If you’re investing in SEO services to grow your business, the rules of the game just changed. You’re no longer only optimising for people. There’s now a second audience: Google’s AI. With the rise of AI Overviews and AI Mode, Search synthesises answers and links out to selected sources. Google now answers complex queries and generates instant summaries by pulling in only a handful of sources. That means fewer clicks to go around, and if your content isn’t chosen, you’re invisible. The good news? You can position your content to increase its chances of being picked. 

 

Below are the most up-to-date, field-tested ways to earn placement in AI Overviews and convert those citations into real traffic and conversions.

What exactly are AI Overviews?

AI Overviews utilise a customised Gemini model to generate concise answers and cite supporting web pages. 

They’re designed for complex, multi-step queries and rely on Google’s core ranking systems and Knowledge Graph to back up claims with high-quality sources. Google also ‘fans out’ the query – running multiple related searches to pull breadth and depth before assembling the answer. 

AI Overviews and AI Mode have rolled out widely (now across 120+ countries in 11 languages), and Google says more than 1.5 billion people use AI Overviews.

The playbook | How to be chosen (and clicked)

Cover the full intent | Anticipate fan-out

Because AI Overviews expand the query across subtopics, content that comprehensively addresses the task wins. Build pages that handle all likely sub-questions in one stop:

• Definitions + context
• Step-by-step instructions
• Decision criteria (pros/cons, price, risks, time)
• Variants (‘for beginners,’ ‘for South Africa,’  ‘for 2025,’ etc.)

This aligns with how Google collects and corroborates sources during generation.

Create a scannable ‘answer layer’

Format matters. 

Introduce a crisp, factual TL;DR box at the top (2–4 sentences), then use:

• Descriptive H2/H3s that map to sub-questions.
• Bulleted lists and numbered steps.
• FAQs with direct, one-sentence answers before details.
  

This mirrors how AI Overviews excerpt and cite supporting snippets. Multiple studies and industry analyses show that highly structured, clearly sectioned pages are favoured as citations.

Strengthen E-E-A-T signals where they’re visible

Show Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust:

• Author bylines with credentials, affiliations, and links to profiles.
• Cited primary data, methods, or firsthand testing.
• Editorial standards and revision history.
• Clear sourcing and external references.
  

Google emphasises that AI Overviews are rooted in its core quality systems.

Use the right structured data

In Google AI Overviews, schema (structured data) serves as a translator, providing context for AI systems to understand your website’s content and identify key information, such as product details, instructions, or author information. 

By adding this code to a webpage, you increase the likelihood that Google’s AI will extract and cite your content in AI-generated answers, improving discoverability and authority in the AI-first search landscape. 

Schema structure data)  acts as a translator, providing context for AI systems to understand your website’s content and interpret your page precisely, especially for task-oriented searches. Add:

• HowTo, FAQPage, QAPage for instructions and common questions
• Product, Review, AggregateRating for comparisons and shopping
• Organisation, Person for entity clarity (publisher, author)

Structured data is a proven way to make content machine-readable for AI features and classic search.

Publish non-commodity content

Google’s guidance for success in AI search is to produce unique, helpful content, not another rewrite of the SERP. 

Prioritise original examples, fresh stats, proprietary research, firsthand photos/videos, or regional context (e.g., regulations, pricing, availability in South Africa). 

Add contrastive elements | Tables, checklists, calculators

AI Overviews often cite pages that reduce cognitive load. Use comparison tables, quick checklists, mini-calculators, or decision trees—these elements convert well and are referenced more often when the model assembles multi-criteria answers.

Refresh with intent shifts, not just timestamps

Overviews aim for freshness and factuality. 

Update when:

• Standards, laws, or specs change.
• Prices or availability move.
• New methods, risks, or side effects emerge.

Tie each update to an observable change, and annotate the page (‘Updated Aug 2025: new Google AI Mode metrics in Search Console’).

Technical quality still counts

Core Web Vitals, mobile UX, clean HTML, accessible media, and canonicalisation remain table stakes; Google’s AI features draw from the same underlying index and quality systems.

Think entity-first (not just keywords)

Define and connect entities clearly: products, people, places, standards, models, and ingredients. Use precise names, schema, and internal links to topic hubs so AI can anchor facts confidently and attribute them to you.

Build topic hubs (and conversation paths)

AI Mode invites follow-up questions. 

Create topic clusters with a hub page that pre-empts next questions (e.g., ‘cost,’ ‘timeline,’ ‘alternatives,’ ‘risks,’ ‘local options’). 

This increases the odds your pages surface across an entire AI interaction, not just the first question. 

Content formats that consistently perform:

• How-to guides with HowTo markup and short, numbered steps.
• Comparisons (‘X vs Y’) with decision tables and clear recommendations.
• Buyer’s guides and checklists for task completion.
• FAQ hubs that resolve intent variants (what/why/how/cost/where/safety).
• Localised guides (South Africa-specific pricing, law, networks, climate).

All of these map naturally to the sub-questions AI Overviews try to answer.

Measurement | How to track AI traffic now

AI Mode metrics (clicks, impressions, position) are now included in Google Search Console Performance reports, allowing you to segment and evaluate the impact. 

This is a major shift: You can finally see how interactive AI search affects your organic visibility. 

Three practical steps:

1. Annotate your reporting for the week AI Mode data appeared for your property (mid-June 2025 for many sites). 
2. Build Looker Studio views that compare AI Mode vs classic web results by query theme (how-tos, comparisons, YMYL).
3. Watch for impression↑/CTR↓ patterns where AI Overviews absorb top-of-page attention; then strengthen your ‘answer layer’ and internal CTAs to lift click propensity. Industry analyses show this decoupling is common as AI occupies more real estate.
   

Note on Overviews visibility: AI Overviews impressions in GSC ( Google Search Console) generally require the result (and cited links) to be in view/expanded – not just present on the page – which can make raw impression counts look lower than expected. 

Monetisation context

Google can show ads within AI Overviews when generative results are deemed helpful. If you run paid search alongside SEO services, watch for assisted conversions and blended ROI across placements.

A fast checklist for inclusion:

• Intent-complete page that answers all likely sub-questions.
• TL;DR summary box with 2–4 factual sentences.
• Headings mirror sub-intents; lists and steps are concise.
• HowTo, FAQPage, Product, Organisation, Person schema.
• Author credentials + editorial policy visible.
• Original data, visuals, or testing; cite external sources.
• Comparison tables/checklists/calculators where relevant.
• Freshness updates tied to real changes (with timestamp).
• Strong internal linking to a topic hub + related follow-ups.
• Solid CWV, mobile UX, accessibility, and canonical hygiene.

Example | Turning a good article into an AI-ready resource:

Before | ‘Air Fryer Tips’ (1,200 words of prose).

 After |

• TL;DR: 3 must-do tips and 2 safety warnings.
• Sections: “Preheat?”, “Oil ratios”, “South Africa voltage & wattage ranges”, “Food-specific times”, “Cleaning steps”.
• Table: model wattage vs. basket size vs. typical times.
• FAQ: smoke, foil use, oven vs. air fryer, energy cost.
• Schema: HowTo for cleaning; FAQPage for FAQs.
• Author: culinary instructor bio + testing notes.
• Links: internal hub “Air Fryer Recipes (SA)” and “Energy Cost Calculator”.
  

This single page now addresses the likely fan-out and includes scannable elements that Overviews tend to cite.

Where SEO services fit

Modern SEO services should evolve from ‘rank a page for a keyword’ to optimising an entire conversation:

1. Discover the fan-out: mine People Also Ask, AI Mode follow-ups, and onsite search to list sub-intents.
2. Design the answer layer: TL;DR, headers, tables, FAQs, schema.
3. Develop topic hubs and internal journeys that anticipate follow-ups.
4. Differentiate with non-commodity assets (experiments, calculators, proprietary stats). Google for Developers
5. Diagnose performance with GSC’s AI Mode data and iterate.

The bottom line? Google’s AI Overviews reward complete, credible, clearly structured resources. 

Your next step? Pick your top 5 revenue queries and rebuild each page using the checklist above. Then benchmark AI Mode metrics in Search Console for a clean before/after read. 

If you build pages that a model can confidently cite – and that a human can instantly understand – you’ll put your brand where users now make decisions, inside the overview.

Ready to future-proof your SEO? Don’t let Google’s AI Overviews push your business into invisibility. Contact Prebo Digital, a Performance Agency that specialises in building AI-ready content strategies that earn citations, clicks, and conversions. Let’s optimise your site for the new rules of search.