AI Overviews - Part 1: How Google's New Search Function Changes the Game for Businesses

The search landscape, as we know it, is undergoing a dramatic change. Google's new feature, AI Overviews, is not just a technical update – it's a paradigm shift that redefines how information is presented and consumed online. For businesses, this means a new era where strategies for SEO (search engine optimization) and content strategy must be rethought from the ground up. The core of this change is that AI-generated answers and summaries are displayed directly in search results, challenging the traditional hunt for top rankings. Instead, it's now about becoming an undisputed and trusted source that AI systems can rely on.

At Multiproduktion.se, with over 20 years of experience in creating powerful digital moving images, we see this as a crucial development. Understanding how AI Overviews work is not just important for text-based content, but also for how your visual communication strategies – your films, animations, and graphic productions – reach and create value. This article is the first in a series where we will guide you through this new search landscape, explain the changes, and how you can best adapt your digital marketing to continue achieving success.

The Traditional Search Landscape: A Retrospective

From 'ten blue links' to an interactive experience

Do you remember when a search result was almost exclusively a list of ten blue links? That era is coming to an end. Over the years, Google has gradually introduced more interactive elements like 'featured snippets' and 'knowledge panels' to provide faster answers. AI Overviews is the latest, and perhaps most revolutionary, step in this development towards a more dynamic and AI-assisted search experience.

What is Google's AI Overviews (formerly SGE)?

An introduction to the AI-generated summary in search results

Google's AI Overviews, previously known as Search Generative Experience (SGE), is a feature where artificial intelligence (AI) creates direct answers and summaries to user queries directly on the search results page. Instead of just seeing a list of links, the user often receives a pre-formulated text that summarizes information from multiple sources.

Why AI Overviews mark a paradigm shift

This change is fundamental. It not only affects how users interact with information – they can get answers without clicking further to individual websites – but also how businesses must relate to their digital presence. The focus shifts from hunting for a high position in the traditional list to becoming such an authoritative and reliable source that Google's AI chooses to use your content as the basis for its answers. It's about becoming part of AI's knowledge base.

How AI Overviews Work Technically?

Generative AI, NLP, and LLMs (Large Language Models) explained

Behind AI Overviews lies advanced technology. The core consists of large language models (LLMs), such as Google's own Gemini models. These LLMs use Natural Language Processing (NLP), which are techniques for understanding, interpreting, and generating text that resembles human language. Think of an extremely advanced text robot that can read, understand, and summarize information from the entire web.

How AI understands complex and conversational search queries

Thanks to this technology, AI Overviews can handle significantly more complex and conversational search queries than before. Users can ask questions in a natural way, much like they would ask a human expert. AI can perceive nuances, context, and even information 'between the lines'. This obviously places higher demands on the quality, depth, and precision of the content published online. Superficial or poorly structured material loses value when AI becomes better at seeing through it.

Selection of Sources: How Your Content Becomes Citable?

Synthesizing information from multiple sources

AI Overviews create their answers by retrieving and weighing information from several different websites. The goal is to provide as complete and nuanced a picture as possible. The generated answers often include links, so-called citations, to the websites used as sources. Becoming such a cited source is the new currency in the search landscape.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) – AI's way of retrieving fresh data

To ensure that the information is current and accurate, Google uses a technique called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). This means that AI not only relies on its pre-trained knowledge (which can be outdated) but also actively retrieves and integrates fresh information from the web when formulating its answers. This 'grounds' the answers in current data.

Why AI doesn't always choose top-ranked pages

Interestingly, it's not always the pages that rank highest in traditional organic search results that are chosen as sources for AI Overviews. A study by Authoritas, mentioned in the report 'SEO in the era of AI search', found that a full 93.8% of the URLs cited in AI-generated answers did not match any of the URLs among the top ten organic results for the same search. This suggests that AI Overviews have the ability to identify and highlight unique and valuable content that may not have reached top positions before.

The importance of becoming a trusted source for AI systems

Becoming a cited source in an AI Overview is a new and extremely important form of visibility. It's no longer just about traditional ranking, but about creating content that AI systems deem sufficiently valuable, reliable, and relevant. This places demands on exceptional accuracy, clarity, and providing unique insights, data, or perspectives. Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) become central concepts, which we will explore further in upcoming articles.

What Search Queries Trigger AI Overviews Most Often?

Focus on complex, descriptive, and information-rich queries

AI Overviews tend to be activated more often for certain types of search queries. Generally, they are displayed for more complex and descriptive queries where the user is likely to need information from multiple sources to get a comprehensive answer. It can involve comparative queries (e.g., 'which projector is best for large conference rooms?') or queries that require a summary of information from different perspectives.

'Problem Solving' and 'Specific Question' as common triggers

Information searches, often formulated as questions starting with 'what is', 'how to', 'why', or 'what are the benefits of', are strong candidates for triggering an AI Overview. The report 'SEO in the era of AI search' refers to a study by Authoritas that found AI Overviews were particularly often displayed for search intents related to 'Problem Solving' (74% of cases) and 'Specific Question' (69% of cases).

Long-tail keywords and conversational searches

Longer and more specific search phrases, so-called long-tail keywords, as well as conversational queries that resemble natural speech, are also important triggers. These often signal a more complex information need, which AI Overviews are designed to handle.

How AI Overviews handle sensitive YMYL areas (Your Money Your Life)

Google has indicated plans to display AI-generated results even for more niche queries within so-called YMYL areas (Your Money Your Life), which include topics like loans, health, and financial issues. For these sensitive areas, Google acts with extra caution and places great emphasis on using information from particularly reliable and authoritative sources.

From Ranking to Authority: The New Goal for Businesses

Why it's no longer just about being visible in a list

As we mentioned earlier, AI Overviews imply a shift. It's no longer enough to optimize for a high position in a list of links. The goal must now be to establish your business as an undisputed authority within your niche – a source that both users and AI systems trust.

Becoming an integrated part of AI's knowledge base

When AI acts as an information intermediary, your website's primary role is to provide the most correct, well-structured, and authoritative information. It's this information that AI can then use as the basis for its generated answers. The ambition should be for your content to become an integrated and obvious part of AI's knowledge base.

What Does This Mean for Your Company's Digital Presence?

A first glimpse into the need for adaptation

The changes we describe are comprehensive and require businesses to review and adapt their digital strategies. It involves everything from how you work with keyword analysis and content creation to technical SEO and how you build authority online.

For us at Multiproduktion.se, it's clear that this also affects how you should think about your visual communication. How can your films, animations, and infographics be optimized not just to engage people, but also to be understood and valued by AI systems? Can a well-made explanatory video become a cited source in an AI Overview? The answer is yes, if it's correctly designed and presented. Creating content – regardless of format – that is 'citable' becomes a key to success.

Next Step: Understanding the Effects on Traffic and Behavior (A Teaser for Part 2)

Brief mention of upcoming topics in the series

Now that you've received an introduction to what AI Overviews are and how they work, you may wonder what concrete effects this has on your website traffic and your customers' behavior. In the next part of this article series, we will dive deeper into exactly this: how AI Overviews affect organic traffic, click-through rates (CTR), and what it means for your metrics. Don't miss it!

FAQ - Questions and Answers

• What is the biggest difference between traditional search and search with AI Overviews?

  The biggest difference is that traditional search primarily presents a list of links to different websites where you have to search further for the answer. Search with AI Overviews aims to provide a direct, AI-generated answer or summary directly in the search result, based on information from multiple sources. This can reduce the need to click further.

• Will AI Overviews completely replace traditional search results?

  It's unlikely that AI Overviews will completely replace traditional organic search results, at least not in the near future. They will likely coexist, where AI Overviews are displayed for certain types of search queries (especially complex and information-rich) while the traditional list remains relevant for others. The development is ongoing.

• How does Google AI Overviews determine which sources are reliable?

  Google AI Overviews use a range of factors to assess the reliability of sources. This includes the source's relevance to the specific search query, its perceived expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T), as well as how well the information matches the user's underlying intent. AI also uses techniques like RAG to retrieve fresh information and can identify authoritative content even if it doesn't necessarily rank highest in traditional search results.

• Is AI Overviews already active in Sweden?

  Google is rolling out AI Overviews globally, and the feature is becoming increasingly common in search results. Even though the exact rollout pace and visibility may vary geographically and over time, it's important for Swedish businesses to prepare for this becoming an increasingly integrated part of the search experience.

• How can my business start preparing for AI search?

  The first and most important step is to focus on creating high-quality, in-depth, and original content that clearly demonstrates your expertise and experience (E-E-A-T). Ensure that your content is well-structured, answers user questions, and adapt your keyword strategy to also cover more complex, conversational search queries. We will go through this in more detail in upcoming articles.

Conclusion

Google's AI Overviews are here to stay and are reshaping the game for digital visibility. For businesses, it's no longer just about ranking high, but about becoming a trusted authority whose knowledge AI systems choose to highlight. This places new demands, but also opens up new opportunities to reach out and build trust.

At Multiproduktion.se, we are closely following this development. We are convinced that a well-thought-out strategy for both textual and visual content is crucial for succeeding in the new AI-driven search landscape. We look forward to continuing to share insights and concrete advice in the upcoming parts of this article series. Keep an eye out for the next part where we explore the effects on website traffic and user behavior!