Ask Google a question today and the first thing you see is often not a link but a summary written by AI, with a few sources beside it. Being one of those sources is the new equivalent of position one.

AI Overviews are the AI summaries Google rolled out widely in 2024 and placed above the results. They appear mostly on informational queries, the "how", "what is" and "which is better" kind. Users can read the answer and move on, or click a source if they want more.

Which pages get quoted?

Google has not published a formula, and says there is no special optimisation for AI Overviews beyond core SEO practice. Field observation fits that: cited pages are usually ones that already rank on page one, answer the question briefly and clearly, and are well structured. The road to AI Overviews is paved on solid SEO.

There is one difference. In classic ranking, a long, thorough article can rank even if it gives the answer in paragraph seven. A summary wants to find the answer and lift the sentence. Pages that bury the answer struggle to get cited, even when they rank.

Changes that make your page a candidate

• Lead with the answer. The first one or two sentences under each heading should answer that heading directly. Detail and context come after.
• Phrase headings as questions. "How long does a corporate website take?" matches both the user's query and the summary's structure better than "Timeline".
• Be concrete. Numbers, durations, steps, comparisons. Paragraphs that end in "it depends on many factors" do not get quoted.
• Add structured data. Article, FAQ, product and local business schema tell machines exactly what the page is.
• Show author and sources. Content with a visible author, evidence and update date sends a stronger trust signal.
• Check the technical base. If the page is not indexed, is slow, or hides content behind JavaScript, no writing tactic will help.

The summary is looking for the answer. The page that gives it most clearly wins, not the longest one.

What happens to traffic?

Honestly, it drops on some queries. When users find the answer in the summary, they do not click. So manage two things together: appear as a source on informational queries, because that puts your brand in the customer's mind before the decision, and invest more in commercial queries where the click still happens, such as price, quote, booking and purchase. We cover how to measure the loss in a separate piece.

First-week checklist

• Pull your 20 highest-impression informational queries from Search Console.
• Search them and note which ones show a summary and who is cited.
• Open the cited competitor pages: in which sentence is the answer, in what format?
• Move your answer to the top, turn the heading into the question and add schema where it is missing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I opt my site out of AI Overviews?

Google offers preview controls such as nosnippet and max-snippet to limit how your content is used in snippets and summaries. They can also restrict how your page appears in classic results. For most businesses, being cited in the summary is smarter than leaving it.

Does structured data guarantee a citation?

No technical setting guarantees anything. Structured data is a signal that helps Google understand the page. What decides citation is how clearly and reliably the page answers the question, and whether it already ranks well.

Does every query show a summary?

No. Summaries appear mostly on informational queries that need explaining. Brand searches, navigation queries and many purchase queries can still lead with classic results. Check first whether your important queries actually show one.

It makes sense to run this alongside GEO work for ChatGPT and Perplexity, since both rest on the same foundations. If you would like us to do it for you, see our search and AI visibility services.