The advent of AI Overviews is, without a doubt, the most monumental change we’ve seen in search as we know it. (Well, at least in my ten-year tenure so far.) And as much as you might want to ignore them, AI Overviews are here to stay. Prevalence of these results have increased over 200% since their rollout in 2024, and more are being tested every day.
This isn’t to say SEO is dead. AI Overviews are an evolution of SEO, offering a unique opportunity for brands to gain top-of-page visibility and be considered across the funnel in search. Now, more than ever, is the time to embrace change and adapt—to optimize your content, and your website as a whole, to rank in AI Overviews.
Because if you’re not optimizing for AI Overviews, you’re going to fall short.
This guide walks you through how to rank in AI Overviews and optimize for an AI-enhanced search landscape.
What are AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear within the Google search results. They are designed to answer a user’s query in a quick and helpful way—often, right at the top of the SERP.
According to Synapse’s client database, between 30% to 50% of search queries trigger an AI Overview—with informational as well as deeper-funnel searches showing these generative results.
How are AI Overviews Populated?
As the world’s largest search engine, Google has a vast index of web content where it can source information from. This index is the foundation for AI Overviews; Google sources content from various corners of its index and, using its Gemini AI model, synthesizes a response to user queries based on the content it deems most helpful.
From what we know so far, Google still relies on traditional search ranking signals when deciding which webpages it will feature in the AIO. In fact, data shows that 63% of sources cited in AI Overviews also rank within the top 10 Google results—underlining that traditional SEO isn’t dead, after all.
AI Overviews vs. Traditional Organic Results
AI Overviews are compiled using material from a combination of sources within Google’s index. These sources are linked to (i.e. cited) within the AI Overview, should users want to explore deeper. At Synapse, we’ve seen as many as 70+ citations in one, single AI Overview.
With this in mind, AI Overviews are vastly different from traditional search results. In traditional search, a user’s query returns roughly 10 webpages to choose from to learn more. AI Overviews, on the other hand, summarize these pages and other, valuable content into a concise, user-friendly SERP element.
AI Overviews change the game. They enable multiple webpages to rank highly in search—well above the traditional organic results—where brands might not have reached historically. With AIOs, there is less fighting for a single spot in the SERP, and a larger opportunity to show up before the scroll.
The Anatomy of an AI Overview
To understand how to rank in AI Overviews, we must first understand how they are structured and where brands can possibly place within these summaries.
AI Overviews contain multiple elements, including:
- A Primary Content Summary: A short paragraph and/or bullet points directly answering a user’s query.
- Linked Citations: Clickable cards, typically on the right-hand side of the AIO, linking to the webpages from which information was sourced.
- Supplemental Content: Detailed information relating to the query, often shown in listicles, tables, charts, or even image and video formats.
- Interactive Features: Options to continue the search journey in Google, including suggested follow-up questions or a button to “Dive Deeper in AI Mode.”
Of the above elements, brands have the ability to rank in the AI Overview content summaries as a mention, and/or in the linked cards as a citation. All AI Overviews contain citations that link to webpage sources. For transactional or commercial searches (e.g. “best store-bought pasta sauce”), AI Overviews might also include mentions of brand names.
Citations:
Citations are the links that show at the right-hand side (or occasionally, at the bottom of) an AI Overview.
These are the webpages that Google is sourcing its primary copy from, and giving credit to, through a prominent link. Earning a citation shows that Google sees your content as high-quality and credible. It can also drive traffic to your site.
Mentions:
Mentions are essentially Google endorsing your brand directly within the AI Overview content. When users express conversion intent – whether they’re vetting software vendors, weighing colleges, or researching jewelry designers – Google’s AI Overview is likely to offer them a short-list of brands to consider. As such, mentions are immensely valuable. They give brands visibility and shape how brands are perceived by prospective customers.
For both citations and mentions, there are tactics you can implement to increase your brand’s likelihood of ranking in the AI Overview. We explore these in-depth below.
Download our The Ultimate Guide to AI Overviews for free, now.
7 Tips to Rank in AI Overviews
So, what can you do to rank in AI Overviews, either as a citation or a mention?
The truth is, if you’re prioritizing SEO, you’re probably checking a lot of the boxes already. Ranking in the AI Overview requires a sound content strategy, good website health, and endorsements from other areas of the web (yes, the age-old backlinks). All these factors play a key role in ranking organically, in the traditional SERP and now, the AI Overview.
Remember: The webpages cited in the AI Overviews are often the same ones Google is ranking in the first-page organic results. This tells us that Google’s AI model still relies on the same ranking factors as it always has, and that traditional SEO tactics are still important for showing up.
Of course, there are things you can prioritize to increase your chances of ranking in an AI Overview. Here are Synapse’s top tips for ranking in AI Overviews today:
1. Create helpful, people-first content that answers users’ questions.
AI Overviews provide information, most often showing for informational queries. As you build out your content strategy for the next few months or year, ask yourself what types of information your audience might be seeking. Then, create helpful, targeted content that answers those queries directly.
Google wants to give users the best possible content—content that’s helpful, credible, and relevant. As such, it’s important you don’t lose sight of your content strategy in the world of AI. In other words:
- Create content with your customers and prospects in mind. Make sure it’s helpful, valuable, and people-first (not crawler-first). Ask yourself what queries your audience might be searching – tapping into customer services teams, or product specialists as needed – to ensure you plan for the enormity of topics out there through FAQs, help articles, and more.
- Analyze AI Overview results for those queries. As soon as you know what types of queries you want to answer via your content, take a look at the AI Overview result showing in Google’s SERP. What kinds of semantic topics does it include? Be sure to cover those in your own piece.
- Maintain a human layer to your content. As tempting as AI-generated writing tools might be, they are imperfect and a human component is key to creating the high-quality content that Google seeks. (In fact, layering in first-party data, or quote and opinions from experts in your company, can make it stand out.)
- Build content credibility. Cite statistics, refer to real data points, quote industry leaders, and cite reputable sources whenever possible to show your expertise on each topic.
2. Make content digestible and navigable, with structured elements.
AI models – Google’s Gemini and AI engines like ChatGPT alike – love structure in content. It makes it easy to navigate, digest, and parse out into summaries. As such, make sure to implement these best practices as you develop and future-proof your content for AI:
- Utilize Q&A formats when possible, and answer each question concisely wherever possible (1-2 sentences). Long-form responses are still helpful, but concise answers should always come first.
- Format any subheaders (and/or questions) using the proper hierarchy of H2 and H3 tags.
- Consider a Table of Contents (with jump links) for lengthy articles and guides.
- Use bulleted and numbered lists to make content digestible.
3. Utilize Schema Markup to classify important content.
Speaking of structure, structured data is an important element for ranking in AIOs. Structured data (such as Schema markup) enables search engines to easily categorize important information on your site.
Now is the time to review your website as a whole and ensure you’re fully utilizing relevant Schema markup whenever possible. Think: FAQ Schema, Product Schema, Organization Schema, Blogposting or Article Schema, and more.
4. Focus on E-E-A-T Signals.
We know that Google prioritizes domains with strong authority and expertise; it’s no different in the world of AI Overviews. However, Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trust (E-E-A-T) carry an added weight as we think about the possibility of Brand Mentions in AI Overviews. In order to short-list your brand for queries like the “best SEO agency ever,” you must be seen as a leader in your space.
How do you build E-E-A-T? Write in the first person, refer to your experience, include opinions and POVs when relevant, and utilize robust author biographies (including links to social profiles) to prove your content’s authority.
5. Consider a Review content strategy.
When users are in fact looking for a short-list, that’s what the AI Overview is going to give them: A curated list of brands to consider for their specific search. Whether that’s the best gym, the best software, or the best insurance provider, you can influence your possibility of showing up.
How? Developing Review content directly on your own website – e.g. The Top 10 Software for Businesses, where you’re listed as #1 – has a good chance at being pulled directly into the AIO.
It sounds scary, but developing this “Review” content allows you to control the narrative around your brand and bolster your presence for deep-funnel searches.
6. Build your brand presence and market visibility.
If you’re hesitant to rope Review content into your own content strategy, or simply want to ramp up brand recognition further, consider looking at other corners of the web.
Are there third-party Review websites and articles talking about your industry—and is there potential to be listed? Paid review websites, like Capterra, SoftwareAdvice, and G2, are great options to explore in the B2B space. The more your brand is mentioned across the web, the more votes of confidence you’ll get in the eyes of Google.
You can also start building credibility on your own website, too, by simply doting your brand name throughout your website copy. A credibility statement in your global footer (e.g. BRAND is the leading software provider for XYZ…) is a simple step that can make a difference in your ability to be mentioned.
7. Prioritize load times and user experience.
While content strategy is the game-changer when it comes to ranking in AI Overviews, technical health matters, too. Think about it: AI models are tuned for speed. They need to deliver content fast, especially for those interacting with websites in real-time. As such, good page load times and Core Web Vitals are going to be even more important in the world of AI.
As a next step, audit your website content through tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix to ensure information is delivered and accessible in a fast-loading, HTML format for all AI models. And don’t forget to check multiple pages or page types; you may see large differences in load times on your homepage vs. blogs, for example. (While this guide focuses on AI Overviews, note that fast load times are also essential for AI engines like ChatGPT, which will abandon content that takes too long to load.)
AI Overviews are Here to Stay: How Will You Show Up?
AI Overviews are being tested and rolled out to search queries every day. While they might feel scary to some traditional marketers, the truth is that this is a natural evolution: Google has always wanted to provide users with high-quality and helpful content. AI Overviews simply help Google accomplish this goal quickly, by giving users relevant responses directly within the SERP.
The good news for us is that ranking in the AI Overviews doesn’t require a total shift. It just requires an integrated, AI-enhanced approach to SEO. With a continued focus on quality content development, structured for AI models and built with users in mind, businesses will be well-positioned to be cited in AI Overviews. And to show for deeper-funnel searches? Brands who prioritize awareness efforts, thought leadership, and PR strategies are likely to be mentioned in AI Overviews.
Let us help you through the new age of AI. Whether you’ve put SEO on the backburner, or are looking to take your organic rankings to new heights, we can help you get there. Contact Synapse today.
Or, if you’re simply looking to get a better grasp on AI Overviews and how they’re impacting search, check out our free eBook here: The Ultimate Guide to AI Overviews.
