It’s been almost a year since Google officially launched AI overviews. For those of you who don’t know what they are, you almost certainly will have seen them.
They’re the AI-generated snippet of text you see at the top of the Google search results, pulling in relevant information it finds across the web relevant to your search query.
Here’s one I found earlier:
Don’t get too excited, I’m not thinking about climbing Everest!
It’s just to demonstrate that I know how long it might take to climb Everest without having to click on any of the search results. If I clicked on the ‘Show more’ arrow, I’d be given more AI generated content about climbing Everest. And if I was really serious about climbing Everest, I’m more likely to click through to Himalayan Masters or Exped Review who are cited as the top resources for my search.
The majority of Google’s AI Overviews are found in searches with “informational” intent – users who are looking for information on a topic rather than trying to find a specific website or product. They are typically longer phrases, giving the AI more context to work with.
Who are the winners and losers from Google AI overviews?
Studies show that businesses whose content is getting featured in Google’s AI Overviews benefit from more traffic, while those aren’t being featured are losing clicks and therefore potential new enquiries.
- Being included in an AI Overview can increase traffic by 6 times their normal clicks.
- High-ranking pages (positions 1-3) are seeing significant drops in traffic when they’re excluded from an AI Overview, resulting in 50% fewer clicks compared to a search with no AI Overview at all.
I’m seeing too many businesses ignore the changing search landscape that’s unfolded so quickly before our eyes.
- Some are still writing blogs like it’s 2018.
- Some have buried their heads in the sand and given up on creating content altogether.
- Others have thrown money at random paid search campaigns ‘hoping’ that something works.
I know it can be confusing and there’s so much to keep up with as AI advances further. My hope is that you will action one of these 3 things to keep your business visible in this changing landscape.
1. Improve your content to get featured in Google AI overviews
I’ve written a more in-depth blog about how to get featured in Google AI overviews here, but here’s a quick summary.
- Create content using E-E-A-T Guidelines: Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust. Create detailed content that really demonstrates your experience and expertise, showcasing examples, going into more depth on a specific topic. Build trusted backlinks to your content to show it’s an authoritative source of information and demonstrate that you are a trusted source of information using testimonials and social proof.
- Crawlable and indexable: Google can’t feature what it can’t find. Use tools such as Google Web Console to ensure that all your content is indexable.
- Optimise content for Large Language Models (LLMs): Content that answers questions clearly, uses structured data (like FAQ schema, How to Guides) will have a higher chance of being featured in Google’s AI Overviews.
- Use structured data: Mark up your content using schema mark-up to help search engines understand your content’s relevance and context.
It can be disheartening if you’re spending so much time creating content and it feels like you’re launching it to an echo chamber, but following the principles outlined above will reap rewards.
2. Diversify and use multiple channels
When we talk about search in 2025, we’re witnessing a complete revolution. The days of “just Google it” are long gone. Your audience now bounce between platforms – searching on social channels, browsing Reddit threads, and interrogating ChatGPT, all within a single buying journey.
This fragmented search landscape means you can’t just rely on Google and expect results. You need to understand exactly where your audience lives online and strategically position yourself on those channels to stay visible.
Here are some crucial questions to map your visibility strategy:
Where is your audience most active online? Get a clear understanding of your audience profile and buyer persona. Pinpoint the platforms they are most likely to use and create a content plan for each.
What might they be searching for at each stage of their buying cycle? You’ll need different content to appeal to the intent of your audiences and be aware of how this might change throughout the buying cycle.
Someone who is experiencing an employing grievance might just need resources and information in the first instance and search for ‘dealing with an employee grievance’ in Google.
Once they are further in their buyer journey, and more educated about what action to take, they may use LinkedIn to find employment lawyers who can help them.
Visualise the journey of your search audiences – the platforms they use, their intentions, interactions, etc. and note any relevant changes as they progress through the buying cycle – and the key places/moments you need to win their attention.
3. Use a Paid Lead Generation Strategy
A paid search campaign will provide you with immediate visibility, targeted traffic and a flow of qualified leads, BUT it needs a clear strategy from the outset.
I’ve seen many businesses trying to take short cuts by setting up paid lead generation campaigns themselves without any understanding of the platform or how to optimise performance to get the best results. It only goes one way: wasted ad spend, weeks of disappointment and frustration and the CEO claiming “paid ads don’t work for us!” Hint… they do, you just need a clear strategy and good execution.
Another great benefit of a paid search campaign is that it can give you valuable data and insights about customer behaviour, keyword performance (Google Ads), and conversion rates that can inform broader marketing strategies.
If you want to stay visible in this changing landscape, but you’re confused where to start, I can help direct your efforts in the right direction with our FREE VISIBILITY AUDIT >>
This has been a real game-changer for many businesses who want to get clear about the channels that will work best for them and where they should prioritise their efforts. It’s also totally free and no-obligation!