Google AI Overviews visibility drops, only shows for 15% of queries

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the recent changes in the appearance of Google's AI Overviews (formerly known as Search Generative Experience) in Google Search results. It provides insights into the drop in the frequency of AI Overviews, their relationship with other Google Search features, and the overall acceleration of AI in search.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Google's AI Overviews

1. What is the current frequency of Google's AI Overviews appearing in search results?

• According to the analysis, Google's AI Overviews now appear less than 15% of the time, down from 84% at one point.

2. What was the trend in the appearance of AI Overviews over time?

• The number of Google Search results without AI Overviews jumped substantially starting in mid-April and continued into May before Google I/O, when Google announced the launch of AI Overviews in the U.S.

3. What were some examples of incorrect and dangerous AI-generated answers from the AI Overviews?

• The article mentions examples of AI Overviews suggesting people drink urine to eat rocks, which were incorrect and dangerous.

[02] Relationship between AI Overviews and other Google Search features

1. How do AI Overviews relate to other Google Search features?

• AI Overviews are 195% more likely to appear when queries have a featured snippet.
• AI Overviews are more likely to appear on question-based queries.
• AI Overviews are less likely to appear when sitelinks are present and on local queries.

2. How has Google reduced the overlap between AI citations and classic search results?

• Google has reduced the overlap between AI citations and classic search results, meaning Google is less often showing users the same answers in two types of results.

[03] AI in Search

1. How is Google anticipating and answering follow-up questions?

• For "what," "where," and "how" intent-based queries, Google is now more often doing the second, third, and fourth searches for users and anticipating follow-up questions.

2. What is the overall outlook on the relationship between AI and search?

• The article states that the relationship between AI and search will only get exponentially better and more useful as testing continues, despite the current reduction in AI Overviews.