How AI Overviews Are Reshaping SEO Strategy In 2025

SEO strategies have remained relatively the same for years. The algorithm has changed many times. And we’ve had to adapt to voice search and increased mobile use. But the overall concept of potential customers using a search engine to look for a keyword and then clicking on a link on the search engine results page has remained the foundation of SEO until recently.

With AI Overviews now in play, the way that people use search engines is now quickly shifting. As a result, marketers understand how AI Overviews are changing SEO strategy in 2025 and then revamp their strategy to make sure their target audience can find their content as easily as possible.

The Rise of AI Overviews and the Drop in Organic Traffic

After most searches, a Google AI Overview is now displayed as the featured snippet. While overviews have been around since 2023, they are now becoming much more common. A study by Semrush and Datos found that AI Overviews show up as the featured snippet in 13.14% of all U.S. desktop searches in March 2025, up from 6.49% in January, a 102% increase in two months.

In the past, a list of relevant websites matching the keywords and search intent was displayed on the SERP each time a user performed a search. Now, the algorithm reviews the specific search and determines if a generative response best meets in the needs. If the answer is yes, the search engine synthesizes the information from top ranking websites for the keyword and then uses generative AI to write a response geared directly to the search. The overview also includes links to the website pages used to write the Overview — sometimes directly in the text as a footnote, and others in a Show More section at the end.

Not surprisingly, consumers are happy with change since there’s no more wasted time falling down the search engine rabbit hole. Search Engine Land found that 82% of respondents agreed that AI-powered search is more helpful than traditional search engines.

As a result, marketers are now seeing three key impacts across SEO from the AI Overviews that are affecting SEO best practices:

 

• Reduced Click-Through Rates: Because searchers often get their question answered by the AI Overview, many are not clicking on any pages displayed on SERPs in 2025. SparkToro found that because the AI Overview answers most searches, over 58%of Google searches now result in zero clicks. As a result, organic click-through rates are taking a nosedive, with Ahrefs finding 34.5% lower than average CTR.
• Shifted User Expectations: In the past, searchers expected to spend time wading through multiple webpages to find the information or answer they needed. With AI Overviews, searchers now get their question answered in a single place with often only a single click. Because of the time and frustration savings, consumers are quickly growing to expect synthesized information based on their specific question.
• Changed Competitive Landscape: In the past, ranking in the number 1 spot on SERPs typically meant a significant increase in organic traffic. However, AI Overviews has shifted the goal from landing the top spot to being included in the AI Overview. While the principles that marketers have used to optimize their websites still hold true, organizations must understand how AI Overviews are generated and make the shifts necessary to increase their chances of being included.

Why Authority Signals and EEAT Are Essential

One of the most prominent principles of SEO from recent years — content that meets Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T signals), remains the same with AI overviews.

• Experience: Has the author personally used or encountered the topic?
• Expertise: Does the author or site have verified credentials or demonstrable depth of knowledge?
• Authoritativeness: Is the site or person a recognized authority in the field?
• Trustworthiness: Is the information accurate, transparent, well-sourced, and free from deceptive practices?

Similar to developing traditional SERP listings, the AI systems look at a wide range of SEO elements when making decisions based on EEAT, including backlink quality, content recency, and authority of sources. However, that’s where the similarities end — AI doesn’t evaluate content quality and credibility in the same way as traditional ranking algorithms. AI systems weigh the importance of each component differently than traditional SEO. By understanding how the AI systems make AI Overview decisions, you can modify your current SEO strategy and content.

While the core principles (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) are still central to SEO with AI Overviews, the ranking signals used to infer them can vary slightly in how they’re prioritized or interpreted by generative systems. For example, traditional search heavily weighs backlinks and on-page keywords. However, AI Overviews appear to prioritize content that demonstrates first-hand use or knowledge, such as product reviews and tutorials. Additionally, AI Overviews often selects content that uses structured data, which was not as important to traditional search algorithms.

How To Optimize Content Structure for AI Overviews

Now, the hard work begins, evaluating your current content to determine what changes to make to increase the likelihood of being included in the AI Overview.

Here are three key steps:

1.    Implement Schema for Clear Data

As an SEO professional, you need to make it as easy as possible for AI systems to understand your content and then extract the right information to generate the AI Overview. Because AI only has fractions of a second to evaluate your content, the best way to improve your odds is to use structured data. This helps the system quickly understand the type of content and the relation to data on the page, making it easier to parse.

Schema types, which are codes embedded through schema.org markup in your website content, are the most effective way to create structured data by labeling the content with meaning. At the very minimum, marketers should use schema to identify the type of content — such as Article, NewsArticle, FAQPage and HowTo, or BlogPosting. Other scheme types include Person, Organization, Product, and Review.

2. Keep Sections Short and Focused

Organizations that create clear and concise content are more likely to have that content included in the AI Overview. With content structured in this manner, the system more easily understands and extracts the information it’s looking for. Long paragraphs and sentences are much harder for AI systems to digest than shorter sections.

Additionally, the content should aim to directly answer a question that is likely to be included in searches. For example, a common search these days is “What are AI Overviews?” Content that begins “AI Overviews are a short section of text displayed at the top of an SERP that uses content from multiple pages to answer a question” is more likely to be included than “AI Overviews are increasingly becoming more common on SERP pages.”

Marketers should also make sure content uses a logical organizational structure. The AI systems use the heading hierarchy, such as H1 and H2, along with descriptive subheadings to generate overviews. Additionally, the text blocks should be scannable, which may mean including bullets or numbering when appropriate.

2.    Use Accurate Citations and References

AI systems place high weight on reputable sources that can be easily fact-checked when determining which webpages to use to create AI Overviews. Because AI Overviews often combine information from multiple source, credibility is even more important than with traditional SERP listings.

When creating content, look for ways to include government websites with the .gov extension, journals, and expert-authored content. To make sure the AI systems understand the source, use primary sources whenever possible and clearly attribute the source or create a link to it. By using correct citations for the situation, such as MLA or schema.org, you can provide signals to the AI systems that the content is high quality.

Leveraging Long-Tail Keywords and Niche Topics

Because AI Overviews aim to answer specific questions, succeeding in this area starts by narrowing down while developing content for the type and format typically used for AI Overviews. For example, long-tail keywords are often the type of keywords that AI systems use to create overviews. Additionally, niche topics also have less competition and tend to lend themselves to conversational and direct answers.

1.    Identify Specific User Queries

As searchers are increasingly seeing AI Overviews, they are now adjusting their searching habits to use more long-tail keywords in natural language. For example, a traditional broad SEO search was “affordable keyword research tool.” Now, users are shifting to specific queries, such as “What is the best keyword research tool for a realtor?”

Instead of focusing on keywords, marketers need to shift to determining the conversational search queries that their target audience is likely to use. In addition to signaling intent, long-tail queries often offer more opportunities due to less competition.

By turning to technology, you can quickly and accurately identify top specific user queries. Many organizations turn to Google Search Console, which is a free tool that provides information on high-click queries, which can help pinpoint queries to target. You can also use paid tools, such as AnswerThePublic and Semrush Keyword Magic Tool. Additionally, tools can help determine which question formats your audience prefers, such as “How much does a keyword research tool cost?” compared to “What is the cost of a keyword research tool?”

However, many organizations overlook the easiest and most accurate source of queries data — their own customers. By gathering information from your support and sales departments, you can find out what questions your customers are currently asking. In addition to conversations with employees who interact directly with customers, be sure to review support tickets, chat transcripts, and surveys.

2. Develop Topic Clusters

As AI systems determine your organization’s subject matter expertise on a topic, one measure is the amount of content on the specific topic. By creating content using the pillar-and-cluster model, which are multiple pages addressing different aspects of a larger topic, you can signal subject matter expertise and topical authority. To increase authority, each pillar and topic should have their own page.

For example, for the pillar “Keyword Research for Realtors,” clusters may include “selecting a keyword research tool for a real-estate business,” “choosing the right keywords for home listings,” “improving SEO for your realtor webpage,” and “common mistakes realtors make with keywords.”

Here are 3 steps to creating topic clusters:

• Determine a pillar of high interest to your target audience. By using customer research, you can identify broad topics with high interest. Consider natural language and conversational searching when creating the topics.
• Brainstorm topics under each pillar. Look for specific questions that your target audience often asks regarding the pillar. Be sure to get input directly from customers to make sure your topics represent their challenges.
• Evaluate the interconnectedness. Ask yourself how the topics connect with each other. Because AI ranks pages higher when they have interconnected topic clusters, make sure you understand the relationships of each page within the cluster.

3. Refresh Evergreen Content Regularly

Because searchers want to read up-to-date current content, AI systems favor fresh, updated content over static information. While many companies include evergreen content on their site, it’s important to update even these pages. AI systems evaluate all content for recency signals, such as publication dates, when evaluating relevance. For example, current statistics, examples, and insights are easy ways to refresh evergreen content.

Create a process and schedule for regularly updating all evergreen content on your site. For example, divide up the current content into six sections and devote each month to a single section, ensuring that all evergreen content is updated twice yearly. Because AI systems’ publication dates and “last updated” timestamps place high value on this data when evaluating content, be sure that these are updated with each refresh.

The Role of Multimedia and Rich Media in AI Results

Because multimedia content improves understandability and interest in content, AI systems often place priority on pages with these elements. However, some organizations “stuff” their pages with irrelevant multimedia for the sake of adding visual interest, which can actually penalize the site.

Here are three ways to use multimedia and rich media to improve AI systems’ understanding of your content.

1. Add Engaging Visuals

When creating or refreshing content, look for ways to incorporate visual elements from source content, such as images, charts, and infographics, to improve understanding and provide a summary of the content through visual methods. In addition to increasing the odds of AI Overviews using your content, search engines may use the visual, providing a link for attribution.

When inserting visuals into content, strategically place the visual close to the related text or keyword. Be sure to also reference the visual in the text, such as “Look at the pie chart below.” Additionally, be sure to use descriptive alt text to help AI understand the content of the visual. For example, instead of alt=“pie chart”, use alt=“pie chart showing the size of realtor offices using keyword research tools.”

2. Incorporate Video Content

Because video often helps people understand complex processes and tasks, AI Overview often uses this type of content to help answer search queries, especially for in how-to, demonstration, or explainer intent. For example, “How to change the battery in a Honda key fob” is much better answered through a quick video than written content.

However, AI Overviews often select videos that use structured data and textual support over content without these elements. By either embedding a full transcript of the video on the page or using YouTube auto-synch, you make it easier for AI to understand the video contents. Be sure to also use keywords, headings, and bullet points in the transcript to provide further structure. Closed captions on the video also increase the ability of AI systems to understand the content.

Dividing your video into specific chapters with timestamps using the <VideoObject> tag also improves AI readability. This makes it possible for an AI Overview to use one section of the video to answer a query. For example, the chapters of your key fob video might be “Introduction,” “Opening the Back of a Honda Key Fob,” “Inserting a New Battery into a Honda Key Fob,” and “Closing the Back of a Honda Key Fob.” This allows AI systems to use the second chapter of your video to answer a query about opening the back of a key fob.

3. Explore Interactive Elements

Another way to improve AI Overview selection is to include interactive elements in your content. By adding this type of content, you can improve user engagement and add authority to your content. Common types of interactive elements that improve AI Overview selection include calculators, quizzes, and interactive timelines. Make sure that all interactive elements are relevant to the intent of the search, adding unrelated elements can decrease brand trust.

When using interactive elements, be sure to include text describing the element to help the AI system understand the content. Additionally, you can improve the understanding of your content of the search engine by using schema.org markup, such as using SoftwareApplication for a calculator. To make it possible for AI systems to crawl the content, be sure to leave the interactive elements on ungated pages.

Key Strategies to Adapt and Stay Visible

Change is not easy. However, organizations that shift their strategies and adapt to AI Overviews will gain the early adopter benefits.

Here are three ways to evolve your strategy:

1. Strengthen Brand Authority Across Channels

Every channel you use — websites, social media, industry publications, and other platforms — adds to how AI systems evaluate your brand authority, which is a key factor in AI Overviews. While the number of mentions across the internet plays a role, mentions that are related to the topic and from trusted sources carry higher weight. By creating cohesive messaging on the channels that you control, such as your website and social media platforms, while proactively gaining mentions that promote the organization’s authority, such as in journals, you can strengthen your overall brand.

2.    Focus On Topical Relevance Over Keywords

For marketers, one of the biggest shifts in thinking with AI Overviews is moving away from focusing on keywords to prioritizing topical relevance. Organizations should identify topics that relate to their experience and then create content on the core subject that answers questions in depth. Because AI systems use natural language, it’s important to establish the relationships between topics, including semantic coverage — meaning the content covers all related topics. By making sure that your content shows a clear topical hierarchy, such as through pillar and topic pages, you can also make it easier for AI systems to understand the relationships between your pages.

3. Diversify Traffic with a Multiplatform Presence

Many organizations have prioritized driving organic traffic through search while relying on other channels, such as social, email marketing, video platforms, and direct channels, as secondary sources. With the shift to AI Overviews, marketers should now work to even out the focus to increase traffic from alternative traffic sources. Organizations should spend the majority of their efforts on the channels they own, such as email and direct channels, reducing dependency on channel changes or algorithms.

Looking Ahead with A Resilient SEO Foundation

As marketers navigate this first seismic shift in SEO in recent times, organizations should focus on monitoring AI trends and algorithm updates to make sure their teams understand the implications. While the change may feel overwhelming, the most important thing hasn’t changed — creating fresh and accurate content that helps solve your target audiences’ problems.

By also using a professional SEO agency, such as a firm ranked by Best SEO Companies, organizations have strategic guidance, technical implementation, and ongoing optimization tailored to the new AI reality. While many of the principles remain the same, organizations that proactively and quickly address their content to optimize for AI Overviews can continue to drive traffic to their website through organic search.

FAQs About AI Overviews and SEO

How do I measure ROI when clicks are decreasing due to AI Overviews?

Instead of relying mainly on click volumes to evaluate ROI, marketers must shift to monitoring brand impression metrics, such as increases in total impressions in Google Search Console. Additionally, monitor brand searches and demand trends, which can indicate increasing authority. Organizations should also look at direct traffic increases and conversion quality, which are often results of being featured in an AI Overview.

Can small businesses compete with larger websites for inclusion in AI Overviews?

One of the benefits of AI Overviews is that small businesses gain more opportunities than with traditional SEO. Small businesses can compete by establishing niche expertise and creating highly specific content that answers unique questions. Small businesses can also build authority in well-defined topic areas more easily than competing for high-volume and high-competition keywords. Because small businesses do not bring authority to the table at the start, they can work to build their authority through expert sources, backlinks from reputable sites, and engaging content.