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When I was auditing traffic patterns in a mid-size D2C beauty brand a few months ago, something looked off to me. We experienced a decrease in organic traffic, which was not unprecedented, but steady, and most peculiar of all was the fact that there were no significant changes in rankings. It took us multiple sleepless nights of crawling before we figured out what was wrong: the new AI Overviews that Google provided were subtly changing how people used the SERPs.
Whether you are a digital marketer, search engine optimization strategist, or simply a business owner who heavily depends on organic search, then this is what you need to know: AI Overviews is not a feature of tomorrow, it is already transforming the way the game is played.
I want to summarize in brief what I have just lived and observed in the past few months, and what you can begin to do to be ahead.
First Things First: What Are AI Overviews?
Simply put, AI Overviews are the AI-based Google summaries that display at the beginning of the search answer to multi-step or complicated search queries. They integrate data found in several places and provide users with a two-paragraph-long response, often without requiring any additional clicking on their part.
You can imagine it as something like a juiced-up form of featured snippets or People Also Ask, but with even more context around it and less motivation to explore individual sites further.
Real Impact: What I Noticed
At one point, when Google introduced AI Overviews in a more widespread beta version, it did not raise any red flags. However, as time went by, I experienced the following results:
- Lower Click-Through Rates (CTR) to top-ranking blogs; in particular, informational content-based blogs such as how-to, best of, or comparison articles.
- Higher Bounce Rates on branded searches- people received a partial answer of the AI Overview, and did not scroll down the search page at all.
- Content volatility: Pages that previously had the snippet were now frequently quoted within the surround
- .-9IIIIIIIIIIing page of the AI Overview, though without a link or any attribution.
And this wasn’t just for one client. Across three industries—health, finance, and lifestyle—I noticed a pattern. If your page wasn’t contributing unique value or being directly cited in the overview, your visibility was compromised.
What Can You Do? Adapting Your SEO Strategy
Let’s be clear: panicking isn’t a strategy. The smarter approach is evolving.
1. Create Truly Unique Content
AI Overviews are trained on predictable content. So if your content sounds like everyone else’s, the algorithm has no reason to recommend you.
What’s working now is:
- First-person experiences
- Original data, case studies, and insights
- Fresh angles and contrarian viewpoints
Inject personality. Make it human. Robots still struggle with nuance.
2. Double Down on E-E-A-T
Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines emphasize Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Make sure you:
- Clearly display author bios and credentials
- Link to reputable sources
- Keep your content updated
For one client, simply adding detailed author bios increased AI citation frequency.
3. Target AI-Unfriendly Queries
Not all queries are ideal for AI Overviews. Transactional and hyper-local searches (like “best SEO agency in Gurgaon”) are still driven by traditional rankings.
Start identifying content opportunities outside of the AI bubble.
4. Optimize for Citation
Your goal now isn’t just ranking—it’s being quoted.
We started formatting answers in concise bullet points, adding FAQs, and using schema markup. The result? We were picked up in the overviews even if we weren’t in the top 3.
Final Thought: This Is Just the Beginning
I often tell my clients—AI Overviews are not the death of SEO, but they are the end of lazy content strategies.
If you’re relying on generic blogs, rehashed tips, or outsourced fluff, you’re already invisible to both users and machines.
Working with expert agencies like 88gravity is how you future-proof your strategy. From conversion-optimized content to high-authority link building and SEO consulting, they help brands pivot fast in a shifting digital landscape.
As AI transforms the search experience, remember: your content needs to be smarter, deeper, and real. That’s what still stands out.
About the Author
Priya Mahajan is a digital strategist and founder of WebLens Digital. She helps businesses scale their organic reach through ethical SEO, AI-led insights, and content that connects. When not writing or consulting, she’s usually hiking or experimenting with prompt engineering.