How to rank in AI overviews in 2025

Credit: Google

The SEO landscape is constantly evolving, and the introduction of Google AI Overviews has brought significant changes. Tracking rankings and predicting traffic has become more complex than ever, and understanding how to adapt to AI Overviews is important for maintaining online visibility.

You might have observed shifts in organic traffic or seen your content summarised in AI Overviews. Or worse - you’ve seen a completely unknown competitor suddenly being cited as a reliable source in the Overview. Feels unfair, right?

But here’s the thing: Google AI Overviews aren’t going anywhere. If anything, they are only going to get more prominent. The good news? There is a way to work with them instead of against them.

This guide will break down exactly what AI Overviews are, why they are hijacking your traffic, and – most importantly – how you can start ranking in them instead of losing out.

What is AI SEO?

AI SEO is search engine optimisation that takes artificial intelligence into account (it’s one of the 2025 SEO trends you can’t ignore). While traditional SEO elements like keywords, backlinks, and site structure remain important, we’ve found that AI-driven search places a greater emphasis on content relevance, clarity, and trustworthiness. AI algorithms utilise Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning to assess how effectively content answers user queries. This means that content should be optimised to be 'NLP-friendly,' focusing on natural language, semantic accuracy, and contextual understanding.

If the aim is to become the preferred source for AI-powered summaries, businesses should refine their content strategy to focus on providing concise, well-structured, and easily understandable information.

What are AI Overviews?

Google's AI Overviews provide users with AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, offering a direct answer to their queries. This means that instead of presenting a list of links, search engines now extract and synthesise information from various sources.

While this offers increased visibility for featured content, it also presents new considerations for businesses. Here’s what it means:

• Your content could be featured—but it might not drive clicks. AI Overviews highlight sources, but they don’t always give users a reason to visit the site. Your brand might get visibility, but is that enough if no one‌ clicks through?

• Your rankings might not matter as much. Even if you hold the #1 organic position, AI Overviews can push your site further down the page, making it less likely for people to see or visit your website.

• Formatting matters more than ever. AI is not looking for long-winded explanations—it wants structured, scannable content it can extract easily. If your content is not formatted in a way that AI can digest, it might get ignored.

This is a huge change in how people interact with information online. A lot of SEOs and businesses look at this negatively. However, it’s here to stay, so businesses that adapt quickly by optimising their content for AI Overviews stand a better chance of staying relevant.

Source

How AI decides what to feature in overviews

Google has made one thing clear – there is no specific “hack” to getting into AI Overviews. The same ranking signals that decide regular search results also apply here. No special AI SEO, no new magic formula. If your content already follows Google Search Essentials, you are in the mix.

AI Overviews pull from the same high-ranking pages you see in search (75% of AI Overviews sources are in the top 12 organic results). If your content is already considered a strong source, it has a better shot at being featured. Google’s AI is not reinventing the wheel. It is just surfacing what it already sees as reliable and relevant. Well-structured content that directly answers a query is more likely to be used, while vague or bloated pages will be ignored.

There is nothing extra you need to do beyond what already works for search. The focus stays the same – create clear, useful content that deserves to rank.

How to rank in AI overviews

We’ve highlighted that you don’t need to do anything extra to appear in AI Overviews. However, there are some regular SEO tactics you can employ that will boost your organic rankings, giving you a better chance to rank in AI Overviews. However, there are no guarantees in SEO. These tips should help you make it into AI Overviews, but there’s no silver bullet.

1. Answer questions clearly and concisely

AI Overviews prioritise efficient information delivery. To achieve this, content should be NLP-friendly, meaning it should resemble natural human language and be easily parsed by AI. If your content is buried under long-winded introductions or unnecessary context, AI will skip over it.

Recommended:

• Get to the point immediately. If someone searches “what is AI SEO?”, your page should start with a clear, one-sentence definition, not a five-paragraph history lesson.

• Use short paragraphs. AI prefers scannable content – long blocks of text are harder to extract and summarise.

• Employ natural language and relevant semantic keywords to provide context.

Avoid:

• Lengthy, rambling intros that delay providing the answer.

• Burying key information in the middle of a paragraph instead of stating it clearly at the start.

2. Optimise for featured snippets

AI Overviews often pull directly from featured snippets – the boxed answers that already appear at the top of search results. If your content is structured in a way that Google’s algorithm can easily extract, it has a higher chance of being included. Another reason to optimise for featured snippets is because, alongside AI Overviews, they take up more than 75% of SERPs.

How to format for featured snippets:

• Write clear, structured answers that directly address common search queries.

• Use bullet points or numbered lists for step-by-step guides or definitions.

• Put the most important information in the first sentence of a section – AI looks for quick takeaways.

❌ Bad example:

AI SEO is an interesting field that involves optimising content for search engines that use artificial intelligence. The concept has evolved over the years and includes various techniques...

✅ Good example:

AI SEO is the process of optimising content for search engines that use artificial intelligence to rank results. It focuses on relevance, clarity and trustworthiness.

Google's AI is looking for content that is direct and structured – if your answer is hidden in a long paragraph, it is unlikely to be pulled.

3. Use schema markup

Search engines are smart, but they are not mind readers. When AI scans your content, it tries to figure out what kind of information you are providing—whether it is answering a question, explaining a process, or presenting a blog post. Schema markup helps with this by giving search engines a clear label for your content.

Think of schemas like sticky notes for Google. Instead of leaving it to guess what your page is about, schema markup tells it:

“This section is a list of frequently asked questions.”

“This is a step-by-step guide.”

“This is an article covering a specific topic.”

When you add schema, you make it easier for AI to pull relevant content into AI Overviews.

For AI Overviews, these three schema types are the most useful:

• FAQ Schema – Marks up frequently asked questions so AI knows they are direct answers.

• How-To Schema – Helps AI understand step-by-step guides, making it easier to feature instructions or tutorials.

• Article Schema – Gives AI structured metadata about your blog post, helping it determine if your content is relevant to a query.

4. Prioritise authority and trustworthiness

If you’re looking for medical advice, you’re not trusting a random Facebook post over an article from the NHS. Google’s AI works the same way – it looks for content that comes from trusted, well-established sources. The more signals your site gives that it knows what it’s talking about, the better your chances of being featured.

So how do you prove you’re a credible source?

One of the biggest factors is who else is vouching for you. If other well-known, reputable websites link to your content, it tells AI that your site is worth trusting. That’s why earning backlinks from high-quality sites makes a difference.

But credibility is also measured by what’s inside your content. If you’re making claims without citing sources, AI is going to favour a site that backs up its points with real data, case studies, or expert opinions.

Finally, the algorithms cross-check information across multiple sources. If your content contradicts what’s widely accepted as accurate, it’s going to be ignored. Keeping content factual, well-researched, and up-to-date is non-negotiable if you want to rank.

Remember, building authority isn’t an overnight process, but it’s a huge factor in whether your content makes it into AI Overviews. If your site isn’t seen as trustworthy, it won’t matter how well-written your content is – it won’t get featured.

5. Keep content up to date

Outdated content loses credibility fast. If your page includes statistics from five years ago, links to dead resources or references to trends that are no longer relevant, search engines will start favouring fresher sources. Even if your content was performing well before, stale pages gradually get pushed down in rankings.

You can’t just tweak a few words though. You should be updating facts, replacing old references and ensuring everything is still relevant. If a page feels dated, AI is less likely to pull from it. Regularly reviewing and improving older posts keeps them competitive. If the updates are significant, adjusting the publication date can also help signal freshness.

AI rewards pages that remain useful over time, so content maintenance should be a key part of your SEO strategy.

6. Optimise for conversational search

People don’t search like they used to. Instead of typing stiff, keyword-heavy phrases, they ask full questions like they’re talking to a person. AI picks up on this, so if your content still sounds robotic, it’s getting ignored.

Think about how you search for something in real life. If you’re looking for the best way to clean white trainers, you’re probably not typing “shoe cleaning white trainers best method”. You’d search something like “What’s the best way to clean white trainers?” or “How do I get stains off white shoes?”. AI understands these full, natural-sounding queries and pulls content that matches them.

Write like a human. Use natural, question-based keywords and keep things direct. If it sounds like it was written for a robot, it’s going to lose to content that flows like a real conversation.

Need a hand getting to grips with AI overviews?

Adapting to AI Overviews and creating NLP-friendly content is the new standard for sustained online success. If you'd like expert guidance in navigating these changes, We can help. Our team of SEO experts are ready and waiting to give you a free proposal, detailing exactly how we can help your traditional SEO and AI SEO efforts.