AI search glossary
What are Google AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are the AI-written summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results, above the usual list of links. They answer the question directly and sometimes link to the sources they used.
Also called: Google AI summaries, AI Mode
How do they change search?
When an AI summary answers the question, fewer people scroll down and click a website. Research by Pew found that Google users clicked a result link in 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, compared with 15% when it did not (Pew Research Center, July 2025).
An example
Someone searches “best boat tour in Gozo”. The AI Overview names two operators and links to one. Those businesses get the attention; the rest of the page gets far less.
What to do
Make sure Google can find clear, accurate answers about your business, and that you are mentioned on the sites it trusts. The same work that helps with ChatGPT helps here too.
Find out what AI is telling your customers.
Get a free AI visibility review from our team. We check what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude say about your business, then talk you through what it means.
