Introduction:
Google has introduced new documentation regarding its AI Overviews search feature, providing crucial information for SEOs and publishers. This new feature summarizes answers to search queries and directs users to webpages where they can find more detailed information. The documentation outlines how the feature works and what considerations publishers and SEOs should take into account.
What Triggers AI Overviews
AI Overviews appear in Google Search results when users need to quickly understand information, especially when it’s tied to a specific task. According to Google:
“AI Overviews appear in Google Search results when our systems determine that you want to quickly understand information from a range of sources, including information from across the web and Google’s Knowledge Graph.”
Additionally, the documentation ties the trigger to task-based information needs:
“…and use the information they find to advance their tasks.”
What Kinds Of Sites Does AI Overviews Link To?
While AI Overviews is triggered by users needing to quickly understand something, it’s not limited to queries with informational needs. Google’s documentation makes it clear that various websites can benefit from AI Overviews, including creators (implying video creators), ecommerce stores, and other businesses.
The documentation lists the kinds of sites that can receive a link from AI Overviews:
“This allows people to dig deeper and discover a diverse range of content from publishers, creators, retailers, businesses, and more, and use the information they find to advance their tasks.”
Where AI Overviews Sources Information
AI Overviews sources information from both the web and the Knowledge Graph. The feature selects websites from Google’s standard search index, indicating that Google may be using Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
RAG is a system that sits between a large language model and an external database of information. This database can be a specific knowledge base or a search index. It provides supplemental information to double-check the information provided by a large language model or to guide users to where they can find more information.
The documentation confirms this:
“AI Overviews appear in Google Search results when our systems determine that you want to quickly understand information from a range of sources, including information from across the web and Google’s Knowledge Graph.”
Automatic Inclusion and SEO
Inclusion in AI Overviews is automatic, and there’s nothing specific that publishers or SEOs need to do. Following Google’s guidelines for ranking in regular search is all that’s required for ranking in AI Overviews.
Google’s systems determine which sites appear in AI Overviews.
All statements suggest that Google uses the regular search index for AI Overviews:
“No action is needed for publishers to benefit from AI Overviews.”
“AI Overviews show links to resources that support the information in the snapshot, and explore the topic further.”
“…diverse range of content from publishers, creators, retailers, businesses, and more…”
“To rank in AI Overviews, publishers only need to follow the Google Search Essentials guide.”
“Google’s systems automatically determine which links appear. There is nothing special for creators to do to be considered other than to follow our regular guidance for appearing in search, as covered in Google Search Essentials.”
Think In Terms Of Topics
While keywords and synonyms play a role, they shouldn’t be the sole focus of SEO. Semantic annotation, such as Google’s centerpiece annotation, is crucial. Semantic annotation links webpage content to concepts, giving structure to unstructured data.
Google has been matching webpages to concepts since at least 2015. The documentation about AI Overviews confirms this approach:
“AI Overviews show links to resources that support the information in the snapshot, and explore the topic further.”
“…AI Overviews offer a preview of a topic or query based on a variety of sources, including web sources.”
SEOs should focus on topic targeting in addition to keyword targeting to improve their content’s visibility in Google Search, including in AI Overviews.
Google recommends the same optimizations described in their Search Essentials documentation for ranking in Google Search and Google Overview:
“There is nothing special for creators to do to be considered other than to follow our regular guidance for appearing in search, as covered in Google Search Essentials.”
