What is Google AI Overview | How to optimize?

What is AI Overview on Google’s SERP?

AI overview is an advanced search feature that is rolled out from google on 14^th may, 2024. This feature gives an instant summary for any topic or a search query, with the help of generative AI.

It appears on the top of traditional search results. AI overview is a big leap for Google in the ever-evolving landscape of AI.

It generates precise and more direct answers to a search query in seconds, reducing the efforts of a  manual search.

How is Google ‘AI Overview’ helpful to the users?

Imagine you are a writer who needs help with some research.

You type a query on google search. Once it is done, you are provided with multiple web pages in search results from – top to bottom.

All these web pages are the sources of information related to your query. You will go through these pages and collect information from each. 

Then you will read, interpret and write fresh content from your point of view.

‘AI Overview’ also works in a similar fashion.

Google’s AI is fetching the information from multiple web pages to curate an answer, matching to your query.

It uses machine learning and generative AI for quick search and content generation. 

Our blog – How to start seo in the age of AI is picked by AI for curating information along with other blog posts as well.

How ‘AI Overview’ actually works?

AI overview works with a mechanism. There is a solid system and technology behind it called Gemini.

Gemni is Google’s AI or also known as LLM (large language model).

Gemini employ its AI, ML capabilities for quickly analyzing the vast amount of data, comprehending complex information and summarizing it for a precise output.

The precise answer is displayed in the AI Overview.

Unlike other AI models that fetch information from their training data (limited), gemini has a biggest advantage of leveraging google’s database – a huge ecosystem, ever-evolving and updating.

Because Gemini is Google’s product.

Gemini AI + Google Search = AI Overview.

Can you optimize the content for AI Overview?

One cannot directly optimize for AI overviews, because it is an advanced search feature that curates content from multiple web pages.

It picks content from web pages based on various factors like (quality, trust worthiness, authority, factual correctness, recent data, etc. )

AI overview is diversifying the search results, providing an opportunity for all. It is recommended to add – fresh perspectives, content backed by data, multi-modality for AI to pick uniqueness.

Google search central itself suggested to follow the same foundational SEO practices.

Therefore we have no direct control over rankings in AI Overview.

Also, we must realize that there is a difference between SEO and AIO.

If you have just started your SEO journey but are confused because of the AI disruption, read – Beginner’s SEO Guide for full clarity on SEO and the role of AI in it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Watch full video – Google AI Overview | Can you optimize for SEO? | Why it is advanced?