AI-Generated Overviews That Provide Great, Immediate User Experiences
Iterative versions of Google’s generative AI-assisted search results now display in general search and provide real-world experiences.
Understanding and being agile to changing SERPs is crucial to seeing growth in both organic and paid search. Tightly-themed, helpful long-tail content with high relevancy and lower search volume is surfacing in AI-powered overviews. This may be due to Google Gemini’s ability to understand context better, which is being used to serve niche content in these overviews.
What are AI-Generated Overviews?
AI-generated overviews offer searchers AI-powered experiences and answers. As rapidly as this is becoming an effective way to reach people online, it’s a high learning curve for many SEOs and content creators.
These AI-generated overview queries are typically more complex. Google Search often displays them when its technology seeks to answer questions when it thinks that a range of web pages will be the best SERP.
In my personal tests, they display more often in YMYL AI search query results. For example, in the “How to fix loose dental implants” query.
Since Google stated that it has a high confidence in the quality and value these queries bring to users, it may be a good E-E-A-T signal if you are displayed here. Google’s Danny Sullivan and others have underscored that AI overviews imply it provides added value. The tech company believes that in these scenarios, people gain a better response than in more traditional Searches.
Generative AI on Google Cloud Delivers Generative AI-Powered Overviews
Site owners and search marketers can try Google’s advanced technology and models, including Gemini. Learning this AI journey can empower sites to provide quick, efficient, and helpful answer-rich content. Ultimately, your consumers establish the value of your site, products, and publications. Whether or not and how they engage with you establishes your real value.
Tools are advancing and emerging every week that provide new ways to learn how to gain visibility in these overviews. Google Cloud AI tools are great for developers to build with generative AI and create new AI-powered user experiences.
AI overviews can be described as AI-generated summaries that display on the top of search engine result pages (SERPs). Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) intends to use them to provide concise, immediate, relevant information on specific queries. They are meant to save people time when searching for an answer. AI overviews should reduce the shuffle through multiple links while seeking answers.
Google SGE Results Containing AI Overviews
Try a new ai-powered search experience with helpful overviews
Since May 2023, when Google first opened its Search Labs, we’ve experimented and encouraged others to try a new ai-powered experiment with helpful overviews when you search.
If you use Google Search in the U.S., you may see these AI answers natively. Formerly, people needed to opt in to trigger them in their SERPs. Google is already showing AI overviews to a small subset of US users; perhaps that signals a full roll-out of SGE is coming. This new Google search experience is now displaying an AI-generated answer above the search results listings.
If you feel you are learning, don’t worry; we are. Everyone is. However, in my experience, early adopters are more agile when it comes to implementing new, effective content strategies. It takes diving in and planning well before making drastic site changes.
Viewers can use Google’s commenting system on any site
After “Notes” emerged in Google Search, experiments found this lacking in ‘SGE while browsing’ if Google-Extended is blocked. Some think blocking Google-Extend prevents SGE from using that content (which is currently working for Bard and some AI systems). However, SGE is a search feature that is rapidly evolving. [1]
Time will teach how AI-generated overviews and “Notes” will be prominently used. Currently, one can’t block this feature via Google Extended. We’ve been exporting some data from SGE, this AI-powered information and your search query is saved to your Google Drive (or Gmail). It’s a handy way to compare emerging AI-generated overviews with former results.
We specifically track these SERP displays for “ask a follow up queston.” Let’s look at direct comments by Google.
“You may find AI-powered overviews and can ask follow-up questions in Search. If an AI-powered overview is available, it will show at the top of search results.” – Get AI-powered overviews & ask follow ups on SGE in Search
“SGE currently provides AI-generated overviews to help with tasks across a number of programming languages and tools. For example, you can find answers to how-to questions, and see suggested code snippets for common tasks. With our new updates, segments of code in overviews will now be color-coded with syntax highlighting, so it’s faster and easier to identify elements like keywords, comments and strings, helping you better digest the code you see at a glance.” – Learn as you search (and browse) using generative AI, by VP Google Search Product Management Rany Ng [2]
“Improved quality ranking: We’re making algorithmic enhancements to our core ranking systems to ensure we surface the most helpful information on the web and reduce unoriginal content in search results.” – Elizabeth Tucker’s Google’s Director of Product Management [3]
“In fact, people have already issued billions of queries with SGE since we introduced it as a feature in Search Labs last year. We’ve had incredibly positive feedback on the combination of quick answers and the ability to dive deeper on the web. With SGE, we are able to serve a wider range of information needs and answer new types of questions, including more complex questions, like comparisons or longer queries. More coming soon!” – Elizabeth Reid, VP of Google Search [4]
AI and SGE May Mean Few Clicks And More Revenue Opportunity
Assuming it is all about users’ satisfaction when searching, work on improving the user experience.
Our testing finds that AI answers can push down organic and standard search ads. Whether or not this remains so is in question. How well prepared your domain is for the coming search changes will determine, in part, whether you’re experiencing a drop in web traffic or potential gains.
For SEOs trying to do SGE optimization, title tags, and headers are not key factors in driving results within initial SGE summaries. Rather, Google “SGE cards” displaying in mobile organic results seem to be more about E-E-A-T signals, relevance, and added value than targeting keywords.
We strongly urge content writers to avoid relying on AI language models that cannot provide unique, human-refined content. Rather, use them to parse and refine communications to specific queries with relevant search demand. Search engines seek to serve up richly detailed answers that are useful for multiple possible meanings and can cross-reference multiple forms of media.
Be your organization’s Conversational AI expert
Several top global search experts think that SGE generative experiences will take the first position in SERPs. The search trend is definitely about providing conversational experiences on the SERP.
This is why we find that sites employing smart, structured data strategies are giving vital context that supports how trusted your website is. It goes beyond crafting your articles with good schema; it is about the article’s main entity author. Schema markup can convert the most important words in your articles into a data language that artificial intelligence bots can understand.
Data is an increasingly valuable business asset. However, it takes a human with the skill to implement how data can be used to improve user experiences on the SERP. The most important tool is the human brain, which understands what you are accomplishing and why. It means ever learning how search works and which content types add value to people.
AI Overviews Lead People to Authentic, Expert Voices
Be a smart brand and embrace agile marketing for the best way to provide real value to customers.
To make your content of value to your people who need it, remember, they want a personal experience. Don’t expect them to be naive. Google looks for a double “E” signal for good reason. With increased pressure to create conversational and helpful content, your expertise and experience should be clear.
Creating a content experience with a more conversational approach is harder. It requires more creativity and holistic strategizing – but can earn more revenue. For most of our clients, this means a strong focus on building their topical authority built with structured topic hubs.
After SGE goes mainstream, SGE optimization may become more of a focus for current laggers. “Circle to Search” and other AI-powered features have let many already experience it. Since this latest rollout is currently only available to a “small subset of U.S. users,” we’ll update this page with emerging news.
AI Snapshots in Main Search Results
Previously, this was an opt-in-only SERP display as part of Google’s Search Generative Experience in its Search Labs. Now, people in the US might discover AI-generated answers without opting in.
A March 21, 2024, SGE Research Study – The Impact of Google Search Generative Experience on Brand and Product Terms says, “62% of generative links come from outside the top 10 organic domains.”
Laurence O’Toole also reports finding llower SGE penetration scores in the YMYL (Your Money – Your Life) niche. He also reports the Insurance vertical at 52%, Finance (71%), Professional Services (83%), and Health & Wellness at (87%).
This may end leveling the field for some sites who have struggled to compete with brand giants. Business entities should now watch for changes in how their brand and product terms perform.
Barry Schwartz sums up why we care on Twitter and in this quote.
“Many in our industry are on edge about SGE launching. Those who buy ads in the Google search results are worried how it might impact clicks and conversions. Those who publish content are also worried how traffic from Google organic search might differ with the launch. And content producers are worried that Google will take their content, serve the answer to the searcher and not benefit with a single impression on their site.” – Google Tests SGE AI Overviews In The Wild
SUMMARY: AI Overview Experiences
Your business brand doesn’t need to worry about less web traffic if you gain a competitive edge. AI overview experiences can be your opportunity to earn and win new types of SERP visibility. Your content can perform much better than spun AI fluff, copy-cat content, or just saying what everyone else does.
If you are ready to thrive and partner, reach out to Hill Web Marketing; call 651-206-2410
References
[1] Glenn Gabe on Twitter, Jan 28, 2024, https://x.com/glenngabe/status/1751576093654462855
[2] Rany Ng, “Learn as you search (and browse) using generative AI,” April 15, 2023, https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-generative-ai-learning-features/
[3] Elizabeth Tucker, “New ways we’re tackling spammy, low-quality content on Search,” March 5, 2024, https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-update-march-2024/
[4] Elizabeth Reid, VP of Google Search, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elizabeth-reid-56356724_today-im-taking-on-a-new-role-leading-search-activity-7175645922851262465-oYX6/