the results page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I opt out of AI Overviews?
Google documents snippet controls such as nosnippet that also limit how content is used in AI features in Search, but using them can reduce how your page appears in normal results too. Read Google's current documentation before changing anything.
Does Search Console report AI Overview traffic separately?
At the time of writing, Search Console folds AI feature appearances into the overall web search performance data rather than giving a separate AI Overviews report. Check Google's documentation for changes.
Does FindContentGaps track AI Overviews?
No. FindContentGaps' AI visibility checks currently run on Claude with web search. It can help you find and write the answers AI Overviews tend to summarise, but it doesn't report on AI Overviews specifically.