How to feature in Google’s AI Overview

In recent days Google rolled out the AI Overview also in Europe. It’s only a matter of time until every country has it. The US was first, so if you’re a coach in the US using SEO to market your business, chances are you’re already grappling with competitors who are taking traffic away from you by featuring in the AI overview.

So…

What are Google AI Overviews?

Google AI overviews are the results generated by AI appearing at the top of search results. Google’s AI – Gemini – generates summaries sourced from reputable websites on the internet, quoting also the source.

This presents a traffic opportunity. It is replacing the ‘Featured Snippet’, which we used to call ‘Position Zero’.

The difference is that Google’s AI now uses multiple sources not just one site, in an attempt to give a comprehensive, in-depth answer. Generally, I must say it is doing a great job. I also like the way the sources appear on the side, placed for good visibility.

Below: AI snippet showing stephanifiteni.com as primary source. Interesting to note I was previously ranking for the Featured Snippet and now I’ve been picked for the AI Overview, suggesting that the selection process may be similar.

 

When did Google start showing AI-generated search results?

Google announced AI Overviews at its yearly I/O event on May 14, 2024, and rolled them out in the US that same week. By August that year it had also rolled them out to the UK, India, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil. It reached 100 countries in October 2024. In March 2025 it also extended to Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, offering the AI Overview in various local languages.

 

How are AI Overviews going to affect traditional search results?

This is a question I get daily in my coaching practice. It’s a question that is worrying a lot of people. Some search traffic has dropped due to AI Overviews. People who are losing traffic have lost it because if they rank 3rd or 4th they are now more difficult to find. Google has tried to circumvent this problem by reducing the space the AI overview takes. It now has a read more button. But it still takes more Google real estate than the simpler featured snippet.

AI Overview: even if featured, you have less visibility.

The Featured Snippet, presented one website as the source in bigger brighter colours so it resulted in more visibility as the main source.

How can I optimize content for Google AI Overviews?

Step 1. Use a tool like SemRush to check if you’re already ranking in AI Overviews for any of your keywords.

Step 2. If yes, analyse the page to understand what Google likes about this page and topic on your website.

Step 3. Analyze competitor content to understand what is being highlighted by AI Overviews.

Step 4. Replicate the same format on your articles. Upgrade old articles that target your most important keywords by bringing their format closer to that of the ranking page.

Step 5. Assess the types of queries that typically trigger AI Overviews in your industry. Check the frequency of AI overviews for your industry using SemRush Sensor.

Step 6. Use Questions and Answers in your article.

Step 7. Be clear and concise when explaining processes or a step-by-step process.

Step 8. Make sure your content is relevant to the search intent.

Step 9. Observe E-E-A-T best practice.

Below: how SemRush shows you that you feature in AI Overviews

 

What types of content generally appear in AI overviews?

It seems like generally this is similar content to that which Google was ranking for featured snippets. The same wave of optimisation seems to be happening here. When featured snippets first cam out SEO’s were upset that these snippets were ‘stealing traffic’ from position 1 to 4 in Google. Then we all learnt to optimise for this position and we realised it wasn’t that hard to deserve the spot. It just required careful attention to the way we created our content.

I remember watching endless YouTube videos. And making changes to my content until finally I broke the formula and ranked for a handful of my most important terms. One thing that was important was topical authority. By achieving topical authority on my blog for certain categories, I managed to them rank more easily for the snippet.

Will it work the same way this time round? Perhaps. I will keep you posted as I optimise more of my posts for the AI Overview. So far it seems that the articles that were being shown in the Featured Snippets actually have a bigger chance of being first in the AI overview sources.

 

 

Should I keep using the usual SEO strategies?

SEO is still important. Google holds a large percentage of the market – approximately 83% to date. So SEO is certainly still important. However it is worth noting that alongside SEO we now also need to start looking at GEO, generative engine optimisation.

I’m currently running some experiments and will be releasing content as well as training to help coaches, consultants and online entrepreneurs with this. So follow me for more info or jump on my email list.

Here’s a quick snapshot of how many monthly visitors each visibility platform has…

• ChatGPT: Approximately 5.19 billion monthly visits as of March 2025.
• Perplexity: Approximately 52.4 million monthly visits as of February 2024.
• Google: Approximately 139.95 billion monthly visits as of January 2025.
• Yandex: Approximately 3.02 billion monthly visits as of January 2025.
• YouTube: Approximately 77.90 billion monthly visits as of January 2025.
• Facebook: Approximately 12.61 billion monthly visits as of January 2025.
• Instagram: Approximately 6.5 billion monthly visits as of January 2025.

 

 

———————— About the Author: 

Hi, I’m Stephanie, a Digital Marketing Coach and Business Mentor for Coaches. I’m the creator of the Profitable Content Marketing Method™ and help coaches generate more leads and clients through organic and paid marketing whilst helping them build a business that makes good money with ease. My clients get fully booked with just a handful of enjoyable marketing hours per week!

I have over 15 years of experience building businesses, growing website traffic, writing blogs, creating social media campaigns, and generating leads for my clients. As well as ranking articles, videos, and podcasts on the first page of Google. I also managed the content and web dev team in my agency for over 10+ years.

I can teach you how to create content that will convert your visitors into discovery call bookings, every time. Let’s Talk