Anyone who has searched for something in recent months will have seen the block: a summary answer at the top of the page, before the first blue result. That block is called an AI Overview, and it is quietly changing what a search result is.

01 / the blockWhat the visitor gets to see

An AI Overview is a summary that a language model compiles from multiple pages, with references to those sources next to or below the text. The visitor therefore gets to read the answer before clicking on a single result.

The block doesn't appear for every search. Google shows it mainly for questions where a summary answer fits: explanations, comparisons, how-does-this-work questions. If someone searches for a specific company by name, the block usually stays away. In the Netherlands such a block appeared for 16 percent of the keywords studied (Ahrefs, November 2025).

02 / the selectionHow Google chooses its sources

Google chooses its sources close to the regular rankings. The company itself says the AI features are rooted in the existing ranking and quality systems. Anyone who doesn't rank anywhere rarely appears in the block. Whoever scores well on the underlying questions has the best chance of being cited as a source.

That is a substantial difference from ChatGPT and Perplexity, which look more broadly than the top results and regularly cite pages that aren't at the top. For a complete picture of what visibility in AI systems involves, what is AI visibility is the starting point.

03 / the click-throughsWhat it does to your visitors

Part of your visitors stay within the block. Where an AI Overview appeared above the results, the first result had a 58 percent lower click-through rate than expected in December 2025 (Ahrefs). A field experiment with real users found roughly 38 percent fewer clicks to websites (Agarwal and Sen, 2026). That is not a marginal effect but a shift in how search works.

Whoever already has the answer no longer clicks.

There is something to set against this. The visitor who does click through after reading the block arrives more targeted than the visitor of before, and the company that appears as a source in the block is seen by everyone who reads the summary. For the site owner, the balance can be summarised as follows.

The table is not an argument for or against: the loss of clicks and the gain in visibility are two sides of the same block. Which side weighs more heavily for you depends on how many of your customers arrive via searches where such a block appears.

04 / the positionWhat Google itself says about it

Google is remarkably matter-of-fact about what you should do: nothing special. No special markup and no separate AI file is required to appear in AI Overviews. The advice is the same as for the regular search results: write for people, actually answer the question, and keep your site technically healthy.

Google even warns against the opposite: chopping content into small pieces because AI would supposedly understand it better, or writing separate texts for AI systems. According to Google the first is unnecessary, and the second can be flagged as spam. Whoever builds their pages with normal headings, clear paragraphs and an answer placed up front does well for both worlds.

In practice that means: the work you do for your regular visibility is at the same time your work for AI Overviews. No separate track is needed, and no second site either. It does pay to know whether the block appears for your searches and who is in it, because that varies strongly by topic. That check takes an afternoon and determines whether this is urgent for you or a side issue.

05 / the limitWhen this isn't your priority

Three situations in which AI Overviews belong low on your list.

Your customers don't arrive via search. If your business runs on referrals, a fixed circle or one large contract, an answer block on Google changes little about that.

Your foundation isn't in place yet. A site that loads slowly, isn't indexed or doesn't answer customers' questions benefits more from the foundation than from the block. The rankings are the gateway, and you earn those with the regular work.

You're looking for a quick fix. That doesn't exist here. Visibility in AI Overviews follows from positions you build up over months, not from a setting you switch on.

This text was produced with AI assistance and checked and approved for publication by a human.