Google’s AI Overviews have fundamentally changed the search landscape, and the data tells a sobering story: websites are experiencing significant reductions in click-through rates—even when they rank well. Bottom line, the AI Overview is eating our lunch.
But this isn’t the death of SEO—it’s an evolution. Strategies that worked before are not as effective today. Let’s explore the issue of AI and what can be done to succeed in this new, uber-competitive landscape.
The Reality: Fewer Clicks from Traditional Rankings
Google’s AI Overviews appear in almost 20% of all Google searches. They’re designed to answer user questions directly in search results, pulling information from multiple sources to create comprehensive summaries. Click-throughs to organically ranking websites plummet when an AI Overview or other knowledge panel appears—particularly for informational content and explainer articles (like this one!) that once received significant traffic. Users often don’t click beyond the AI Overview to get their answers, while high-ranking organic results are now pushed down the page.
The Silver Lining: New Opportunities for Growth
The good news about AI Overview? The quality of traffic from it is often superior, so being cited by AI Overview is a huge win. People who visit websites from AI Overviews typically spend 41% more time on those sites, with 12% more pages viewed. That’s because they’re not clicking blindly—they’ve been primed with context and are genuinely interested in diving deeper to a website that’s been proven credible.
But what if you can’t get your web pages cited by AI Overviews? Don’t lose hope! There are multiple, reliable opportunities for working around the AI Overview to drive more traffic to your site. Let’s explore both sets of strategies.
Strategy #1: Optimizing for AI Overview Inclusion
Increase your chances of being included in the AI Overview in the following ways:
Boost the Quality of Your Content
Most of Google’s AI sources come from the top 10 organic results, so pages must rank well to be considered for AI Overview inclusion. That means in order to win this game, you must focus on SEO fundamentals and go beyond surface-level information with rich, high-value content. To further optimize for AI, you can strategically organize your content and include technical enhancements like schema markup.
If web writing and optimization isn’t your thing, ask a knowledgeable web firm (like Stride) for help.
Embrace the Q&A Format
AI systems love content structured around questions and answers. Create FAQ sections on your site that address common user concerns, using natural language that people use when searching. Provide direct, concise answers, and look for opportunities for more detailed explanations and examples.
Focus on Brand Authority
Google emphasizes E-E-A-T Signals—Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness—in creating its AI summaries. So, work on elevating the trust and authority of your content. Showcase the expertise of your content creators, maintain brand consistency across platforms, and work to achieve mentions and links from other reputable sites.
Strategy #2: Bypassing the AI Overview
You can drive meaningful traffic to your website by working around the AI Overview in the following ways:
Target Commercial and Transactional Intent
Informational searches face the highest disruption by AI, so focus less on educational content and more on the transactional. Develop new content that drives conversions, with copywriting that targets searches like “best [product] for [application].” Build robust pages that serve users who are ready to make decisions.
Boost Visibility with Google Ads
Businesses that once relied on organic SEO now need a balanced approach that includes paid visibility to maintain brand awareness. Google Ads boost the ranking position of pages that would normally get pushed down by the AI Overview, giving them a better chance of being seen. Sponsored ads on Google can appear just below, or even within, the AI Overview—creating multiple opportunities for visibility and increased traffic even in this more competitive landscape.
Let Brand Awareness Drive the Search
When people search for your brand by name, they skip the AI Overview entirely. Branded searches remain largely unaffected by AI Overview disruption, making brand-building your strongest long-term defense. Get your brand in people’s brains with an outbound marketing mix that includes tactics like social media, digital advertising, traditional media, direct mail, community engagement, and event participation.
Looking Forward
SEO isn’t dying—it’s maturing. Yes, you should expect fewer clicks from traditional organic rankings on informational content, but if you develop multiple strategies that both lean into the AI Overview while also working around it, you can keep qualified traffic flowing to your site.
Ready to evolve your SEO strategy for the AI era? Our team specializes in helping businesses navigate this transition, building comprehensive visibility strategies that drive results. Let’s discuss how we can future-proof your online presence.
