You’ve undoubtedly noticed Google’s new AI Overviews showing up in your search results over the last year. These summaries appear before the organic search results and provide users with the information they are looking for in a conversational style.  

While still new, it is clear that AI Overviews are disrupting how people interact with search results and the amount of organic traffic search engines send to websites.  

Over the last few months, our Brick Factory team has had many conversations with clients about how AI Overviews are affecting their websites.  We decided to create a quick FAQ that explores what AI Overviews are and their impact on your site’s visibility in Google.

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1. What is Generative AI and how is it used in search?

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence that can create new content — like text, images, or summaries — based on patterns it learns from existing data. Much of the data Generative AI uses comes from publicly accessible websites.  

This technology powers tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, and Gemini. Major search engines such as Google and Bing have started using the technology to improve the quality of search results.   

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2. What are Google’s AI Overviews?

AI Overviews are the automatically generated summaries that appear at the top of Google results for specific searches. They pull information from multiple web sources and combine it into a short, conversational answer.  The web sources used to draft the answers are cited and linked to from within the AI Overview.

For example, if you search “how to start a nonprofit,” Google shows an AI Overview that summarizes the process before displaying any organic results.

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3. What is a zero-click search? 

A zero-click search is when a user finds the information they need directly on the search results page, without clicking to visit any external sites. While there is no definitive data on the rise of zero-click searches, it is safe to presume that the percentage of zero-click searches will grow as AI Overviews become more prominent.  

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4. How often do Google AI Overviews appear in search results?

Several studies have examined the growth of Google’s AI Overviews.  

• A March 2025 Pew Research Center study found that about 18% of U.S. Google searches in their sample included an AI Overview.
  
• A Semrush report from March 2025 found that AI Overviews appeared in 13.1% of all searches, up from 6.5% in January 2025.

While different studies show slightly different results, it is clear that AI Overviews are starting to be shown by Google more and more often.

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5. How are Google AI Overviews affecting organic search traffic to websites?

This is all very new, so the full impact is not yet entirely known.  However, most evidence suggests that AI Overviews will lead to a decline in organic search traffic to websites.

• A Bain & Company study estimated a 15-25% drop in organic web traffic due to rising zero-click results.
  
• A Pew Research Center study found that users who encountered an AI Overview clicked through to other websites only 8% of the time, compared to 15% for searches without one.

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6. Which types of queries are most likely to trigger an AI Overview (and thus zero-click behavior)?

According to the Pew Research Center study, the following types of searches are more likely to trigger AI Overviews:

• Searches phrased as a question, such as the previously mentioned “how to start a nonprofit” example.
• Longer search phrases that contain more than 5 words.

In contrast, these types of searches tended not to trigger an AI Overview:

• Shorter searches containing 1-4 words.
• Direct transaction queries, such as “buy running shoes”.
• Navigational searches, such as “Nike website”.

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7. How can website owners optimize for visibility in AI Overviews?

AI Overviews are here to stay, so website owners need to focus on having their content power the summaries of the subjects they cover.  

Here are some simple tips on how to optimize your website for AI Platforms:

• Answer direct questions clearly. Identify the types of questions your audience is likely to ask and create content that aims to answer them. Try to use natural, conversational language that mirrors how users phrase search queries. 
  
• Use structured data. Implement schema markup (FAQ, HowTo, Article) to help search engines understand what a page is about and what information matters most.
  
• Build authority. AI Overviews tend to prioritize trustworthy, high-quality sources. Strengthen your site’s authority by publishing well-researched, original content, citing reputable sources, and keeping information up to date.
  
• Prioritize usability. Technical performance and readability still matter. Make sure your site loads quickly, is optimized for mobile devices, and presents information in a clear, scannable format with headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. 

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8. Does traditional SEO still matter in the age of Generative AI and AI Overviews?

Yes! As you can see from the answer above, key fundamentals, like on-page SEO, that drive strong search performance also improve your chances of appearing in AI Overviews. 

Key reasons traditional SEO still matters:

• Visibility. Search engines and AI systems still use SEO fundamentals like metadata, headings, and structured content to understand your pages.
  
• Authority and trust. Strong domain authority and credible backlinks help determine whether your content is used or cited in Google AI Overviews.
  
• User experience. As mentioned, fast, mobile-friendly pages with clear organization improve both search rankings and AI discoverability.
  
• Content quality. Most importantly, clear, accurate, and relevant content remains the most important factor for inclusion in traditional search results and AI Overviews.

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9. How can websites track their performance in AI Overviews and AI Platforms?

This is all new, but the following are the key performance indicators we are starting to track: 

• AI Overview visibility: Use tools like Semrush, Otterly.ai, and SE Ranking to track how often your content is appearing in Google AI Overviews.  These tools can also provide data on how often users visit your site after clicking on citations in AI Overviews. 
  
• Generative AI traffic: Track referral traffic from AI-driven tools like Copilot, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.  
• Analyze AI user behavior. Users coming from AI platforms are likely to behave differently from users from other channels.  Isolate this traffic and analyze key metrics such as engagement rate, time on site, scroll depth, etc., to understand how these users interact with your site.

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We hope this was useful. At Brick Factory, we help clients develop and market their websites. If you want to talk about how AI Overviews are shaping your site’s performance, please reach out and let’s chat!