What are Google AI Overviews?

AI Overviews are the AI-generated summaries Google shows at the top of some search results. Each one answers the query in a few paragraphs or bullet points and links to the web pages it drew on. Google launched them in the US in May 2024, after testing them as the Search Generative Experience (SGE).

How does a page get linked in an AI Overview?

Google’s documentation says there is nothing special to add. To appear as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet. You don’t need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup. The usual basics apply: crawlable, indexable, helpful content with a clear answer.

Google also says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use query fan-out, running several related searches for one question, so a page can be linked for a query it does not rank on page one for.

How do I see AI Overview traffic?

Clicks and impressions from AI features are counted in the Search Console Performance report under the “Web” search type, together with regular results. Search Console does not split them out.

Can I keep my content out of AI Overviews?

Only with the controls that limit snippets: nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex. Blocking Google-Extended does not take you out of AI Overviews, which are part of Search.

Example

A search for how long to boil an egg may show an AI Overview with times for soft and hard eggs and two or three recipe sites linked beside it. Those links are the citations site owners compete for.

Related: AI Mode, zero-click search.