Glossary · AI search
AI Overview
Definition. An AI Overview is the AI-generated summary Google displays above the organic results for some queries, synthesised from several sources with links to them. Its presence measurably reduces clicks to the pages below it.
Ahrefs measured a 34.5% lower click-through rate for the top-ranking page when an AI Overview is present, across 300,000 keywords. Pew Research Center found that only about 8% of visits to a results page carrying an AI summary produced a click to any source, against roughly 15% without one.
Coverage skews heavily to informational queries. Navigational, transactional and local queries trigger them far less often, which is why the share of your traffic at risk depends entirely on your query mix.
Being cited inside an AI Overview is not the same as ranking first, but the two correlate strongly: most cited pages already rank on page one.
Where this shows up on this site
Related terms
Zero-click search
A zero-click search is one that ends without the user clicking through to any website, because the…
Generative engine optimization (GEO)
Generative engine optimization is the practice of getting your content quoted and cited inside…
Citation (AI)
In AI search, a citation is the source link an engine attaches to a claim in its answer. Being cited is…
Click-through rate (CTR)
Click-through rate is the percentage of impressions that result in a click. In organic search it varies…
More in AI search: AI SEO · Generative engine optimization (GEO) · Answer engine optimization (AEO) · Zero-click search · LLM visibility · Prompt tracking · Citation (AI) · Share of voice (AI)
Frequently asked questions
What does AI Overview mean?
An AI Overview is the AI-generated summary Google displays above the organic results for some queries, synthesised from several sources with links to them. Its presence measurably reduces clicks to the pages below it.
Why does AI Overview matter for AI SEO?
Ahrefs measured a 34.5% lower click-through rate for the top-ranking page when an AI Overview is present, across 300,000 keywords. Pew Research Center found that only about 8% of visits to a results page carrying an AI summary produced a click to any source, against roughly 15% without one.
What is the most common mistake with ai overview?
Being cited inside an AI Overview is not the same as ranking first, but the two correlate strongly: most cited pages already rank on page one.
Last verified 2 August 2026. Prices, plans and features on this page were read on each vendor's own site on that date. Vendors change pricing often, so confirm before you buy. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.
Put it into practice
Thirty AI SEO tools compared on verified pricing, capabilities and AI search support.