Analyzing 2.3 million keywords shows that AI Overviews are changing search results, especially for long-tail and informational queries. This means AI Overviews and SEO strategies must focus on user intent, clear content, and unique value to stay competitive in an AI-driven search world.
The SEO world is changing. Google’s AI Overviews and SEO tactics are bringing both new challenges and chances for websites to show up in search results. A major study by SEO.com analyzed 2.37 million U.S. search queries to understand when AI Overviews appear, why they show up, and how they affect SEO. In this blog, we break down what the study found and what it means for your SEO strategy in today’s AI-driven search landscape.
AI Overviews are special search results where Google shows a summary or overview box, often at the top of the page, generated by AI. The study found that 25.8% of the 2.37 million queries had an AI Overview. This means that more than one in four searches now show this new type of result.
This is important for SEO because AI Overviews can change how people click on results, affect website traffic, and reduce the space available for regular organic listings. If you don’t pay attention to AI Overviews, your site might become less visible in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
One obvious result of the research is that the longer the search query, the greater the likelihood that an AI Overview will be displayed. For instance, brief queries of one or two words had roughly an 18% possibility of displaying an AI Overview, and queries of eight words or more had more than a 57% possibility. Essentially, what this implies is that when individuals enter longer questions, such as “how to” or “what is,” AI Overviews are far more prevalent.
If your content is aimed at long-tail information keywords, you will have to factor in AI Overviews since they can take away your traffic and clicks by filling up important search result space.
The data indicate a high relationship between intent to search and AI Overview appearance. Informational searches, like those that contain how, why, or what, have a significantly higher likelihood of displaying an AI Overview, approximately 38.7% in total and more than 67.2% for queries with eight or more words.
By contrast, commercial searches display AI Overviews 21.3% of the time, transactional searches 15.8%, and navigational searches 11.4 %. What this indicates is that if your material is intended to inform, explain, or direct instead of sell outright, you are far more likely to encounter AI Overviews in the SERP for your target keywords.
Conversely, content about purchasing products, brand queries, or place-based searches is less likely to come across these AI Overviews.
Not all industries are impacted by AI Overviews and SEO. The study indicates that industries that heavily depend on information searches have greater AI Overview rates.
For instance, Pets and Animals register an appearance of 45.2%, Travel Guides at 37.1%, Crafts and DIY at 34.6%, Mental Health at 33.9%, and Personal Finance at 32.8%. Industries that specialize in more transactional searches, however, have very low figures, with Apparel at 11.9% and Real-Time Tickets and Events at 11.5%.
If your company relies on bringing in traffic from informational searches, particularly in these more impactful categories, you may experience greater difficulty with traffic movement and lower visibility due to AI Overviews.
If your business relies on local SEO or “near me” searches, there is good news. The data shows that searches with “near me” are much less likely to show AI Overviews, dropping from about 35% to 10%. This means local searches are less affected by AI for now.
Local SEO tactics such as employing structured listings and focusing on specific cities or localities continue to be effective. In the meantime, this provides local businesses a safe advantage.
The category of question your content responds to influences the likelihood of an AI Overview surfacing.
According to the study, “why” questions have the greatest AI Overview rate at 41.3%. It is followed by “how” questions with 38.1%. Questions beginning with “can,” “could,” or “do” follow a 29.4% rate, and “what” questions follow a 24.7% rate. “When” questions follow a 23.9% probability, and “where” questions have the lowest rate of 18.6%. This implies that if the material you produce involves “why” or “how” questions, then you’re likely to beat AI Overviews.
To rank well in search results with numerous AI Overviews, clear, authoritative, and well-organized answers to questions like these are necessary.
The research concluded that paid search advertisements are connected to fewer AI Overviews in search results.
When there aren’t any ads, the AI Overview rate is approximately 33.2%. With a single ad on the page, this rate falls to approximately 24.7%. When there are two or more ads, or a shopping carousel and an ad, the rate of AI Overviews is at least 9.4%. This indicates that transactional and commercial searches, where adverts typically appear, are less apt to have AI Overviews.
Additionally, the analytical research also did not identify any obvious relationship between cost per click and AI Overview visibility. This implies that for less-advertised informational searches, AI Overviews will occupy more space on the page of results. Hence, applying a combination of methods aside from organic SEO is crucial when going for high-risk informational keywords.
The study highlights important points for shaping your SEO strategy in the age of AI Overviews. Here are five key points to remember:
To remain competitive as AI Overviews modify search results, these are some pragmatic steps you can take:
Analysis of 2.3 million keywords indicates that AI Overviews are prevalent within search results, particularly for long informational queries. If you depend on them for traffic, your SEO has to adjust. You are now competing with not only websites but also snippets created by AI. Although SEO continues to shift, the main ideas of intent comprehension and value delivery are still vital. Apply these insights to refine your strategy for the future or use our SEO services. Our team of SEO professionals will execute a strategy tailored just for your business and enable it to thrive.
