Google SGE är nu AI Overviews och visas i över 13 % av sökningarna – är det fler som ser trafikminskningar?

Been deep in the data on this. Here’s what’s actually happening.

AI Overview trigger patterns:

What’s working:

1. Conversational follow-ups - SGE suggests follow-up questions. If your content answers those, you get multiple citation opportunities.

2. Comprehensive pillar pages - Content that covers topics deeply gets cited more often.

3. Structured data - Schema markup helps Google understand your content.

4. First-paragraph optimization - Lead with the answer, then expand.

The sites winning are those that become the SOURCE for AI Overviews, not just SEO-optimized pages.

E-commerce perspective - we’re seeing different patterns.

What’s happening in product searches:

AI Overviews for product queries include:

• Product comparisons
• Review snippets
• Price ranges
• Availability info

The good news:

Transactional queries still drive clicks. When people are ready to buy, they click.

The bad news:

Research phases happen in AI Overviews. Users might decide WHAT to buy from AI, then search specifically for that product.

Our adaptation:

1. Product comparison content - Create the content AI wants to cite
2. Enhanced product schema - Reviews, prices, availability
3. Brand building - If users search “[product type] [brand],” we win
4. Bottom-funnel focus - Optimize for ready-to-buy queries

The middle of funnel is getting squeezed. Go top (brand) or bottom (transaction).

Local SEO is changing dramatically with AI Overviews.

What’s happening locally:

“Best [service] near me” queries now show:

• AI-generated recommendations
• Google Business Profile data
• Review summaries
• Direct answers

The Local SEO implications:

1. GBP optimization is critical - AI pulls from your profile
2. Reviews matter more - AI summarizes review sentiment
3. Category accuracy - Wrong category = wrong AI recommendations
4. Local content - “Best in [city]” content gets cited

Our results:

Clients with optimized GBP profiles appearing in 40%+ of local AI Overviews. Those without? Maybe 10%.

The action:

• Complete every GBP field
• Respond to reviews (AI notices patterns)
• Ensure NAP consistency
• Create local landing pages

Publisher perspective - this is existential for us.

Our traffic reality:

Informational content that used to drive millions of visits now gets:

• Summarized in AI Overviews
• Answered without clicks
• Traffic down 35% year-over-year

What we’re doing:

1. Paywalled premium content - AI can’t summarize what it can’t access
2. Multimedia focus - Videos, podcasts, interactive content
3. Community building - Direct relationships, not search dependency
4. Newsletter growth - Owned audience
5. AI citation optimization - If we can’t get clicks, at least get brand visibility

The uncomfortable truth:

Some content types may no longer be viable as ad-supported models. The economics don’t work if AI summarizes everything.

We’re pivoting to content AI CAN’T easily replicate.

B2B perspective is different but still challenging.

What we’re seeing:

B2B queries get AI Overviews less often (~8-10% vs 13%+ overall). But when they do:

• Complex product explanations summarized
• Comparison content synthesized
• Pricing rarely shown (good for us)

Our strategy shift:

1. Gated content - Whitepapers, reports behind forms
2. Demo-focused CTAs - AI can’t do demos
3. Bottom-funnel content - Pricing, implementation, case studies
4. Thought leadership - Original insights AI can’t generate

Measurement changes:

We now track:

• AI Overview citations (Am I Cited)
• Demo request quality
• Sales conversation topics
• Brand search trends

If someone mentions us in a sales call after AI research, that’s a win we couldn’t track before.

Running an agency, here’s how we’re positioning this to clients:

The pitch:

“Ranking #1 in AI Overviews is the new ranking #1 in search.”

What this means for services:

The tools we use:

• Am I Cited for AI citation tracking
• Traditional rank trackers (still valuable)
• Brand mention monitoring
• Traffic quality analysis

Client education:

Biggest challenge is explaining that fewer clicks can mean more value. Quality over quantity. Harder sell but true.

YMYL (Your Money Your Life) perspective:

Health content in AI Overviews:

Google shows disclaimers: “Not medical advice” BUT still summarizes health content.

What we’re seeing:

• Medical institution content cited more often
• Personal health blogs cited less
• E-E-A-T matters enormously
• Author credentials displayed

Our clients (healthcare):

Those with:

• Doctor authorship: 3x more AI citations
• Institutional backing: 4x more citations
• Peer-reviewed references: 2x more citations

The takeaway:

YMYL content needs stronger authority signals than ever. The bar for AI citation is higher than traditional rankings.

Analytics perspective - how to actually measure this:

The challenge:

AI Overview clicks aren’t tracked separately in GA4. You can’t see “came from AI Overview” directly.

Proxy metrics:

1. Impressions without clicks - GSC shows if you appeared but weren’t clicked
2. Position 0 with low CTR - Indicates AI Overview inclusion
3. Brand search correlation - If AI mentions increase, brand searches should too
4. Assisted conversions - Multi-touch attribution

Our dashboard:

The insight:

Don’t just measure volume. Measure INFLUENCE. AI visibility drives outcomes that don’t show up in direct click attribution.

This thread has been invaluable. My synthesis:

The new reality:

1. 13%+ of searches now have AI Overviews - and growing
2. Click-through rates are declining - especially informational queries
3. Traffic quality is improving - higher intent visitors
4. Visibility still matters - even without clicks

Winning strategies:

Content:

• Lead with answers (first paragraph optimization)
• Create comprehensive pillar content
• Use structured data extensively
• Build topical authority

Measurement:

• Track AI citations (Am I Cited)
• Monitor brand search trends
• Analyze traffic quality, not just volume
• Multi-touch attribution

Business model:

• Diversify beyond search traffic
• Build direct audience (email, community)
• Focus on content AI can’t replicate
• Strengthen bottom-of-funnel conversion

Our agency’s new framework:

AI Visibility → Brand Awareness → Search Intent → Conversion
       ↓              ↓               ↓            ↓
   Monitor        Track           Optimize      Measure

The game has changed. We’re not just doing SEO anymore - we’re doing AI visibility optimization.

Thanks everyone for the incredible insights.