What are AI Overviews? Your Easy Guide

Learn all there is about AI Overviews here – why they matter and their effect on sharing info online.

What are AI Overviews

Google has added something new called AI Overviews to its search pages. 

Think of it as an AI buddy that instantly tells you what you need to know when you look something up.

We’re going to take a closer look at AI Overviews. 

We’ll talk about what they are, how they compare to answers you get from ChatGPT, 

and what they might mean for searching online and making content for the web in the future. 

Main Points:

– Google’s AI gives short text summaries right at the start of search results. 

– Unlike other AI tools, these summaries are made to work with searches, give shorter answers,and usually mention where the information comes from. 

– Google thinks these AI summaries might lead to more people clicking on links. 

Yet, not everyone making websites or experts in search engine optimization agree. 

What Are AI Overviews? 

Let’s start by explaining what an AI Overview is. The name gives us a good clue! 

AI Overviews are quick bits of text you might see at the beginning of your Google search results. 

They show up right under your search and over the links to websites, like in the picture. 

They want to give you an answer fast to what you’re asking. 

They are part of something Google is doing called Search Generative Experience (SGE). It’s all about using AI to get you answers fast. 

To come up with these answers, they use a bunch of different sources related to what you’re asking about. 

For example, if you look up “How to Tidy Your Shed,” you’ll see on your screen, to the right, where all the info comes from. 

This is good because it keeps the AI honest and lets you quickly check the facts and learn more. 

When did people start talking about AI summaries?  

In May 2024, AI summaries began to get attention, but not everyone liked them. 

Ahrefs mentioned that at first, these summaries could make mistakes or give bad advice. 

Search Engine Land shared news about Google wanting to make these summaries better. 

Google plans to fix problems with strange questions and make sure not to use information from users that could lead to wrong suggestions.

Do you see them in every search? 

Right now, Google is working on adding AI Overviews, but you can’t find them in all searches yet. 

But, Google said on October 28, 2024, they will start using it in 100 more countries. 

This means AI Overviews will soon be a big deal in Google searches. 

Results from Prompts vs. AI Overviews

In this guide, we’ll explore how results from AI prompts compare to insights from an AI overview.

AI Overviews

Google’s AI advice on cleaning your shed includes several helpful tips: 

Declutter

Remove everything from the shed, take inventory, and put items back in an organized manner. 

Clean

Use a broom and leaf blower to remove dust and cobwebs, and wash windows and fixtures with warm water and dish soap. 

Add shelving

Shelves are a great way to keep your shed organized and save space. You can also try floating shelves to make your shed feel more open. 

Hang hooks

Large hooks can be used to hang tools like shovels, rakes, and trowels. You can also hang your garden hose on the wall to save vertical space. 

Install a pegboard

A pegboard on the wall or back door can help keep your shed organized. 

Hang tools on the exterior

Use a magnetic strip on the shed wall to store small metal or garden tools. 

Repurpose bookshelves

You can use bookshelves to store gardening items, small toolboxes, or planters. 

Maintain

Keep your shed well-maintained.

Here’s what ChatGPT said when we asked it the same question: 

Google AI Overviews

 

The results are longer but the main idea stays the same. For instance, the AI Overview gives eight tips, but the ChatGPT version gives 11, going into a bit more detail.

It seems like some changes were made to make sure the overviews stay focused.

When it comes to where the information comes from, the AI Overview shows a clear link to certain resources, but ChatGPT doesn’t really specify where it gets its info from. 

How AI Overviews Affects Website Rankings

When Google’s AI-powered sketches, also known as AI Overviews, summarize website content, they’re changing how those websites get ranked on the pages that pop up from a search engine (SERPs for short). They’re made to answer people’s questions right on the search pages, which might actually stop people from clicking on the website links. Here’s how this is changing website rankings and how to be found online:

  1. Getting Fewer Clicks:

When sites usually come up top in searches, they might get less clicks if AI Overviews have all the answers.

To beat this, website owners should create deep, fun content that has more than just the basics an AI can sum up.

  1. Being Seen in AI Overviews:

It can be a big deal to get featured in an AI Overview. It helps to be seen and trusted.

To pull this off, sites should make their content answer specific questions that can spark an overview.

  1. Being a Trusted Source:

Google often picks sites that are trustworthy and official for its AI summaries.

Building up a good reputation through backlinks, the right content, and being trustworthy is key.

  1. Changing the Way You Use Keywords:

The old way of using keywords might have to change. Long, specific keywords and searches are more likely to bring up detailed AI Overviews.

Focusing on being informative and an expert can help sites get into these summaries.

  1. More Rivals for the Top Spots:

With AI Overviews featuring only a handful of sources, it’s a fierce fight for those spots.

To stay in the game, businesses should keep tweaking their content to remain relevant and seen.

Understanding how AI Overviews work can help website owners shift their plans to stay competitive in a fast-changing world of online searches.

AI Overviews vs. Old School Search Results – What’s Different?

AI Overviews and old school search results are like apples and oranges – immensely different in how they show things to readers, keep them hooked, and bring more people to a site. These differences create a ripple effect on how users interact with a site and its traffic, making it a must for companies to adjust. 

Let’s break it down:

Delivery of Stuff You Read:

The old school way: Throws a bunch of links at you to click on, with each link coming with a baby description.

Versus AI Overviews: They gift-wrap the answers for you in paragraphs or bullet points, cutting down your need to hop to other sites.

Keeping Users Hooked: 

The old school way: Users have to jump from site to site for the nitty-gritty.

Versus AI Overviews: They serve answers straight away, speeding up and simplifying searches.

Where’s This Info From, Anyway?

The old school way: Users get to pick who they trust from a bunch of links.

Versus AI Overviews: Google hand-picks the sources and sometimes shows where it got info from, but it’s not as see-through as the old school method.

Matching What You’re Searching For:

The old school approach: Show tons of different search results, satisfying many possible search needs.

Versus AI Overviews: They stick to wrapping up particular answers, possibly missing broader or linked subjects.

How it Looks and Feels: 

The old school search: Holds on to a well-known, link-filled layout with many results on one page.

Versus AI Overviews: They take center stage at the top of search results, pushing traditional links further down the scroll.

Show Me the Money and Ads!

The old school way: Squeezes in paid ads and special links next to the usual search outcomes.

Versus AI Overviews: At the moment, they put the spotlight on helpful content, but future money-making plans might pop up.

In short, AI Overviews streamline the search ride by throwing answers at you instantly. Still, they also chop down chances for websites to reel in visitors from regular search listings. Therefore, businesses must shake things up by producing strong, detailed articles and make the most of SEO tricks for AI-driven search engines.

AI Highlights and Sharing Online – Closing Ideas 

In their news from May 2024, Google shared that starting observations on AI Highlights show that links in these summaries get clicked on more.

And we see that the links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query.” – Google, May 2024 

Some publishers are upset because their website visits went down after AI Overviews started. Search Engine Land shared a story about how this happened to a few sites. 

What can you do to see if AI Overviews affect your website? 

Search Engine Land says you should check tools like SERP tools, Google Analytics, and Search Console. 

This helps you see how much your site shows up in AI Overviews and if it changes how many people click on your site 

Also, SEMrush has some advice on making your site better for AI Overviews. They suggest focusing on specific, longer keywords and making sure your content is really good. 

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