AI Overview

Google's AI-generated summary boxes that appear at the top of search results, synthesising answers from multiple web pages.

AI Overviews (formerly called Search Generative Experience / SGE during testing) launched in the US in May 2024 and expanded globally through 2025. They appear for informational and how-to queries, synthesising answers from multiple sources with citations visible as links. Getting cited in AI Overviews is increasingly important as they appear for a growing share of queries.

Factors that influence AI Overview citations (based on Google documentation and SEO research): high E-E-A-T signals, structured and well-organised content, factual accuracy with cited sources, FAQPage schema, BreadcrumbList schema, clear author attribution, and being an established authority in the topic area. Pages already ranking in the top 10 for a query are more likely to be cited in AI Overviews for that query.

AI Overviews reduce clicks for some queries but can increase total impressions significantly. Monitor in Google Search Console under the AI Overviews section (added 2024). The presence of an AI Overview for high-volume queries you rank for is a signal to optimise for citation — not just ranking.

Test this on your site

Check AI Overview issues on any URL — free, no signup

AI Readiness Checker →

Related SEO Terms

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

The practice of optimising content to be cited and featured in AI-gene…

E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — the fr…

FAQPage Schema

Structured data markup for FAQ content that helps search engines and A…

Featured Snippet

A SERP feature displaying a highlighted answer box at the top of Googl…

Structured Data

Standardised code (usually JSON-LD) added to web pages that explicitly…

← All SEO Terms·AI & GEO terms →