Amidst swirling speculation and a rapidly evolving search landscape, Google has consistently reassured the SEO community that traditional search engine optimisation (SEO) practices remain vital, even with the increasing prominence of AI Overviews (AIOs).
Recent statements from Google’s Search team emphasise that the fundamental principles of creating high-quality, helpful, and user-centric content are what truly matter for visibility across all of Google’s search features.
The Rise of AI Overviews and the SEO “Panic”
The introduction and expansion of AI Overviews in Google Search have understandably stirred discussions and, in some corners, panic within the SEO industry. AI Overviews, which provide AI-generated summaries and direct answers at the top of the search results page, have led to concerns about reduced click-through rates (CTRs) for traditional organic listings. Many have questioned whether the long-standing strategies of keyword optimisation, link building, and technical SEO would become obsolete.
However, Google’s message has been clear and consistent. AI Overviews are built upon the same core ranking systems as traditional search. As Gary Illyes from Google recently stated at a “Search Central Live Deep Dive” event, “To get your content to appear in AI Overview, simply use normal SEO practices. You don’t need GEO, LLMO or anything else.” This sentiment was echoed by John Mueller, another key figure in Google Search relations, reinforcing that specialised “AI SEO” or “Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)” isn’t a separate discipline.
Debunking the Myths: What Google Says is Key
One of the biggest myths to emerge with AI Overviews is that SEOs need to abandon everything they know and adopt entirely new, mysterious tactics. Google has actively worked to dispel this. The underlying message is that Google’s AI models, including those powering AI Overviews, are designed to understand and reward inherently good content.
Content Quality Above All: Google stresses that the most important factor is creating helpful, reliable, and people-first content. This involves content that genuinely addresses user questions, offers comprehensive information, and demonstrates expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). AI Overviews gather information from various sources to compile their answers, and high-quality content is naturally more likely to be chosen.
No Separate AI Algorithm: Google has clarified that AI is deeply embedded in every stage of their search process—crawling, indexing, and ranking. Technologies like RankBrain and MUM (Multitask Unified Model) have been foundational for years. The AI Overviews simply leverage this existing infrastructure to present information in a new format. This means that if your content ranks well in traditional search, it has a higher likelihood of being considered for an AI Overview.
Focus on User Intent: With AI Overviews, the emphasis on understanding user intent becomes even more critical. AI is designed to grasp the nuances of a user’s query and provide the most relevant information. This encourages content creators to move beyond simple keyword matching and instead focus on comprehensively addressing the user’s underlying need or question. Structured, topical content with clear headings and logical flow aids Google’s AI in understanding and summarising the information effectively.
Quotes from the Google SEO Team: Consistent Messaging
Gary Illyes has been particularly vocal in demystifying AI Overviews for the SEO community. His repeated assertion that “normal SEO works” underscores Google’s commitment to rewarding foundational best practices. Kenichi Suzuki, who attends many Google Search events, has widely quoted Illyes, emphasising that “Their core message is that new AI-powered features like AI Overviews and AI Mode are built upon the same fundamental processes as traditional search. They utilise the same crawler (Googlebot), the same core index, and are influenced by the same ranking systems.”
Other internal documentation from Google confirms that top-ranking content enhances the accuracy of AI responses, further solidifying the importance of traditional ranking signals. This means that while the presentation of information might change with AIOs, the underlying principles that make content discoverable and authoritative remain constant.
Adapting, Not Abandoning: The Future of SEO
While the core principles remain, SEO does evolve. The emergence of AI Overviews highlights the importance of:
Comprehensive and In-Depth Content: AI excels at summarisation but struggles with nuanced analysis. Content that offers unique insights, original research, and explores topics from multiple angles is less likely to be fully replaced by an AI summary and more likely to be cited as an authoritative source.
Structured Data and Schema Markup: Helping Google understand your content better through structured data remains crucial. This allows AI to extract and present information accurately in various formats.
Brand Authority and Trust: The E-E-A-T guidelines are more important than ever. Building a strong brand presence and earning mentions from reputable sources increases the likelihood of your content being chosen for AI Overviews.
Monitoring and Adaptation: While traditional metrics like organic traffic might see shifts due to zero-click searches, new metrics like visibility in AI Overviews and quality of traffic become important. SEOs should continuously monitor how their content performs and adapt their strategies to maximise visibility in this evolving environment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Google’s stance is clear: traditional SEO is not dead, nor is it facing an existential threat from AI Overviews.
Instead, AI Overviews represent an evolution of search that reinforces the value of creating high-quality, user-focused content. The SEO industry’s focus should remain on these fundamental principles, ensuring their content is not just discoverable but truly helpful and authoritative, regardless of how Google chooses to present it.