AI search
AI Overviews
Google's AI-written summaries at the top of some search results, with links to the pages they draw on. They come from Google's ordinary index, so ordinary SEO applies.
AI Overviews sit above the results for some searches and link a handful of pages. They are part of Google Search, not a separate product: the pages come from Google's index, and Google's guidance for site owners says no extra requirements or special optimizations are needed to appear in them. Your Googlebot rules and snippet settings apply. Blocking Google-Extended does not take you out.
When we searched 48 buyer questions on 14 November 2026, 42 showed an AI Overview. The median Overview cited 9 pages, and 195 of the 212 sites cited appeared only once, so smaller sites do get a look. Articles and guides were the most cited kind of page (29% of citations), then YouTube videos (22%).
Since 31 August 2026 every site has two new things in Search Console. A setting decides whether the site may appear in Google's generative AI features at all; it is set to Include by default, and Google says it is not a ranking signal for the rest of Search. And a generative AI performance report counts how often your pages appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country, device and date, but not by query. In Google Analytics, visits from AI Overviews are counted as Organic Search.
Sources
- 1.Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- 2.Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search
- 3.Search Console Help: Search generative AI control
- 4.Google: Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console
- 5.Google Analytics Help: Default channel group