Hi everyone! The search world is witnessing the birth of AI Overviews, or AIOs, which is just the new and improved way that Google is doing search—flipping the way you find things. Instead of going to sites, you now get an AI Overviews summary of web content that is built from web content pulled from a wide range of sites. The summary is not just a text box. It is built as a smart, dynamic summary that aims to answer complex queries more quickly.

For example, a search for "How to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally" will deliver a summary at the top of search results concerning diet changes, exercise, and stress. This will all be provided in one summary. AIOs will frequently be found in position zero, above ads and organic links, and sometimes showing quotes or citations to source sites. It allows users to go to the entire articles, or they can quickly and easily digest some key ideas without ever leaving the AI Overviews. What a great change!

How Does AIOs Affect Search Experience?

AI Overviews are rewriting the search playbook. The days of casually reading and clicking, looking for an all-encompassing answer are no more - the answers are presented immediately. This shift creates new habits; many users read the AI Overviews and skip the ranked blog pages below, there is no clicking or scrolling for information, but rather instant insight.

It is also speeding up the user's hunt for information when using AI Overviews. They mash up key salient takeaways, presenting them to the user quickly and easily without needing to read the long broad-arc payoffs of articles. Try searching for "best running shoes for flat feet" - you would probably get a numbered list and buying options, no need to read through various reviews or deep dive and eventually decide.

Also, trust is changing. That top-box summary gives the user a sense of finality, trust and confidence far surpass the individual sites and the information is mostly built off of those sources. This seems to signal a trust threshold in how we trust search.

Effect on Organic Website Traffic

AI Overviews have hit website traffic. Clicks from Google searches are falling, with a study showing many sites saw a 23% decrease between January and April 2025. Even top-10 pages are falling off if they are not included in the AI Overviews.

So, if you have to ask why this happening, the answer is because users found their answers in the summary and then just moved on without reading the article, even if their content helped generate the summary. And click-through rates (CTR) have slid, too, from 3% to 2.3% - a 32% drop - in a matter of months. Impressions may be up because all of the sources are getting top-left placement, but visits more or less way off.

If your site did not make it into the AI Overviews, it actually gets even worse as user don't typically scroll below the AI Overviews. Having a high rank does not really matter at all, if you are not included.

Included Page vs Excluded Page

Not all top page are created equal with their results of AI Overviews. Pages that were included caught a traffic bump, they actually earned an extra lift from all of the visibility being showcased in that prime real estate at the top of the source list. But excluded pages, even if they were still ranked well, watched their traffic and visibility nosedive when users were focused on answering their question from the summary.

This is demonstrated well in the recent report:

  • No AI Overviews present - Top-10 pages received ranked number of clicks.
  • AI Overviews present - Page included - scare the behaviour for clicks from being included.
  • AI Overviews present - page excluded - received number of impressions but resulted in nearly no traffic.

Overall, inclusion has surpassed rank - and is the new ruler of traffic.

Different Impacts Based on Search Intent

AI Overviews can affect sites on both ends of the search intent spectrum - informational searches like "how to start a blog" get complete answers in the summary making a visit to the blog or guide unnecessary. Transactional searches like "best budget smartphone under $300" could still drive visits if your site is included in the AI Overviews - otherwise your site doesn't get clicked on.

If a user is after knowledge, back-end search results will just be the AI Overviews. A user who is about to buy, some users search further out of curiosity or to read user reviews or trusted sources. Whatever way, your site's inclusion in the AI Overviews is your opportunity to reach and be first in front of users.

How to Optimize to be Included as AIO

To be included as an AI Overviews:

  • Write Clear, Factual Content: Content should be short, clear and without unnecessary information.
  • Answer Questions Early: Clearly headlined content and supplies bullets for concise answers to users up front.
  • Use Important Schema Markup On Your Pages: Add structured data (FAQ, HowTo) to provide better understanding of your page for the AI Overviews content.
  • Support Your Content With Authoritative, Verifiable Sources: You need relevant statistics, expert quotes, credible reports or relevant studies.
  • Respect The Topic: Each of your pages should be very focused on one subject in relation to your site's purpose.
  • Establish Authority Over Time: If you build content consistently and if the information is valuable, your chances of inclusion to be an AI Overviews are improved.

The Growth of Zero-Click Searches

AI Summaries are driving zero-click searches - users are getting answers on Google without visiting your site. If you search “benefits of green tea” and read a full summary, you may not click at all.

Why It Matters

  • Less traffic for even the highest-ranking sites.
  • Missing engagement opportunities.
  • Less insight into user intent.

How to Adapt

Be prepared to be included in an AI Overviews summary just to remain visible to users. Offer unique tools or downloads to lure people to the page beyond the answer summary. Zero-click is on the rise, so react with visible presence and content that is valuable.