What are Google AI Overviews?
Google AI Overviews are short summaries, written by AI, that appear at the top of some Google search results with links to the web pages they draw on.1
Last updated
Why it matters for a small business
Many searches get none. Google adds one only when its systems decide a summary is worth more than the plain list of results.2
The links inside an AI Overview point to pages Google has indexed and is allowed to quote. A page that can't show a snippet can't be one of them.2
They can also be wrong. Google's own help page says so, and tells searchers to check important facts in more than one place.1
A made-up food tour in Porto
Someone searches "what to do in Porto in the evening" and gets an AI Overview with a few ideas and links. Inês's tour page answers that question in its first paragraph, with the start time and meeting point. That makes it a page the overview can link to.
How to check it yourself
Search like a customer
Search the questions people ask before choosing you. Note which searches show an AI Overview at all, and which sites it links.2
Open the Generative AI performance report
In Search Console it counts how often links to your site were shown in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country and device.3
Make sure Google may quote you
A page with nosnippet or noindex can't be a supporting link. Search Console's URL Inspection tool shows what Googlebot received from a page.2
Read what it says about you
When an overview names your business, check its facts against your own site. The thumbs-down button under it lets you report a mistake to Google.1
Questions about Google AI Overviews
Can I keep my business out of AI Overviews?
You can limit what Google shows from your own pages with nosnippet or noindex, but the same settings hold you back in normal results too.2
Do AI Overview visits count in Search Console?
Yes. Google counts sites shown in its AI features in the Performance report, under the Web search type.2
Where this comes from
- AI Overviews give an AI-generated snapshot with links, appear when Google's systems find them helpful, can make mistakes, and Google suggests asking several versions of a question
- To be a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode a page must be indexed and able to show a snippet; AI Overviews show only when Google judges them additive; important content should be in text; robots.txt rules for Googlebot and nosnippet or noindex controls apply; AI feature traffic counts in the Performance report's Web search type (last updated 10 December 2025)
- Search Console's Generative AI performance report counts impressions of a site's links in AI Overviews and AI Mode by page, country, device and date; rolled out to all websites on 31 August 2026
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