AI Overviews and Search Engine Optimization

You’ve likely noticed that your online searches these days are yielding robust, sometimes lengthy AI-generated answers to queries of every possible type. It kind of goes without saying that getting your website featured as a resource can’t help but boost traffic and may even bring in more customers. What else is there to know? And how can you harness the power of AI overviews? Let’s get into it.

What Are AI Overviews?

Various search engines have their own techniques and terminology, but since Alt Media Studios is a Google Partner, we’re focused on how this dominant search engine is utilizing generative AI to create the summary you see highlighted at the top of most search result pages.

The AI overview (AIO) typically appears above other search results and any snippets. Information is gathered from an array of sources on the internet and collated, combined and summarized to form a comprehensive answer to a question. A link icon provides source pages so that the searcher can follow that trail for a deeper dive or to investigate the organization providing the information. 

Whether it was a lengthy research project at the library decades ago, or a more recent online research rabbithole, we all know that sometimes we’re forced to piece together all the relevant facts on a topic one little piece of information at a time. That could mean visiting tens of sites and traveling way past the first results page. But who’s doing that in 2025? AI overviews aim to collect the top factoids on a given topic and present them in a concise and organized format. Less sifting, less browser windows open, less back and forth for folks looking for a simple answer. Quick but comprehensive is the name of this game. You can think of AIOs as an upgraded featured snippet of sorts.

Why Are AI Overviews Important?

Clearly, right off the bat you can see how it could save time and effort to get a well-rounded answer to a simple question when using the provided AI overview response. And if a majority of online searchers aren’t going past that initial information, then it’s obvious that companies would want their websites to be featured as part of the AIO. To cater to those users who want to go deeper on a topic, companies will also want to be featured in the AIO so that it’s an easy click-through from search results to their page. Either way, AI overview inclusion helps to increase authority, visibility and organic search traffic for the websites featured as sources, and they can also help a company to maintain a competitive edge. But there are some key steps that lead to this ideal result.

Optimizing for AI Overviews

According to Google, there isn’t anything specific that developers need to do for a website to be included in an AI overview that isn’t already mentioned in their regular guidance for how to appear in search results. This scene is always shifting and changing and so maybe guidelines will be developed in the future, but for now, companies need to aim for the same high level search engine optimization they hopefully already were working toward.

Following SEO best practices is the best way to hope to land your website among the upper echelons of AI-generated search engine responses. Here’s a breakdown of what that means in real life.

• Building a site with a well-organized and legible structure to enable easy accessibility, crawling and indexing by Googlebot
• Avoiding spammy practices and offering site visitors a secure and positive user experience with fast load time and mobile responsiveness
• Improving search engine results pages (SERPS) ranking
• Optimizing each page with researched keywords and search terms
• Creating content that is people-first, designed to be helpful, and written in plain language
• Drafting comprehensive content that’s targeted to answer the question you’d like to be featured in

To put it all very simply, once you’ve complied with Google’s requirements for a baseline good website, focusing on content is really where it’s at. You want to anticipate the questions that someone might ask on a given topic, especially if they aren’t already very familiar or knowledgeable. Including keywords is also vital, but it needs to be done tastefully and come across naturally. If you cover all the content bases, you’re more likely to get clicks and engagement from site visitors. 

Evidence also bears out that AI-generated overviews love a list or a set of step-by-step instructions. But really, aiming for content that clearly informs is the ultimate goal, whatever your topic or format. Don’t bury answers under piles of irrelevant information–answer common questions directly. Another feature of content that’s more likely to get picked up by Googlebots is that it’s kept up-to-date and accurate. That’s especially important if facts and figures are likely to change over time.

The Impact of AI Overviews on Search Results and SEO

Some folks are worried that AI overviews will make SEO work obsolete, since there will be a higher likelihood of no-click search results as users rely more heavily on the first summary of information they see. Whether that’s the case can’t really be predicted right now, but if someone is looking for an authoritative resource, they’ll always be more likely to click through to a cited webpage. So, clearly, however things pan out, the goal is to be included in the AI overview. 

If Google doesn’t lay out any other requirements beyond what are already considered SEO best practices for a webpage, then this is a situation of keep doing what you’re doing and maybe amp up SEO work, but definitely don’t slack off. Well-researched, clearly-explained, and intuitively-organized content is still your best bet to high rankings in organic searches, and is a great way to get seen by Google. Working with a skilled and experienced digital marketing agency who does it all under one roof ensures that content is high-level, keywords are on point, and custom web design is user-focused.

And guess what? Your digital marketing agency in Cleveland is right here at Alt Media Studios. We get Google and we know what it takes to help your website be seen by the folks who are looking for your expert information, products and services. 

With artificial intelligence taking center stage in answering our questions online, AIOs are likely just the beginning. It’s time to find a partner who can meet you where you are and help you to grow in this and every digital climate. Contact us today to learn more about our full suite of digital marketing and web development services–we’re ready to help you tell your story.