Are you searching online for information or products? Then you probably decide within seconds where to click. But what if Google partially makes that choice for you? This happens with AI Overviews, a feature that appears at the top of the search results page (SERP) and provides direct answers.
A new study by Terakeet shows that websites included in AI Overviews receive significantly more clicks and visitors. Pages that are not featured in AI Overviews, on the other hand, lose traffic. This means that companies and websites relying on search engine traffic need to pay close attention and may need to adjust their strategy.
What exactly do AI Overviews do?
Google's AI Overviews appear as a highlighted block above the regular search results. They provide a direct answer to the search query, often based on information from various sources. This means that users have to click through to individual websites less frequently.
That sounds convenient for the searcher, but it has significant implications for websites. If your page is included in an AI Overview, it can generate extra visitors. However, if your page is overlooked and there is an AI Overview present, your clicks could decline sharply.
How do AI Overviews influence website traffic?
The research compared the number of clicks on websites in three situations:
Pages without AI Overview on the SERP
No-AIO Webpages
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Pages included in AI Overviews (
Included Webpages
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Pages that are not included but do appear on a SERP with an AI Overview
Excluded Webpages
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Key findings
The influence of AI Overviews varies by type of search query and the position of a page in Google. The key findings:
Websites in top positions lose traffic on informational searches, regardless of whether they are featured in AI Overviews. People find their answers already in the AI Overview and click through less often.
Websites in lower positions gain traffic when they are featured in AI Overviews, especially for informational searches. They receive, on average, twice as many clicks as similar pages without an AI Overview.
For search queries with purchase intent (transactional searches), the effect is even stronger. Pages in AI Overviews always receive more visitors, regardless of their position in the search results. For lower-ranked transaction websites, this even resulted in an increase of 3.6 times as many clicks.
Websites that fall outside of AI Overviews are losing significant traffic, especially for searches where people want to make a purchase.
Why is this important for companies and websites?
Many companies rely on their position in Google to attract visitors and customers. However, with AI Overviews, the way people search and click is changing. If your website typically received a lot of traffic from Google, that is no longer a given.
Some companies are already feeling this impact directly. Chegg, an educational technology company, is suing Google because AI Overviews have significantly reduced their visitor numbers and revenue. NerdWallet has noticed that certain pages are receiving less traffic, while Ziff Davis indicates that the impact is inconsistent.
What can you do to protect your website?
SEO strategies must adapt to this change. Optimizing pages to appear in AI Overviews is becoming increasingly important. You can do this by:
Writing content that provides direct answers, as Google prefers to display in AI Overviews.
Add structured data (such as FAQ schemas) so that Google can process your information more easily.
To analyze which pages are influenced by AI Overviews and to adjust your strategy accordingly.
AI Overviews are not a temporary test, but a lasting change in how search traffic is distributed. Websites that smartly respond to this trend can actually benefit from increased visibility and traffic.