Google AI Overview: How Will Generative AI Search Affect the Way We Write Content?

Here we are, back again; generative AI search is going to change the way the world works; it’s going to revolutionise how we use the internet. How many times have we heard this in recent months?

Google AI Overview could be the real deal when it comes to changing how content is written for the internet. It is going to alter the way in which we, as marketers, think about and create blog posts, articles, web pages, and pretty much any page using text that you want to rank well on Google.

What is google AI Overview?

Firstly, there are a couple of definitions we need to get out of the way, just so we’re all on the same page:

• Generative AI search – This means that LLMs are generating original content from pre-existing content.

• AI-powered search – This relies on pre-existing data and retrieves information to present it in response to a query. It does not create anything original.

AI Overview is a wholly original generative AI search algorithm that collates all the most relevant data from a search request and presents it to the user in a succinct way, amalgamating the knowledge from the pages it searches.

Does AI search benefit the end user?

The most important thing, and really the only thing that matters. The main drive behind using generative AI in search is to deliver information to the user as quickly as possible and as comprehensively as possible; combing through the internet to collect any and all information needed to formulate the best response to a query.

The generative AI search algorithms then piece together all this content to (supposedly) create a better, more complete, answer to the query, meaning the user has no need to trawl through pages of content to find what they’re looking for or reach their own conclusions based on what they read.

The idea is to give you as succinct and useful a response as possible. In the UK the search is still labelled as ‘experimental’, though the results so far are, by and large, positive.

When you enter a query into Google, the first result is the AI Overview. It is clearly titled as such so there is no mistaking that the result has been compiled by AI. What follows is a short summary detailing the answer to your query. To give total transparency, there is a list of all the websites it uses as sources in the upper right corner of the result on mobile and a list of the sources displayed on the right of the page on desktop.

In testing we found that it generally uses between 9 and 10 websites and seems to favour Youtube and Wikipedia as primary sources, both high relevance and high authority sites. This is to be expected since these are used by most people as information sources and seen as reliable, though it should be pointed out that this is open to manipulation, given the free and open nature of both of those platforms.

Of course, this has already led to some problems with reports of AI results coming back with recommendations to redirect users toward scam sites. Undoubtedly, these problems will be ironed out as time goes on.

Was it difficult to search for things before AI Overview?

No, not really. And since its main sources appear to be some of the popular sites on the planet, even without Overview you would be likely to find the same information in only a few more clicks.

So, is this shift in the way we do things worth it? Only time will tell, and Google certainly seems to think it is for the better. There is also a bit of a grey area with generative search; is it creating an answer or merely copy/pasting other answers and presenting them as its own?

If the accuracy of the results from Overview remains reliable then it will be much more efficient to search for certain things using it. It is also not necessary for every single type of search.

Does generative AI search take traffic away from websites?

Since generative AI search is new, its impact on overall organic web traffic has yet to be fully explored.

It’s estimated that AI Overview could lead to an 18 - 64% reduction in organic traffic, though it is more focused on making informational content easier to digest, so transactional search queries seem to be unaffected for the moment.

What this means is that because users would no longer need to look at a website to discover what they want to know, the traffic to these sites will be affected. And how will the algorithm know which site has the most authoritative and complete information if those sites are no longer visited?

How we as marketers gauge the success of our content online will have to change since the usual metrics will no longer apply. Rather than direct visits, it may be gauged by position within the search results and be based solely on how useful google decides the content is.

Another interesting aspect of this is that when searching for local businesses, Overview seems to favour primary source websites for those businesses. If you were to ask it for the best restaurant in Cambridge, it will show you the specific sites of those restaurants rather than an article that sums up the best restaurants in that area.

This is a great opportunity for smaller businesses. Get yourself ranked higher by taking advantage of Overview, optimise your site with reviews and query-specific content to get yourself seen.

What won’t AI Overview do?

AI Overview excludes certain topics. In order to ensure that it only presents accurate and helpful information, some search terms won’t be used, these include:

• Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) searches – This covers financial and health advice mainly. This is excluded because there is simply so much misinformation out there that it’s hard to determine accurate content and it also means that Google isn’t specifically giving advice that could lead to negative outcomes.

• Recipes – Summaries of recipes are already generated by search, so this hasn’t been included, yet.

• Navigational – Simple searches for specific sites (Facebook, Amazon, etc) are exempt. If you know where you want to go already there is simply no need for AI Overview in the search.

• News & events – Again, due to misinformation and bias, Overview avoids summarising current events.

• Quick searches – These don’t lead to any further engagement; what the weather is, for example.

• Sensitive topics – politics, religion, questions around bodily harm, anything deemed to lead to self-harm or divisiveness is exempt for obvious reasons.

When looking for any information pertaining to the subjects above, you will be presented with a regular Google search result. Some may be included within Overview’s scope in future, but this is how it stands for now.

What does generative AI search mean for us, as content creators, writers, and marketers?

Although Overview will provide the most succinct answer possible, it is designed to use the most authoritative, relevant, thorough, and well-researched content to find its answers. Meaning that the more comprehensive your content is, the better.

Along with this is a slight change in format for many but not all; there is a good chance you do this anyway but since it is looking for those snippets of vital information, why not serve them to it on a platter?

By placing a ‘key findings’ overview at the top of your article (basically a bullet-pointed list of the most important information answering the primary question), your piece will be ideal for AI Overview to find.

Summarise the findings of your piece in straight-forward, plain language with simple sentence structure.

This is all a bit depressing, isn’t it?

Well, it doesn’t have to be, though its effects on web search and organic traffic will take time to be fully understood. It's hard to be optimistic in the face of such a monumental shift in the way Google is changing its search engine.

We have been used to doing something for one way for so long that it is natural to want to resist it. Especially when it isn’t entirely clear whether it is truly beneficial for creators or users.

Google claim that the site’s Overview uses are corroborating the result that the generative algorithm creates. There is a concern that Overview is actually taking content from sites whole-cloth and presenting it as its own information, without attributing the site it came from.

Use the implementation of AI Overview as an opportunity to carry out a content audit.

Make your content as unique, knowledgeable, interesting, and entertaining as possible. Bring your A-game; laser-focus your content to answer specific queries as closely as you can for Overview to favour it over someone else’s.

Optimise content to within an inch of its life; make sure your posts, pages, and blogs contain schema to make them easier for Overview to discover and use in its results.

Get in touch with Formation Media to learn more about optimising content for AI Overview. Get yourself ranked with people that understand how search is changing and how to change with it!