Google AI Overview: Everything You Should Know for SEO
Google AI Overview: Everything You Should Know for SEO
Recently, one of the most discussed topics in the world of search engine optimization (SEO) has become the rollout of Google AI Overview. For many years, Google has had a “featured snippet” as the first search result – Google AI Overview takes this concept to the next level. Historically, Google would choose a single relevant web page for their featured snippet; now, Google shows a collection of the top articles relevant to the search, with an AI-generated summary of the information contained in those articles.
How Google AI Overview Affects SEO
Google AI Overview was developed to provide an immediate, long-form answer to a user’s question. Unfortunately, the quality of the AI Overview content is often lacking. In many cases, users have noticed that the overview provides comically incorrect answers to their queries, which has led many to question if AI Overview was really ready to implement.
It’s important to note that while Google AI Overview is generated by artificial intelligence, it still references the source articles that it has gathered information from. AI Overview will always include links to the articles and videos from which it was generated, giving users a chance to do further research using these more reliable sources.
There are some who have expressed concern that the rollout of Google AI Overview means imminent death for SEO as we know it. Industry professionals can rest assured that this hyperbolic claim is completely erroneous. A year rarely goes by without the appearance of something new in the industry which people worry will be the “death of SEO” and it hasn’t happened yet.
Google AI Overview may have an impact on how much traffic reaches the source websites that it pulls from. However, while some users may simply read the AI summary without digging deeper, the reality is that Google is still reliant on quality human-written content to generate its AI summaries. Therefore, SEO content is still just as valuable to digital marketing as it has always been.
Want to Learn More About Google AI Overview?
Google AI Overview remains a hotly debated topic in the digital marketing industry but, whichever side you fall on, you shouldn’t worry that this new feature will render your SEO efforts irrelevant. Only time will tell how much AI Overview impacts SEO campaigns in the long run. At NorthWing Digital, we’re monitoring Google AI Overview to determine its short-term impact on SEO. Contact us today if you’d like more insights about this controversial topic.