Optimize for Google AI Overviews
Have you noticed how Google’s search results have started to look different lately? Instead of a list of links, you can sometimes see a ready-made text summary at the top of the page, together with source references. This new feature is called Google AI Overviews, and it is changing how people find and consume information online.
As a website owner, it is important to understand how this affects your SEO work. By adapting your content, you can increase your chances of appearing in these summaries and thereby reach the right audience in a powerful way.
What are AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are Google’s way of using artificial intelligence to provide quick, summarized answers to users’ questions. Imagine asking a knowledgeable friend for advice. Instead of giving you a link to an entire book, they tell you the most important points directly, while also pointing you to where you can read more.
The difference compared to traditional search results is that AI Overviews do not just list pages, but create their own text by combining information from multiple sources. These sources are linked next to the summary, which means Google can still send traffic onward, but in a more selective way.
🔍 Ask yourself:
Do you want your website to be one of the sources that Google chooses to highlight in its AI-generated summaries?
How have AI Overviews changed search results?
AI Overviews have led to a major shift in how users interact with search results. Previously, most users clicked through to a website to get answers, but now they can often read a summary directly on Google. This is known as zero-click searches, since the user gets the answer without clicking further.
For some websites, this means fewer visitors because the need to click decreases. At the same time, there is a significant opportunity: the pages that are cited in AI Overviews gain top visibility and can attract highly qualified traffic. Users who do click your link often do so to dive deeper, which means they are more interested and more likely to convert.
In other words, becoming one of the selected sources can be a major win.
Example of an AI overview when searching for who we at Brath are:
How do you optimize for AI Overviews?
To have a chance of appearing in AI Overviews, you need to think one step beyond traditional SEO. It is not just about keywords and links, but about creating content that an AI can easily interpret and use. These are the most important elements:
Quality and authority
Make sure your content is trustworthy, accurate, and based on expert knowledge. AI prioritizes sources that are perceived as credible. Build authority by showing who is behind the content, referencing sources, and keeping everything up to date.
Clear structure and headings
Use clear headings, subheadings, and paragraphs that make the content easy to understand for both people and AI. A well-defined structure helps the algorithm quickly extract relevant parts for a summary.
Answer questions directly
Think about the questions your customers ask. If you run a car repair shop, they might wonder “How often should a car be serviced?” or “How much does a tire change cost?”. By answering these questions clearly and concisely in your content, you increase the chances that AI will pick it up.
Structured data
Use Schema Markup to clarify what your content is about. If you have an article, mark it up as “Article” or “BlogPosting”. If you have a product, use “Product”. This makes it easier for AI to understand the context and use your page as a source.
Read more about structured data in the course material.
🔍 Ask yourself:
What questions do you often get from your customers, and can you create clear, helpful answers on your site that AI can easily highlight?
Practical tips to start optimizing
Optimizing for AI Overviews is about thinking like both a human and an algorithm. It does not have to be complicated, but it does require clarity.
Start by looking at your existing pages through what we might call an AI lens. Ask yourself the following: Would a computer easily understand what this page is about, who is behind it, and what answer it provides? If the answer is no, you need to improve the content.
Some simple steps you can take:
🔵 Create an FAQ section with questions and short, clear answers
🔵 Add structured data to your most important pages and test it using Google’s tools
🔵 Update older articles with clear headings and concise answers
🔵 Build authority by showing sources and expert profiles
Once you start working in this way, your content becomes not only more attractive to AI Overviews, but also more user-friendly for your visitors.
In summary
Google AI Overviews represent one of the biggest changes in the search landscape in many years. Instead of just delivering links, Google now summarizes information for the user. This may mean fewer clicks for some sites, but for those that manage to be cited, it opens up a huge opportunity for increased visibility and trust.
By focusing on quality, clear structure, direct answers, and structured data, you can give your website a better chance of appearing in these new AI-generated results.
The next step is to review your own content. Is it clear enough for an AI to extract the most important parts? If not, start by optimizing a single article today. This way, you position yourself for a future where AI is a central part of the search experience.