SEO and AI Trends: How to Win in the Era of AI Overviews

Search is undergoing a rapid rebuild. Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs) have moved from experiment to foundation, appearing in over half of all queries and redefining the path between search and discovery. For users, it means answers come faster and higher in the funnel. For brands, it indicates that the old rules of impressions, clicks, and rankings no longer apply.

The SERP is no longer a list of blue links; it’s an AI-driven experience where Google often delivers the answer before a user ever reaches a site. Brands still optimizing like it’s 2023 are now invisible.

The winners in this new landscape will be those who adapt early: securing visibility inside AI Overviews, optimizing for conversational queries, and treating “position zero” as the true battleground of search.

The Rise of Google AI Overviews

When Google rolled out AI Overviews (AIOs) in 2024, many dismissed them as another short-lived experiment. The picture became clear by mid-2025: AIOs are now the backbone of search. They appear in more than half of all queries and have grown by over 115% since March alone. For perspective, featured snippets took years to gain a single-digit share, while AIOs have gone mainstream in under 18 months.

This change represents a significant transformation in user behavior. Instead of scanning long lists of links, people now engage with AI-generated answers first and only click through when they want to go deeper. For brands, visibility no longer starts with ranking #1. It begins with being strong enough to appear inside the AI Overview itself.

Search Is Becoming a Conversation

AIOs are disproportionately triggered by longer, conversational queries. According to research conducted by Ahrefs, based on analyzing 55.8 million AI Overviews (AIOs) across 590 million searches, searches with eight or more words are seven times more likely to surface an AIO than short, head-term searches. 

This reflects a broader behavioral shift: people are asking questions instead of simply typing keywords.

Different Industries, Different Impacts

• Information-heavy industries (tech, finance, healthcare) are seeing immediate disruption, with complex questions answered directly inside AIOs.
• eCommerce brands face more nuanced change. Transactional queries (“buy,” “shop,” “best price”) are largely untouched. But discovery queries (“best skincare routine for dry skin,” “which mattress is healthiest for allergies”) are increasingly intercepted by AI higher in the funnel. Products still rank, but awareness and preference are now shaped earlier, inside the AIO.

Organic Rankings Are Getting Pushed Down

A separate analysis from WordStream found that AIOs take up 42% of screen space on desktop and nearly half (48%) on mobile. Even the #1 organic listing often falls below the fold.

In a mobile-first world where two-thirds of searches happen, this compression of visibility is dramatic. Many users never scroll past the AI box, making category and comparison-level queries the new battleground for eCommerce brands.

Google as the Destination, Not the Gateway

The same WordStream study found that 81% of AI Overview queries happen on mobile devices. With two-thirds of all Google searches done on mobile devices, the majority of mobile searchers are encountering AIOs first.

Even when users don’t read them fully, 88% expand the AIO with “show more” before deciding whether to scroll further. 

This signals a paradigm shift: Google is no longer just a gateway to the web. It’s positioning itself as the final destination.

Why This Matters for Brands

The traditional SERP hierarchy is broken, and ranking #1 organically is no longer synonymous with top visibility.

The battleground has moved higher on the page: securing presence inside AIOs is now as critical as ranking in the top three used to be. Search intent is also deepening, which means optimization must adapt, shifting focus from head terms to long-tail, conversational, and context-rich queries.

Put simply, AI Overviews have rewritten the rules of visibility. If ten years ago was the era of featured snippets, today is the era of AI-first search. The brands that adapt quickly and secure their place inside AIOs will own the new “position zero.”

Traffic and Click-Through in the Age of AIOs

The rise of AI Overviews has reshaped visibility on the SERP and has redefined the meaning of organic traffic itself. The hard truth for marketers is that click-through rates (CTR) are falling across the board, even for top-ranking sites.

Large-scale studies confirm what many SEO teams have been observing firsthand: when an AIO is present, organic CTR declines dramatically. Analysis of more than 300,000 keywords shows drops of up to 34.5% even for pages holding the top organic position. For some businesses, this translates into traffic losses of 40% or more compared to pre-AIO performance.

This shift is not the result of weaker rankings or reduced visibility; it is simply a consequence of Google answering user queries directly. The AI box is intercepting clicks before they ever reach your website.

The Branded Query Advantage

There is, however, a notable exception. Branded searches, queries where a company or product name is explicitly included, have seen a CTR lift of nearly 19% when cited in AI Overviews (WordStream, 2025). 

This is an important nuance: while generic informational queries may siphon traffic away, brand-specific queries are benefiting from the added exposure. For companies with strong reputations, being named inside an AIO effectively acts as a trust amplifier.

Impressions vs. Clicks: A New Reality

AI Overviews haven’t erased visibility, but they’ve redefined it. In many cases, impressions stay stable or even rise, while clicks decline. Users still see your brand, but they’re often satisfied with the AI summary and never visit the site.

That shift creates an important distinction:

• Impressions → now best understood as a visibility metric (your brand is “seen,” but not necessarily engaged with).
• Clicks → shrinking into a smaller share of total reach, and no longer the sole measure of SEO performance.
• Engagement beyond the click → metrics like time on site, conversions, and return visits now represent the clearest signal of SEO impact.

What This Means for Strategy

The implication is clear: the SEO industry can no longer cling to CTR and raw traffic volume as the sole benchmarks of success. Leaders must reframe expectations and KPIs. The priority is not driving as many clicks as possible but capturing qualified, high-intent traffic that converts even if absolute numbers decline.

In other words, the goal is no longer to own all the clicks. It is to own the right clicks, from users who go beyond scanning an AI Overview to actively engaging with your brand.

Who Gets Cited in AI Overviews

Industry studies have made one thing clear: AI Overviews heavily favor authority. Analysis shows that Google itself is cited in roughly 44% of all AIOs, with domains like NIH.gov, WebMD, Reddit, and Quora dominating much of the remaining landscape. This blend of institutional authority and community-driven content is not accidental. It reflects Google’s priority to serve answers from sources it deems both credible and widely recognized.

What’s equally important is that citations are not limited to the top 10 organic results. Nearly half of all sources come from rankings outside page one, often positions 11-20 or lower. In other words, being on the first page of Google is no longer the sole pathway to visibility in AI Overviews.

Despite this broader pool, concentration is real. The top 50 domains account for nearly 30% of all AIO citations, consolidating visibility among a select group of high-authority players. For emerging brands, this creates a barrier to entry: unless you build demonstrable authority, your chances of being cited diminish (WordStream, 2025).

Strategic Implications

For businesses, this reshapes the path to visibility:

• Ranking is not enough. Authority, in the form of E-E-A-T signals, credible authorship, and trustworthy sourcing, now dictates who gets cited.
• Community-driven content is influencing results. Brands can no longer ignore platforms like Reddit and Quora, which are feeding AI models directly.
• The playing field has shifted. Smaller brands aren’t locked out, but they need to invest in authority-building efforts to break into the citation layer.

Guidance is simple: treat AI Overviews as an authority test instead of a ranking test. The brands that build trust signals consistently will be surfaced, whether they’re in position 5, position 50, or beyond.

Industry & Keyword Variations

AI Overviews don’t disrupt every search in the same way. Studies from WordStream, Conductor, and Embryo show that their distribution is highly uneven, shaped by query type, industry, and even the length of the search itself. In some categories, AIOs have already rewritten the rules of visibility. In others, the shift is coming, just not yet.

Informational Queries Lead the Way

The data is striking:

• Around 88% of informational queries (“what is,” “how to,” “why”) now trigger an AIO.
• Only 10% of commercial or transactional queries do the same.
• Local searches remain even less affected, with just 7% triggering AI Overviews.

This tells us something fundamental: Google is leaning on AI to handle broad, knowledge-seeking queries while keeping purchase intent and local queries closer to traditional listings and ads.

Industry Disparities

Certain industries are feeling the disruption more acutely (WordStream, 2025):

• B2B Technology: Around 70% of queries surface AI Overviews. This sector is heavily skewed toward complex, informational queries, making it one of the most disrupted.
• Insurance & Financial Services: Around 63% AIO coverage. The demand for clarity and quick comparisons makes this vertical highly exposed.
• Entertainment: Approximately 37% AIO coverage. Engagement-driven queries, such as “movie release dates” or “celebrity news,” are increasingly being answered by AI, though traditional publishers still drive traffic.
• eCommerce & Retail: Around 4% of queries trigger AIOs. Product-driven searches (“buy,” “shop,” “discount”) remain relatively insulated, meaning eCommerce brands are facing far less disruption — for now.

The Long-Tail Effect

Length matters. Longer, more nuanced queries are seven times more likely to trigger AI Overviews. This tilt toward long-tail searches is already visible for eCommerce brands, especially in categories like beauty and skincare.

For example, “best skincare routine for dry sensitive skin” is almost guaranteed to generate an AIO. In contrast, “skincare products” is more likely to return traditional organic and paid product listings, with minimal AI presence.

Blue Wheel’s Perspective

Here’s how we interpret this for the brands we work with:

• eCommerce brands have breathing room. The disruption hasn’t hit product queries in force yet, but history tells us it will. We’re already advising retail brands to think about AI-driven shopping integrations.
• Information-heavy industries can’t wait. B2B, financial services, healthcare, and insurance are already seeing user behavior shift inside AIOs. These brands need strategies for visibility today, not tomorrow.

The lesson is simple: AI disruption isn’t evenly distributed, but it’s inevitable. You should not be asking if AIOs will reshape your vertical; you should be asking when, and building strategies to stay ahead of that curve.

User Engagement & Sentiment

AI Overviews haven’t just reshaped the search results page; they’ve rewired user behavior. People no longer browse multiple sources the way they did even two years ago. Instead, they often stop at the AI-generated answer, treating Google as the arbiter of information. This represents one of the most profound shifts in search buyer psychology in over a decade.

Shallow Reading, Quick Decisions

• On average, users read only about 30% of the content inside an AI Overview (WordStream, 2025) before moving on.
• Many expand the snippet (88%) to see more detail, but the majority stop there with no need to click through to the source site.
• This “skim and move” behavior compresses the entire search journey, reducing opportunities for brands to engage users directly.

Trust vs. Skepticism

Consumer sentiment remains split:

• 75% of users express concerns about misinformation in AI-generated answers, highlighting lingering doubts about accuracy.
• At the same time, 50% say AI results improve efficiency, making daily search tasks faster and more convenient.

This paradox matters. Users are cautious, but they are also increasingly dependent on AI Overviews to filter, synthesize, and simplify complex information.

Engagement Patterns Are Fragmented

AI is training users to trust the platform over individual publishers. Instead of visiting multiple sites, users often:

• Read a portion of the AI Overview.
• Note one or two cited sources (without necessarily clicking them).
• Exit the search journey once their immediate need is met.

For brands, this reduces both volume of traffic and depth of engagement. But it also creates a higher premium on being cited: if your brand is present in the AIO, you earn visibility even without a click.

Google is more than a traffic driver and has become a brand awareness channel. The AIO acts as a stage where credibility is signaled and preference is shaped before users ever leave the search results.

Strategic Implications

• Engagement is harder to win. While fewer users may visit your site, those who do are likely to have a higher intent and be further along in their decision-making process.
• Trust must be reinforced. With skepticism about AI accuracy, brands must highlight credibility and authority wherever they appear.
• Visibility without clicks still matters. Brand mentions inside AI Overviews carry weight for awareness, even when they don’t generate traffic.

The message is clear: user trust in AI Overviews is still developing, but behavior has already shifted. Brands that focus on authority and recognition will benefit from both visibility in the short term and trust in the long term.

AEO & GEO: The Next Frontier

AI has flipped search on its head. Ranking for keywords still matters, but it’s no longer the whole game. The real fight is inside the answers themselves—where Google and other engines decide what people see first. 

That’s where two new disciplines step in: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

• AEO is about showing up when people want quick, direct answers.
• GEO is about being part of the longer, AI-generated explanations—the comparisons, recommendations, and context that shape decisions.

Put simply: it’s no longer about being found. It’s about being the answer.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

AEO builds on what we once did for featured snippets, “people also ask,” and voice search—then pushes it further. It’s about structuring content so AI can grab and serve it instantly. That means:

• Writing direct, concise answers to “who, what, why, when, how” questions.
• Using clear headings, lists, and schema to make content easy to extract.
• Becoming the authoritative short-form response users (and AI) trust.

Done right, AEO puts your brand in the spotlight when speed and clarity matter most.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

GEO plays a different role. Instead of short answers, it’s about being part of the story AI tells. Think of Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, or Perplexity; they pull together context, detail, and credibility. GEO makes sure your brand is included in that mix.

It’s less about one-off keywords and more about depth:

• Covering topics thoroughly so AI sees you as a true expert.
• Building authorship and authority so your brand is cited as a trusted source.
• Creating content with enough breadth that AI systems rely on you to fill in the bigger picture.

Where AEO is quick-fire, GEO is long-form credibility.

Why They Matter Together

• AEO wins immediacy: You show up when users need a fast answer.
• GEO wins trust: You’re present when AI delivers deeper explanations.

Together, they give you multi-layered visibility across both short and long AI responses.

Strategic Implications

AEO and GEO are no longer “nice-to-have” tactics. They are the new pillars of search visibility.

• Treat AEO and GEO as core competencies, not experiments. They will increasingly determine whether your content is visible in AI-driven search.
• Integrate with traditional SEO. AEO and GEO don’t replace keyword strategy, technical SEO, or E-E-A-T; they amplify them.
• Prepare for platform expansion. Today, AIOs dominate Google. Tomorrow, generative engines will shape search across Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and beyond.

Engagement as the New North Star

In a world where AI Overviews siphon clicks before they ever reach your site, traffic volume is no longer the definitive measure of SEO success. The old playbook of chasing impressions and raw visit counts fails to capture the reality of user behavior today. What matters now is engagement.

Clicks Are Shrinking, But Quality Is Rising

Zero-click searches are steadily increasing, and many visits that once flowed to websites now end at the AI box. But this doesn’t mean traffic is worthless; it means the traffic that does arrive is more qualified, more intentional, and more conversion-ready.

• Users who bypass the Overview and click through are actively seeking deeper information.
• Their intent is stronger, and their potential value is higher.

The Metrics That Matter

Forward-looking SEO leaders are shifting their KPIs from volume to quality. The real success indicators now include:

• Dwell time & scroll depth → proof users find your content valuable.
• Conversion rates & assisted conversions → direct impact on revenue.
• Bounce rates & exit intent → signals of user satisfaction or frustration.
• Heatmaps & user behavior flows → insight into what captures attention.

These metrics reveal not just whether you earned a click, but whether you delivered value once the user arrived.

Redefining ROI in SEO

Executives and marketing leaders need to reframe their expectations:

• A smaller audience can deliver greater returns if engagement and conversions are higher.
• Impressions are brand-building, not demand-driving. Being seen in AI Overviews builds awareness, even without clicks.
• Engagement is now the currency of trust. Search engines and users reward content that keeps people engaged, not just content that gets them in the door.

Strategic Implications

• Stop chasing vanity metrics. Traffic alone does not equal impact.
• Reallocate reporting to highlight engagement KPIs and business outcomes.
• Use analytics, heatmaps, and behavioral tracking as core tools in every SEO program.

The bottom line: Engagement is the new North Star. The brands that measure, optimize, and prove engagement will succeed even as click volume continues to shrink.

Building a Dynamic Content Strategy

AI has exposed the weaknesses of traditional SEO content models. Static, keyword-stuffed pages that were once “good enough” for rankings are now invisible to both users and algorithms. To remain competitive, brands must adopt a content strategy that is dynamic, authoritative, and adaptable to the way AI systems surface and interpret information.

Static Content Is Dead Weight

AI engines don’t reward outdated or stale material. They prioritize freshness, relevance, and authority. Pages that sit untouched for months or years are being pushed aside in favor of content that reflects current knowledge and active expertise.

The Three Pillars of Future-Proof Content

1. Dynamic: Content must be consistently updated and expanded. This means refreshing statistics, revisiting evergreen guides, and adapting to new search trends.
2. Authoritative: Expertise has to be proven, not implied. Case studies, expert quotes, original research, and firsthand insights all strengthen the signals that AI and human users trust.
3. Hybrid-built: AI tools can accelerate production, but human oversight ensures depth, nuance, and compliance with E-E-A-T. The winning approach blends AI efficiency with human credibility.

The Role of Technical Structure

Beyond words on the page, technical scaffolding determines discoverability. Schema markup, internal linking, and structured metadata allow AI engines to parse and repurpose information accurately. Brands that fail to invest in technical improvements risk being overlooked, even with strong content.

Why This Matters Strategically

• Visibility is no longer about volume of pages. It’s about the ongoing relevance and authority of each piece of content.
• AI amplifies trusted voices. Content from authoritative, updated sources is far more likely to be cited in Overviews.
• User trust is fragile. With skepticism around AI accuracy, the onus is on brands to deliver depth and clarity when users do click through.

Conclusion

Search is no longer about ten blue links; it’s about who earns trust inside an AI-driven ecosystem. Google’s AI Overviews have compressed user journeys, reduced clicks, and forced brands to compete on an entirely new stage. The fundamentals of SEO remain essential, but the rules of visibility have changed: authority outweighs position, engagement outweighs traffic, and adaptability outweighs volume.

The brands that thrive will be those that:

• Maintain flawless technical SEO.
• Demonstrate undeniable expertise and authority.
• Optimize for both traditional rankings and AI-driven answer engines.
• Measure performance by impact, not vanity.
• Treat content as a living system: dynamic, refreshed, and built on trust.

SEO has always been about evolution. The difference today is the speed and scale of change. AI is not a passing trend; it is the future of how information is delivered and consumed.

For leaders, the mandate is clear: adapt boldly, invest strategically, and lead the market into the next era of search. Get in touch with our SEO experts today to discover how we can help you in the new era of SEO and AI evolution.