What are Google AI Overviews?
Google AI Overviews are the AI-generated answers that Google displays at the top of the search results, above the regular links. The answer is generated by Google's language model, Gemini. The model gathers information from multiple websites and displays links to the sources it has used. In Danish, this feature is called "AI-oversigt.".
Google launched AI Overviews in the U.S. in May 2024. In Denmark, the rollout was initially delayed because "Danish Media in 2024" was rejected, that Google was allowed to use content from Danish media outlets in its responses. AI Overviews Go to Danish search results in May 2025.
For a business, AI Overviews mean there are two positions to compete for in the same search. One is the ranking in the list of links. The other is the spot as a source within the AI answer itself. The two positions are related, but they are not the same. At InboundCPH, our metrics show pages that rank highly organically without being mentioned in the AI answer, and pages further down the list that Google cites anyway. Here, we explain how Google selects its sources and what you can specifically do to get cited.
When does Google display an AI Overview?
Google displays an AI Overview when the system determines that a comprehensive answer adds value beyond the usual links. Google itself states this in its Documentation on AI features in Google Search. AI Overviews therefore do not appear in nearly all searches. Long questions with an informational intent most often trigger an AI response. Searches containing a brand name do so less frequently, and the same applies to local searches and news.
An analysis of 146 million search results, as reported by Search Engine Journal in November 2025, showed that AI Overviews appeared in 57.9% of question-based searches. On average, across all searches, the percentage was 20.5%.
| Search type | AI Ad Mix Overview |
|---|---|
| Questions (“How…?”) | 57,9 % |
| Long searches (7+ words) | 46,4 % |
| Searches without a brand name | 24,9 % |
| Average for all searches | 20,5 % |
| Searches by brand name | 13,1 % |
| Local searches | 7,9 % |
| News Searches | 6,3 % |
When the buyer faces a complex decision, the percentage is significantly higher. InboundCPH tracks 56 Danish searches for AI-SEO and SEO on our own AI visibility platform, and in November 2026, all 56 trigger an AI Overview. These are questions such as “Is AI SEO worth the money?” and “How much does an SEO campaign with AI cost?” These are precisely the considerations a decision-maker goes through before contacting a vendor. If you’re selling something that requires careful consideration, you should therefore expect AI Overviews to appear in the search results that matter most to your sales pipeline.
How does Google select the sources for an AI Overview?
Google selects the sources for an AI Overview from among pages that are indexed and eligible to appear as a snippet in Google Search. There are no additional technical requirements. This is stated in Google’s own guidelines. To construct the answer, Google uses a technique called query fan-out. The model sends out multiple related searches across subtopics and compiles the answer from the pages that best answer each sub-question. That’s why a page might be cited for a single paragraph, even if it isn’t the best result for the main search.
Organic rankings still matter a great deal. seoClarity analyzed 432,000 keywords in October 2025 and found that 99% of AI Overviews draw their sources from the top ten organic results. However, a top-10 ranking is a ticket to the door, not a guarantee. When Google needs to quote a snippet, the model selects text that provides a clear answer and can stand on its own. A paragraph that doesn’t answer the question until the fourth sentence loses out to one that does so in the first.
The third signal is mentions outside your own site. Ahrefs analyzed 75,000 brands and found that online mentions of a brand are about three times more strongly correlated with visibility in AI answers than backlinks (correlation of 0.66 versus 0.22). Mentions in industry media and on comparison sites are therefore an integral part of working with AI Overviews—not a side note. We go into more depth on Google’s own recommendations in our Guide to Google's AI Optimization.
Google states in its 2026 documentation that no special optimizations are required to appear in AI Overviews. Nor are new machine-readable files or special schema markup needed. Our interpretation is that the classic SEO principles remain unchanged, but that competition is fiercer because only a few sources are included in the result.
How much do AI Overviews cost per click?
AI Overviews result in significantly fewer clicks on the top results, but pages cited in the response perform better than those that are not. In May 2026, Ahrefs compiled the results of 13 studies and concluded that The click-through rate for the top result drops by 58%, when an AI Overview is displayed. The Pew Research Center conducted a survey in July 2025, that users click on a regular search result in 8% of visits with an AI response, compared to 15% without one.
There’s another side to the story. In November 2025, Search Engine Land reported on a study by Seer Interactive that examined exactly that. Brands mentioned in an AI Overview receive 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks than brands not mentioned in the same search results. The loss, therefore, hits those left out of the results the hardest.
The clicks aren’t the whole story, either. The AI response builds the buyer’s shortlist, and much of the decision-making takes place within the response itself. If a buyer has seen your name in an AI Overview, she’ll often Google the company name right afterward, and that visit is recorded as brand or direct traffic. At InboundCPH, we say that you’re measuring the shadow and overlooking what casts it. Low AI traffic in Google Analytics isn’t the same as low AI impact.
How to Become a Source in Google's AI Overviews
You can become a source in AI Overviews by having the page that answers the question most clearly hosted on a domain that Google already trusts. At InboundCPH, we work according to our 5-layer method, which ranges from the entity through the questions, answers, and authority to the measurement. You can read more about the foundation in What is AI-SEO?. The six steps below are the practical version for a single page or topic.
Find the questions that trigger AI responses
Search for your most important questions in an incognito window, and note where Google displays an AI Overview and who is cited. Write the questions as a customer would say them out loud, not as keywords. Also consider follow-up questions, since Google’s query fan-out looks for answers to sub-questions.
Provide one quotable answer for each question
Formulate the headline as a question, and have the first sentence answer it in no more than 40 words. The paragraph should be able to stand alone, so refer to the topic by name instead of using “it” or “as mentioned.” This is the part of AI-SEO that is also called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).
Enter numbers and names into the text
AI models prefer to cite a sentence that includes numbers, units, years, and sources rather than a sentence containing words like “many” or “most.” Name specific products and methods. The model cannot use numbers that appear only in a graphic, so include them in the body text.
Remove the technical barriers
The page must be indexed and must not have "nosnippet" or "max-snippet:0," because then Google cannot display a snippet from it. Make sure that robots.txt and your CDN (e.g., Cloudflare) aren’t blocking Googlebot. Important content must appear as text and not be hidden in images or tabs that require JavaScript. Structured data must match the visible text.
Build buzz outside your own site
Get your name and your data included in the sources that AI models draw from, especially industry media and comparison sites. At InboundCPH, we use the platform’s data on which Danish media outlets the AI engines actually cite to select placements.
Measure citations, not just rankings
Follow a set list of search queries each month, and track whether the AI response appears and whether you are the source or are mentioned. Without this tracking, you won’t know if the changes are working.
Why isn't a page in the top 10 cited?
A page in the top 10 is typically not cited because Google ranks the page as a whole, whereas AI Overviews cite specific, clear answers. Google can easily deem a long guide relevant enough to rank it, while at the same time finding a better-formulated answer to the sub-questions on a competitor’s site. The difference rarely lies in the topic; it lies in how the text is written.
Consider a hypothetical example. An auditing firm has a detailed page about interim CFOs that ranks sixth in the search results. The page opens with three paragraphs about the firm’s history, and the price for an interim CFO is listed first in a table at the bottom. A competitor ranked 9th has a short section titled “How much does an interim CFO cost?”, and the first sentence provides a daily rate range and a year. Google cites the competitor because the answer can be pulled directly into the AI Overview. The auditing firm doesn’t need a new page. It needs to move the answer up and rewrite it so that it can stand on its own.
This text is written to be read from beginning to end
- Background Information Before the Answer
- Headings as labels, e.g., “Benefits”
- Claims without figures or sources
- The answer is spread across several paragraphs
This text is written to be quotable
- The answer in the first sentence
- Headlines phrased as questions
- Number, unit, year, and source
- Each section can be read on its own
You can rank No. 1 on Google, but still be invisible to ChatGPT. AI-SEO is about being chosen and recommended, not just found.
Henning Madsen, founder and CEO, InboundCPH
How do you measure your visibility in AI Overviews?
You measure visibility in AI Overviews by following a set list of searches and noting whether the AI response appears and whether your brand is the source or is mentioned. Google Search Console can't do that for you. According to Google, clicks and impressions from AI Overviews are included in the total traffic under the "Web" search type, and there is no filter to separate them. So you can see that the click-through rate is falling, but you can't tell if you're being cited.
That’s why InboundCPH has built its own AI visibility platform. It saves the entire response from Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT for every search in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish, along with the sources and your placement in the response. Every line in a report can thus be traced back to the actual AI response. Once you know your share of the AI responses and which competitors are being cited instead, you can prioritize the pages that need to be rewritten. If you link these figures to brand searches in Search Console and leads in your CRM, the impact will be visible in business metrics—not just in percentages.
What happens when a company specifically optimizes for AI Overviews?
In three months, Azets increased its visibility in Google AI Overviews from 55% to 88% for 20 selected searches related to interim CFO services. The pilot project with InboundCPH began with technical optimization and new content on Azets’ own website, written for both Google and AI. On top of that, there were 22 placements in digital media that the AI models draw upon. Azets ranked number 1 for “Interim CFO” in Google AI Overviews, and its organic ranking for the same search term rose from 12 to 2.
Azets: Interim CFO Services
A three-month pilot program involving 20 critical searches and one focus area. Azets ended up accounting for 20.4% of all AI-related coverage in the category, and the partnership has since been rolled out globally.
Since, after three months, we were able to see documented results on both Google and ChatGPT, it was a natural step to expand our partnership to include additional service areas and markets in Europe.
Azets’ results do not guarantee the same figures for others. The effect depends on the competition and your starting point. The process demonstrates how it works. When the answers on the page can be cited and the domain is simultaneously referenced in sources that Google trusts, visibility improves both in the AI answer and in organic search rankings at the same time.
Frequently asked questions about AI Overviews
What is the difference between AI Overviews and AI Mode?
AI Overviews are brief AI responses that appear at the top of Google’s regular search results. AI Mode is a separate view in Google Search where the entire experience is a conversation with follow-up questions. Google states that the two features may use different models and therefore display different answers and links. Learn more about visibility across AI interfaces in our guide to Visibility in AI Search.
Can you turn off AI Overviews in Google?
Google does not have a setting that turns off AI Overviews for users. If you select the “Web” filter below the search bar, Google will show only links. Website owners can exclude a page from AI Overviews using the nosnippet or data-nosnippet attributes, but doing so will also remove the page’s snippet from regular Google search results.
Does AI Overviews require special schema markup or an llms.txt file?
No. Google states in its 2026 documentation that AI Overviews do not require any special schema.org markup or AI text files such as llms.txt. Structured data simply needs to match the text visible on the page.
Is SEO Dead Because of AI Overviews?
No. In October 2025, seoClarity found that 99% of AI Overviews draw their sources from the top ten organic results. Traditional SEO is the ticket to the AI answer. AI SEO does not replace SEO; it expands upon it.
How long does it take to be cited in AI Overviews?
In InboundCPH’s pilot program, we typically see the first results after 4–8 weeks. Azets went from 55% to 88% visibility in AI Overviews in three months. The time required depends on the domain’s authority and the amount of content that needs to be rewritten.
Sources and Further Reading
- Google Search Central: AI Features and Your Website (2026)
- Ahrefs via Business Wire: AI Overviews now account for 58% of websites' clicks (May 2026)
- Pew Research Center: Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears (July 2025)
- Search Engine Journal: Google AI Overviews appear in 21% of searches (November 2025)
- Search Engine Land: Google AI Overviews Drive a 61% Drop in Organic CTR (November 2025, Seer Interactive)
- seoClarity: Impact of Google’s AI Overviews, SEO Research Study (October 2025)
- Ahrefs: Brand Mentions and AI Visibility, Analysis of 75,000 Brands
Will you be listed when your customers search on Google?
We run your most important search queries through our platform and show you exactly what Google AI responds with and who is cited instead of you. At the same time, you’ll receive a recommendation on which pages to rewrite first.
Last revised on November 9, 2026. This article is reviewed on an ongoing basis as the AI search landscape evolves.
