Are featured snippet winners automatically doing better in AI search? What's the correlation?

We studied this correlation. Here’s the data:

Research methodology:

• 2,000 featured snippet positions tracked
• Compared to AI Overview citations for same queries
• 6-month analysis period

Correlation findings:

Key insight:

Snippet holders have ~1.7x better odds of AI citation than top 10 results without snippets.

BUT 62% of snippet holders are NOT cited in AI Overviews for their winning query.

Correlation coefficient: 0.41 (moderate positive correlation)

What this tells us:

Snippet success predicts some AI success, but it’s not deterministic. The skills overlap, but AI evaluates differently.

Content strategy perspective on transferable skills:

What transfers from snippet optimization:

What doesn’t transfer:

The upgrade path:

Take your snippet-optimized pages and:

1. Expand to comprehensive guides
2. Add multiple related Q&As
3. Build external authority
4. Update regularly

Your snippet skills get you 70% there. The other 30% is AI-specific depth and authority.

Platform comparison data:

Snippet-to-AI correlation by platform:

Why Google AI Overviews correlate more:

• Same ecosystem (Google ranking signals)
• Similar content evaluation
• Overlapping infrastructure

Why Perplexity correlates less:

• Different search infrastructure
• More source diversity
• Different authority evaluation

Implication:

Snippet optimization is most predictive for Google AI Overviews.

For Perplexity and ChatGPT, other factors matter more:

• Freshness
• Third-party presence
• Comprehensive coverage

Don’t assume snippet success transfers equally across platforms.

Practical implementation perspective:

What we did:

Audited all our featured snippet wins (47 pages) for AI performance.

Findings:

• 16 pages (34%) - Getting AI citations
• 31 pages (66%) - NOT getting AI citations

Common issues in non-performing snippet pages:

1. Too narrow - Great answer but nothing else
2. Old - Won 2-3 years ago, never refreshed
3. Thin - <500 words besides the snippet answer
4. No structure - Snippet answer + wall of text

What we fixed:

Expanded the 31 underperforming pages:

• Added 3-5 related Q&As
• Included comprehensive sections
• Updated all information
• Added structured data

Results (3 months later):

AI citation rate increased from 34% to 52% across our snippet pages.

The lesson:

Snippet wins are a foundation, not a finish line. Expand for AI.

This data and analysis is exactly what I needed.

My takeaways:

The correlation:

• Moderate (0.41 for Google AI Overviews)
• Snippet holders have 1.7x better AI citation odds
• But 62% of snippet holders still don’t get AI citations

What makes the difference:

• Comprehensive content (not just the answer)
• Fresh updates (not old wins)
• Authority signals (not just good structure)
• Multi-topic coverage (not single-answer pages)

The strategy:

1. Keep optimizing for snippets - Skills transfer, foundation matters
2. Expand snippet pages - Add depth, related content
3. Update regularly - Freshness matters for AI
4. Build authority - Third-party validation needed

Action items:

• Audit our snippet wins for AI performance
• Identify and expand thin snippet pages
• Refresh outdated winners
• Track both snippet and AI metrics going forward

Snippets are valuable, but they’re step 1, not the destination.

Thanks for the evidence-based answers!