AI Overviews: The Most Significant SEO Change Agent Since Mobile – Maybe Ever
Until now, we’ve lacked a representative data set to thoroughly analyze how AIOs (AI Overviews) work. Thanks to exclusive data from Surfer, I conducted the largest analysis of AI Overviews so far with over 546,000 rows and +44 GB of data.
The Data
The data set spans 546,513 rows, 44.4 GB, and over 12 million domains. There is no known exploration of a comparable dataset.
- 85% of queries and results are in English.
- 253,710 results are live (not part of SGE, Google’s beta environment), 285,000 of results are part of SGE.
- 8,297 queries show AIOs for both SGE and non-SGE.
- The data contains queries, organic results, cited domains, and AIO answers.
- The dataset was pulled in June.
Limitations:
- It’s possible that new features are not included since AIOs change all the time.
- The dataset does not yet contain languages like Portuguese or Spanish that were recently added.
Answers
I sought to answer five questions in this first exploration.
- Which domains are most visible in AIOs?
- Does every AIO have citations?
- Does organic position determine AIO visibility?
- How many AIOs contain the search query?
- How different are AIOs in vs. outside of SGE?
Which Domains Are Most Visible In AIOs?
We can assume that the most cited domains also get the most traffic from AIOs.
In my previous analyses, Wikipedia and Reddit were the most cited sources. This time, we see a different picture.
Image Credit: Lyna ™
- coursera.org.
- microsoft.com.
- fb.com.
Meaning
All of this means three things:
1. Optimizing for AI Overviews is similar to Featured Snippets with the difference of being more user-intent focused.
2. SGE is useful for monitoring potential AIO design changes but not to predict how AIO answers might change. One threat to keep an eye on is citation-less AIOs.
3. Social could make a comeback! Many years ago, social signals were hyped as SEO ranking factors. Today, the strong prominence of social networks like YouTube and LinkedIn in citations offers an opportunity to impact AIOs with social and video content.
Thinking Ahead
AIOs do the opposite of leveling the playing field. They create an imbalance where a few sites that get cited get more visibility than everyone else.
However, they also shrink the playing field by answering user questions better and more often than Featured Snippets.
The risk of getting fewer clicks grows with better AIO answers – but there is also the risk of fewer ad clicks. Organic and paid results always existed in balance. The quality of one impacts the other. Unless Google embeds new ad modules – which is likely – better organic answers will come at the cost of ad revenue.
At the same time, Google is pulled forward from competitors like OpenAI and Perplexity, which constantly ship better models and increase the chance of searchers not using Google for answers. It will be hard for Google not to iterate and innovate on AI in the search results.
Conclusion
In conclusion, AI Overviews are the most significant SEO change agent since mobile. They require a different approach to SEO, focusing on user-intent and the quality of answers. Google is likely to continue innovating and iterating on AIOs, which could lead to changes in search results and ad revenue. It is essential to monitor AIO design changes and adapt SEO strategies accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are AI Overviews?
A: AI Overviews, also known as Answer Engines, are a type of search result that provides direct answers to user queries in a list format.
Q: How do AIOs impact SEO?
A: AIOs require a different approach to SEO, focusing on user-intent and the quality of answers. Optimizing for AIOs means creating high-quality content that answers user questions better than others.
Q: What are the limitations of AIOs?
A: The limitations of AIOs include the lack of exact match-driven content, the need for adjusting content frequently, and the risk of getting fewer clicks with better AIO answers.
Q: Will AIOs change the way we search?
A: Yes, AIOs have the potential to change the way we search by providing direct answers to user queries, making the search results more efficient and user-friendly.
Q: Can AIOs be used for advertising?
A: Yes, AIOs can be used for advertising by providing targeted answers to user queries, increasing the chances of click-through rates and conversion.
Q: Will Google continue to innovate on AIOs?
A: Yes, Google is likely to continue innovating and iterating on AIOs, which could lead to changes in search results and ad revenue.
Q: What are the risks of AIOs for SEOs?
A: The risks of AIOs for SEOs include the potential loss of click-through rates, the need for adjusting content frequently, and the risk of being outranked by better answers.
