AdMarkupOptimising for Google AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews are generated summaries shown above traditional results for some queries, with links to supporting sources. Optimising for them means being one of the pages Google draws on, which still depends heavily on conventional organic strength for that query.
The problem
When an overview answers a question outright, click-through to the pages below drops. Publishers see impressions hold while clicks fall, particularly on definitional and how-to queries.
How we approach it
We identify which of your priority queries trigger overviews, strengthen the pages that could be sourced, and shift commercial emphasis toward queries where a summary cannot replace visiting the site — comparison, pricing, local and decision-stage searches.
Business outcomes
- Visibility of which priority queries trigger overviews
- Pages structured to be usable as a source
- Traffic mix rebalanced toward queries that still earn clicks
- Clearer reporting on where losses are actually occurring
What's included
Overview trigger mapping
We test your priority query set to record which queries produce an overview, what it says, and which sources are linked.
Source page strengthening
Pages with a realistic chance of being sourced are improved for direct answers, depth, freshness and supporting evidence.
Query portfolio rebalancing
Commercial focus shifts toward decision-stage and local queries where summaries are less likely to satisfy intent alone.
Structured data alignment
Schema is implemented so key facts on the page are unambiguous, and matches exactly what a visitor can see.
Click-through protection
Titles, descriptions and on-page hooks are written to give a reason to visit even when a summary is present.
Impact reporting
We segment performance by whether a query triggers an overview, so declines are explained rather than guessed at.
What you receive
- Overview trigger report across your query set
- Source citation baseline
- Page-level improvement plan
- Query portfolio rebalancing recommendations
- Structured data specification
- Segmented performance reporting
How we work
- 1
Map
Test priority queries and record overview presence and cited sources.
- 2
Assess exposure
Quantify how much of your traffic sits behind summarised queries.
- 3
Strengthen
Improve the pages most likely to be sourced.
- 4
Rebalance
Prioritise queries where clicks remain available.
- 5
Track
Re-test regularly, since overview presence changes by query over time.
How we measure it
- Share of priority queries triggering an overview
- Frequency of your domain appearing as a cited source
- Click-through rate on affected versus unaffected queries
- Traffic mix by query stage
Honest limitations
Google does not offer a reporting dimension for overview presence or citation, so measurement relies on sampled testing. Whether an overview appears at all can change for the same query within weeks, and inclusion cannot be guaranteed.
Frequently asked questions
- Can we opt out of AI Overviews?
- Not selectively while remaining in normal results. Preview controls can limit snippet use, but they also reduce conventional snippet quality, which usually costs more than it protects.
- Do overviews always reduce our clicks?
- Not always. Informational queries are hit hardest. Commercial, comparison and local queries frequently retain clicks because a summary does not complete the task.
- Does ranking first mean being cited?
- It correlates but is not guaranteed. Cited sources often come from the top results, yet Google may draw on pages ranked lower if their passages answer the question more directly.
- How do you know if an overview cost us traffic?
- We segment queries by observed overview presence and compare click-through trends against unaffected queries, rather than attributing every decline to one cause.
Related services
- AI SEO Make your content retrievable and quotable by the AI systems people now search with.
- Generative Engine Optimization Structure content, entities and evidence for systems that generate answers instead of listing links.
- AI Mode Prepare for conversational, multi-turn search where one query becomes a research session.
- On-Page SEO Make existing pages match intent, cover the topic properly and link to each other with purpose.
- SEO Content Briefs, drafting and expert review for content that satisfies the query and earns its place.
Let's build your growth system.
Tell us where you are now and what you need to reach. We'll come back with scope, sequencing and what we'd do first.