The essentials
- Definition: AI Overviews are answers written by Gemini, displayed at the top of Google's results, summarising several sources and citing them as links.
- Rollout: launched in the United States in 2024 and in France in 2025; present in 2026 on 20 to 40% of queries depending on the study, mostly informational ones.
- Effect: a 20 to 40% fall in organic click-through rate on the queries affected, but the sources cited gain a visibility that position 3 never gives.
- Getting in: answer the question directly, structure into sections and tables, already rank well, be consistent and sourced.
The AI Overviews are answers generated by Google's artificial intelligence, displayed at the top of the results page above the classic links. Produced by the Gemini model from pages in the index, they summarise the answer in a few paragraphs and cite the sources as links. Launched in the United States in May 2024 and rolled out in France during 2025, they change how clicks are distributed and create a new form of visibility, distinct from ranking. They are the first proving ground for GEO.
Which queries AI Overviews appear on
| Type of query | How often AI Overviews appear (2026) | The full destination URL |
|---|---|---|
| Informational (how, why, definition) | High, 50 to 70% | "how do you calculate ROAS" |
| Comparative (vs, best, difference) | High | "GA4 or Matomo" |
| Health, finance, legal (YMYL) | Moderate, and cautious | "symptoms…", "tax…" |
| Local (near me, city) | Low; the local pack dominates | "plumber Nantes" |
| Transactional (buy, price) | Low; Shopping and ads dominate | "buy electric bike" |
| Navigational (brand) | Very low | "GreenRed login" |
How Google chooses the sources it cites
Google has not published the method, but the 2025 and 2026 studies converge: 60 to 75% of the sources cited already appear in the top ten organic results for the query, which makes classic SEO the prerequisite; the pages cited answer the question directly in a short, self-contained passage; they are structured (headings phrased as questions, lists, tables, definitions); they come from sites judged reliable on the subject, by the E-E-A-T criteria; and forums, reviews and media are frequently cited for questions of experience. The same principles apply to featured snippets; see the featured snippet in the age of AI.
What AI Overviews change for traffic
- Fewer organic clicks: on queries with an AI Overview, studies measure falls of 20 to 40% in click-through rate for position 1, and more for the positions below; the answer is read without a click.
- A new kind of visibility: a page cited in the overview appears above every result, even if it ranks 5th; a click from an overview is better qualified.
- Stable impressions, falling clicks: in Search Console the page is still counted as an impression; the CTR falls. Google does not yet separate clicks coming from the overview.
- A shift in value: informational queries bring less traffic; pages that lead to an action (a comparison, a tool, a quote) keep their value.
Appearing in AI Overviews
- Rank first: aiming for the top 10 on the query remains the main condition.
- Answer up front: a direct two- to four-sentence answer under each question heading, before the detail.
- Structure: H2 headings phrased as questions, numbered lists for methods, tables for comparisons, explicit definitions.
- Quantify and source: precise, dated figures and references; overviews readily pick up numbers.
- Establish expertise: a named author, an About page, a consistent entity across the web; see appearing in LLM results.
- Allow the crawlers: Google-Extended does not apply to AI Overviews; it is the classic Googlebot that feeds them, so normal indexing is enough.
Measuring your presence
Search Console does not report citations in AI Overviews. Measurement goes through repeated manual tests on your key queries, through GEO tracking tools that record the sources cited and calculate share of voice, and through reading CTR query by query: a fall in CTR at a stable position signals that an overview has appeared. The choice between searching on Google or in an assistant is analysed in AI or Google, and the metrics in GEO KPIs.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's GEO and AI module brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI Overview?
An answer generated by Google's Gemini AI, displayed at the top of the search results, summarising several pages from the index and citing them as links. AI Overviews appear mostly on informational and comparative queries, rarely on local or purchase queries.
Do AI Overviews reduce traffic?
Yes, on the queries affected: studies measure falls of 20 to 40% in organic click-through rate, the answer being read without a click. Pages cited in the overview, on the other hand, gain visibility above every result, and better-qualified clicks.
How do you get cited in an AI Overview?
By already ranking in the top ten results, by answering the question directly in two to four sentences under a question heading, by structuring the content into lists and tables, by giving sourced figures, and by showing identified expertise (a named author, a consistent entity).
How do I know whether my site appears in AI Overviews?
Search Console doesn't report it. Test your key queries manually in a private window, use a GEO tracking tool that records the sources cited, and watch CTR query by query: a fall at a stable position signals that an overview has appeared.