What is Google’s AI Overview?
In this ever-changing digital landscape, the way we absorb information is becoming easier by the day. Google has always been a never-ending staircase of elevation, continually refining how we search for information and presenting it in a way that is technically advanced behind the scenes but straightforward and helpful for users.
Google AI Overview is no different. In SEO and on the search engine, the featured snippet has always been an important part of a user's search query, often using a highly authoritative answer and placing it at the top of the page to end the user's quest for information. A zero-click opportunity that solves a problem and keeps the user on Google without ever leaving the engine.
This new innovation is even more extraordinary. With the advancement of machine learning, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and the power of AI, Google has introduced AI Overview at the perfect time. A featured snippet that collaborates with a melting pot of authoritative sources to develop and present a powerful user response—collecting information from multiple places, lightly referencing its sources, and once again keeping Google's bounce rate in good shape while ending the user's search query without them ever leaving the search engine.
To put it simply, Google AI Overview is a consolidated featured snippet, infused with AI intervention, that compiles answers from multiple sources—constantly evolving based on relevance as web information strengthens and determines who holds authority on the topic. Maybe you’re an optometrist, who offers lasik eye surgery. You may find yourself being involved in the snippet, as the authoritative voice, alongside a combination of other invaluable sources from across the web.
This works for any industry, you could be a shipping container retailer, and want to have your products come up in an overview. Whether you have a storage container for sale, or for rent. You would want Google and Gemini’s collaborative GEO to help boost your visibility.
So while this benefits users searching for answers, how does it impact digital marketing and the need for Search Engine Optimization? Does it make SEO redundant, or does this new convenience create an even greater need for SEO to run alongside GEO in tandem like never before?
Featured Snippet vs Google AI Overview
Currently, Google’s AI Overview is a mobile adaptation framed around answering questions. While it appears to be the direction search is heading, it doesn’t suggest that the featured snippet will cease to exist. They serve different functions while remaining similar. A featured snippet is a great way for a website to gain authority on a topic, while Google AI Overview seems to cater to mobile users on the go, offering a more collaborative approach reminiscent of an FAQ.
In a perfect world, both the featured snippet and Google AI Overview would coexist, serving different purposes depending on the user’s query. Ultimately, however, Google AI Overview offers a glimpse into the future of how information will be found.
Is Google AI Overview a Response to OpenAI’s Advancements?
With AI intervention at the forefront of every online vertical, this could be Google's approach to competing with ChatGPT as an AI-powered assistant. Long before Google even existed, search engines operated through FTP and directories. Google has always been a pioneer of innovation, continually improving itself to create a platform that users embed into their daily lives. It’s easy to forget the former powerhouses like Lycos, Ask Jeeves, and Yahoo.
ChatGPT and new competitors like Deep Seek are now becoming go-to platforms for users to ask questions. Without making drastic changes or straying too far from its core function, Google AI Overview marks the beginning of Google’s effort to maintain its dominance—positioning itself as a source of collaborative information, delivering answers in a similar, easily digestible way.
Source: Shutterstock
Google’s Step Toward GEO
When it comes to digital marketing and creative web development, the question must be asked: What came first, the chicken or the egg? In this case, the search engine was the invention, while the world of optimization—whether SEO, GEO, or Paid Media—followed. The directories of information became tools that consumers used to find services and communities. Google didn’t intentionally create an industry of marketers, but the shift from the Yellow Pages to the digital era did.
Google is constantly introducing new challenges for digital marketers, forcing them to adapt in order to help themselves and their clients. This ever-evolving landscape makes it crucial to work with knowledgeable agencies or individuals who stay ahead of algorithm updates and the chaos that is Internet marketing.
Google’s public advancement into Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is a power move. While it doesn’t contradict Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it serves as Google's way to compete with and reshape the very industry it inadvertently created—ensuring it remains the dominant source of information. Google’s first priority isn’t to help web developers gain traffic and visibility; it’s to maintain its own relevance and solidify its position as the go-to destination for knowledge and information.
Balancing Digital Visibility SEO vs GEO
The hard truth is that while brick-and-mortar businesses can still be impressive, depending on the industry, they are becoming less necessary. Amazon and Google have made obtaining possessions easier than ever.
Purchases and deliveries happen with the click of a button, and phone calls have become redundant as services can be requested through simple online forms. Ease and accessibility are in high demand.
What was once a luxury—like ordering pizza or Chinese food for delivery—is now standard, with nearly every restaurant’s menu available at your doorstep.
The future has always been, and will always be, the internet—evolving from dial-up computers to WiFi, mobile data, and seamless connectivity through TVs, tablets, and even smartwatches. The need for SEO and a strong online presence will remain essential for a long time to come.
This alone proves why SEO will remain powerful. GEO is not a replacement or a threat to SEO—it’s an extension of it. A sister component that builds upon the foundation of search visibility, GEO is simply a more collaborative evolution of SEO. And SEO remains the driving force behind traffic and visibility for both massive corporations and small business ventures seeking digital growth in entrepreneurship.
Now, more than ever, understanding Search Engine Optimization or having access to a skilled digital marketing agency or specialist is invaluable. It’s no longer just an option—it’s a necessity. SEO is the foundation that fuels GEO and Google’s AI Overview, enabling them to gather information about your business, services, and content. Without SEO, businesses risk being invisible in the very digital landscape that shapes our modern world.
Zero-Click Optimization: A Means to Visibility, Not the Ultimate Goal
While a featured snippet is absolutely coveted for claiming authority, and being part of a Google AI Overview declares the value of the information you provide, currently both of these important roles tend to keep the user on the search engine rather than venturing to your website—unless more information or the need for the service itself is necessary.
Ranking well is even more important, and ruling the search engine within your niche is a far greater need for the success of your business. Every opportunity to rank well and appear in the visible range for high-volume queries is still where the bulk of your traffic and lead generation will come from. While the zero-click avenues presented at the top of the SERP are ways for your information to be declared valuable, they could also potentially keep consumers and visitors from ever landing on your website.
Source: Shutterstock
Pros and Cons: Featured Snippets vs. Google AI Overview
Pros of Featured Snippets
- Direct Link to a Single Website: Featured snippets offer a direct link to a single website, providing an immediate path for organic traffic to flow in.
- Clear Brand Authority in Search Results: Securing a featured snippet is a clear indicator of authority, demonstrating that Google sees your content as a trusted source.
- Better Control Over the Snippet's Messaging: With featured snippets, you have more control over how your information is presented, ensuring it aligns with your brand’s messaging and objectives.
Pros of Google AI Overview
- Comprehensive, Multi-Source Answer: The Google AI Overview provides a more thorough response to users, pulling from various authoritative sources to deliver an in-depth answer to their query.
- Broader Exposure for Brands Included in the Overview: Being included in a Google AI Overview means your brand can gain broader visibility, even if users don't click through to your website.
- Enhanced User Experience: With AI curating responses, the Google AI Overview gives users a more detailed, curated answer, often eliminating the need to click to additional pages for further context.
Cons of Google AI Overview
- Lower Click-Through Rates for Individual Websites: While the AI Overview provides valuable content, users are less likely to click through to individual websites since they’ve already received a comprehensive answer within the SERP itself.
- Less Direct Traffic to the Source Site: This shift to delivering answers directly within Google’s platform can mean less traffic directly flowing to the websites of the sources providing the information.
- Google Controls the User Journey: Google’s ability to deliver answers without ever needing to send users to external websites means they have more control over the user journey, keeping users on the search engine longer and reducing the chance of outbound clicks.
Embracing the Future of Search
While the Google AI Overview signals a shift toward GEO, businesses must adapt to stay relevant. The future of search and the advancement into Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) must not be confused; GEO is simply collaborative SEO. Search Engine Optimization, complemented by AI, will continue to work hand-in-hand, with their importance intertwined for the foreseeable future. The need for ranking and optimizing your website to compete on the SERP remains the best practice and most affordable way to achieve your business and informational goals.
The key will be not just ranking, but ensuring your content is part of Google’s AI-curated overviews. Brands that prioritize credibility, structured data, and optimized content will be well-positioned for success in the evolving search landscape, across all verticals. Here at TechWyse, we can help you achieve these goals.
Our team of specialists is up-to-date with all the algorithms Google has thrown our way, and we’re in it together. Call 866-208-3095 or contact us today to book a business call and learn more about digital marketing, search engine optimization, the rise of GEO, and what we can—and it can—do for you.
