How to Rank in Google AI Overviews in 2025

AI Overviews have radically changed the search experience in Google.

They are now the prime real estate at the top of many search results.

And that’s caused a lot of uproar in the industry. Mainly because the ‘Big G’ is seen as ‘stealing’ your clicks.

However for me, AI overviews change how we think about SEO attribution, not why we do it.

The reason to invest in SEO is still as solid as it was 10 years ago. It drives results. Plain and simple.

And even though attribution has gotten messier… good SEO still wins.

So with that said, let’s show you can rank in AI overviews. But let’s first cover a couple of key statistics that underpin my approach to AI overviews.

Let’s start with the facts (updated October 2025)

• Google CTRs for the top result dropped 32% after AI Overviews rolled out.
• Only 1% of users click a link inside AI summaries.
• 76% of citations in AI Overviews come from the top 10 organic results.

As per my video below, these stats change everything (and nothing about SEO)..and how you should approach AI overviews

1) CTRs for top results have fallen 32%

According to Search Engine Journal (July 2024), Google’s rollout of AI Overviews has cut the click-through rate (CTR) for the #1 organic result by almost one-third — from 28% to 19%.

That’s huge.

And the reason is simple: AI Overviews take up prime real estate at the top of the SERP, answering the user’s query without requiring a click.

So even if you’re ranking #1, you’re now competing with Google’s own “answer engine.”

2) Only 1% of users click a link inside AI summaries

That same Search Engine Journal report cites Pew Research data showing that just 1% of users click any of the links within AI Overviews.

That means 99% of users are not clicking on citations.

For marketers who’ve measured SEO success primarily by traffic… that’s a gut punch.
But it’s also a wake-up call to think differently about attribution and brand visibility.

3) 76% of AI Overview citations come from the top 10 organic results

A recent Ahrefs study found that three out of every four URLs cited in AI Overviews, come from pages already ranking on page one of Google.

That’s the good news.

It shows that traditional SEO is still the foundation of AI visibility.
If you can rank, you can be cited.

Ok basta with the stats!

Let’s show you how to get visibility in this prime real estate. Even if it doesn’t necessarily win you a ‘click’.

How to Rank in Google AI Overviews

• Do good old-fashioned SEO
• Think Beyond Blue Links
• Leverage Barnacle SEO
• Go after long tail queries

1) Do good old-fashioned SEO

AI Overviews pull 3 in 4 citations from page-one results.
If you’re already ranking organically, you’ve got a strong chance of being cited in the overview.

Some basics behind great SEO:

– Solid Technical SEO
– Content that matches intent
– Niche-relevant backlinks

Those fundamentals haven’t changed — they just matter more now. So in a nutshell, the same best practices are likely to get you into an AI overview.

We’ve ranked many keywords for our clients in AI overviews (and LLM’s) by the same tactics we were using back in 2020.

Great content (and SEO) will take you very far..

Bonus point in Great SEO & Ranking in AI overviews: Search Intent

Always remember search intent. That doesnt change. If you are trying to appear for ‘best accounting software for construction’.. you most likely will need a product list post showing the different accounting softwares. Your about s us page will not cut it (most likely).

Look at the example below. The cited content meets the search intent of the keyword. The fundamentals of SEO are still strong as ever here.

2) Think beyond blue links

Reddit, YouTube, and Wikipedia are the most cited sources in AI Overviews (for now).
YouTube is particularly powerful because it gives you:

• Visibility in AI Overviews
• Rankings in organic & video results
• Embedded assets you can repurpose across platforms

All of this to say that when you start thinking beyond SEO beyond just 1 format… more opportunities open up.

We call this Optionality SEO.

It’s SEO meets brand marketing.

Don’t just rely on your own site — ride the waves of pages already ranking.

We mentioned Reddit (and no that is not an excuse to spam).. but are there other blogs that mention your competitors? Maybe you can get listed in there?

Other SERPs have citations & directories ranking. See can you get in there?

Maybe a press release will get onto page 1?

Guest posts, digital PR, and citations on top domains your visibility and probability of inclusion in AI Overviews.

More appearances = more brand searches = more business touchpoints.

4) Go after long-tail queries

According to Pew Research, 53% of 10+ word searches trigger AI Overviews, compared to just 8% of short queries.

Long-tail queries are not only easier to rank for, they’re far more likely to show up in AI summaries. Plus you are also more likely to drive conversions as per the image below.

Strategize accordingly.

PRO TIP for Long Tail Topics: See can you break this down by niche.

For example:

• best accounting software for startups
• best accounting software for hr teams
• best accounting software for ecommerce accountants in Canada
• etc etc

AI overviews & LLM’s reward these specific queries especially if no one else is covering them.

Ranking in AI Overviews – Quality & Brand are your friends

So there you have it. If you do really good SEO & think about your marketing more holistically – you have a much better chance of visibility.

And when you think beyond just quality content – you will see building your brand naturally is going to give you a better chance.

The current landscape is bringing SEO & marketing closer. And brand building is at the heart of it…

Sticking to Quality..

Always aim to for quality – even if you are in a tough niche.

For example, this website has landed some pretty tough keywords in AI overviews even though we have not (yet cracked) page yet. And we are competing against other big name SEO’s and agencies.

Without mentioning specific keywords, there is 1 example where we landed an AI overview for a BOFU keyword. There was no secret recipe. The page was just really good.

Take a look at our blog posts to give you a sense of what good content looks like (in our humble opinion 🙂 )

Ranking in AI overviews for TOFU vs BOFU? Does it Change?

At a basic level, nothing changes. The 4 points above will take you very far. However there are some extra nuances to cover.

At per the chart above with long tail queries – you will have noticed they tend to have higher conversion rates. With long tail queries, the more specific you can make the content to the nuances of the piece; the better.

Ben Goodey of Spicy Margarita advises to make sure you are covering the attributes mentioned in ranking citations in your content. By reverse engineering what’s working, you can get a very good idea of what to include in your content to increase AI overview visibility.

Again, I would include this SERP analysis as just gold old fashioned SEO work. In the same way, some SEO’s would have previously examined the featured snippet (and not just the 10 blue links) before giving their content briefs to writers.

Here’s Ben’s post for a greater breakdown:

So, what has AI overviews changed?

**Attribution**

To me, attribution has the biggest disruption from AI overviews and LLM’s. Everything else is still largely the same.

• The work hasn’t changed.
• The reason to do SEO in the first place hasn’t changed.
• Google still has massive attention on the platform

But the way we measure ‘success’ has changed big time.

If your success metric is “clicks to website,” you’re in trouble.

But if you’re thinking about visibility, brand lift, holistic marketing and total search presence … the opportunity is bigger than ever.

AI Overviews changes SEO ‘Success’

Does this chart look familiar? The new alligator in your GSC account?

In the past this chart, would have given me shivers. Especially if it was my client. The funny thing is this chart is very misleading. Conversions, revenue & brand searches are all up YOY for this client. And SEO has been a key part of that driver. Yet because of AI overviews & LLM’s, we don’t see this.

Since AI Overviews have rolled out, we’ve seen a strong decoupling between clicks & impressions. Clicks are down.. but impressions are largely up

Note: Since September 2025, Google removed the num=100 search parameter which is the mechanism that let you see 100 results on one page instead of the default 10. So this has also caused another inflection point in search console accounts causing impressions to drop.

In reality, it is all noise.

If clicks were you number 1 metric – then sure, you are in trouble. You will have lost clicks.

However, if your goal is to be present wherever your audience looks for answers – then you’re doing something right.

AI Overviews are forcing us to think in systems, not silos:

• SEO + PR + YouTube = visibility
• Brand mentions + backlinks = authority
• Great content + great strategy = business results

Why Attribution Is Now a Problem

The real impact of AI Overviews isn’t about traffic — it’s about how we attribute business results to SEO.

Let’s unpack that.

AI Overviews is driving Brand Searches

We’ve found brand searches are at all time highs for our clients. Even the ones that have only invested in SEO in recent times.

This is a direct result of AI overview & LLM’s.

We are living in a zero click world.

Here’s a common scenario:

Your audience Google searches a target keyword -> AI overview appears -> You appear in AI overview because of your cited blog post -> The user brand searches you -> They convert on website -> The homepage & brand search gets the credit in analytics.

In this example, Your blog post causes the visibility – but doesn’t get the credit. And that is tricky for marketers & SEO’s. B2B customer journeys were already tricky, but this is another nail in the coffin of traditional attribution with massive developments since 2024/2025 on the SEO/attribution front.

In my LinkedIn post below, I explain that 1 of our clients had a 52% growth YOY in brand searches despite SEO being the only marketing activity in that time frame.

The reason? You guessed it.

**AI overviews & LLM’s drive more brand searches & less clicks.**

How to Adapt Your Attribution Mode

As you can see, attribution has become a real nightmare for marketers. There is no perfect solution. That said, here’s what I think can help at the time of writing:

• Add a “How did you hear about us?” question on every lead form (self-reported attribution).
• Try attribution & customer mapping tools. For example, Backstory is 1 company tackling the attribution battle marketers are facing.
• Look at heatmapping & recordings by user with MS Clarity
• Track brand search volume trends month-on-month in Google Search Console.
• Blend data sources: GA4 + Search Console + CRM.
• Stop over-analyzing daily traffic changes; look at YoY trends.
• Accept that the line between “SEO” and “brand” is now blurred.

At SERPsculpt, we have setup self-reported attribution. It’s not perfect -but it has given us a good sense of where our leads are coming from.

The ‘New’ SEO Equation for AI Overview Visibility

Old SEO was simple:

Rank high → get clicks → convert users.

New SEO looks more like this:

Earn visibility → drive brand recall → convert later.

And AI Overviews are the bridge between those two eras.

If you can combine:

• Great content (that earns citations)
• Multi-format presence (YouTube, Reddit, etc.)
• Strategic long-tail focus
• Attribution-aware analytics

…you’ll not only survive the AI Overview shift — you’ll thrive in it.

Strategy Recap: 4 Levers to Win in AI Overviews

Strategy	Why It Works	How To Implement
1. Do Good SEO	76% of cited URLs are top-10 organic results	Focus on technical SEO, intent-matched content & links
2. Think Beyond Blue Links	Reddit, YouTube, and Wikipedia are most-cited	Build omnichannel visibility
3. Barnacle SEO	Increases your surface area across the SERP	Guest posts, partnerships, PR
4. Long-Tail Queries	53% of 10+ word searches trigger AI Overviews	Target niche, specific, intent-rich queries

What This Means for Your SEO Strategy

AI Overviews don’t kill SEO — they just change the playing field.

They reward:

• Credibility
• Depth
• Format diversity
• Brand visibility

They punish:

• Thin content
• Shallow link profiles
• Single-channel dependence

If you’ve been doing SEO the right way all along — building trust, authority, and great content — this shift will actually help you.

Because it filters out the noise.

However it does mean you got to think about attribution in a new way. Whether you are one of leading B2B SEO agencies or a SaaS startup, being aware of the attribution landscape is now crucial.

Final Thoughts on AI Overviews

AI Overviews mark the biggest change to Google Search since Featured Snippets.

They’ve blurred the lines between:

• SEO and PR
• Organic and brand
• Ranking and recognition

But the game is still winnable — if you evolve your strategy.

So remember:

• 76% of AI Overview sources come from page one.
• 1% of users click a link — but 100% of them see your brand.
• Good SEO still wins. Attribution just got harder.

The marketers who adapt to this new reality — measuring visibility, not vanity — will own the next generation of search.