The Latest on Google’s AI Overviews

Google made headlines when it went public with its AI Overviews in late May. Since then, there have been reports of occasional errors in the answers provided. One account on X, Goog Enough, has been curating some of these mistakes. To their credit, Google has been quick to fix many of these glitches by limiting the occurrence of Overviews and excluding user-generated content from the sources.

What We Know So Far

According to a recent study by BrightEdge, AI Overviews now only show up for about 15% of queries. This aligns with observations made by industry experts, indicating that the visibility of Overviews is even lower for U.S.-based searchers signed in to Google accounts.

For those who signed up for the Labs version of Search Generative Experience, the predecessor of AI Overviews, they may still see Labs-only results. To access public results, they will need to opt out of Labs or create a Google profile in Chrome.

Optimizing for AI Overviews

When it comes to optimizing for AI Overviews, the process seems relatively straightforward. A recent test conducted by search optimizer Cyrus Shepard demonstrated that updating a page with content closely matching an AI Overview can quickly generate a link. However, there are some caveats to keep in mind, such as the potential loss of featured snippets and the short lifespan of the link in the Overview.

Given the fluid nature of AI answers and Google’s frequent changes to AI Overviews, it’s important to approach optimization tactics with caution. While short-term gains are possible, there is still insufficient data to make long-term decisions.