Definition
What is AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are AI-generated answer summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results, synthesizing information from multiple web pages and linking to its sources. They are produced by a generative model rather than ranked links, and can appear above the traditional organic results. Similar answer surfaces exist in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
Why it matters
When an AI Overview answers a query directly, it can absorb clicks that once went to organic results, so being one of the cited sources becomes as important as ranking.