Matthew Widdop
Matty is a Junior SEO Executive at Intelligency, helping our clients to improve their digital performance. Matty is currently studying for his Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer apprenticeship and has completed a Sport Journalism Degree at the University of Huddersfield.
What are AI Overviews
AI Overviews are AI-generated answers on Google’s search engine results page (SERP) that answer consumer queries. This is beneficial to users because it gives a comprehensive answer to queries by pulling information from all the most reliable sources on the web, meaning users no longer have to click through on to web pages and saving the end user time.
How do AI Overviews affect Website Performance
Since the introduction of AI Overviews, many websites have seen a reduction in traffic on their sites as users can now get their answers directly on the SERP. We can see this in Marisa Jones’ article for EMarketer, “Google AI Overviews in search results significantly decrease clickthrough rates (CTRs) for top ranking pages compared to similar informational keywords without AI Overviews. The presence of an AI Overview in search results correlated with a 34.5% lower average CTR.”
This is currently mainly affecting sites that are ranking for informational and question-based searches, as AI Overviews aren’t being used for searches where users are actively looking to buy something.
Googles Latest Comments
Despite the fact that AI Overviews are affecting CTR to sites, Google has claimed this week that AI Overviews generate the same amount of advertising revenue as traditional search. This may come as a surprise to many who have seen a decline in traffic since the introduction of AI Overviews however, Google is expanding AI Overview advertising with ads being integrated in or near AI overviews on a global scale.
Why should Marketers care?
If Google continues to take the position that AI Overviews are not detrimental to PPC advertising and CTRs continue to drop, then this could be a negative for marketers trying to rank for certain informational queries. A good way to try and combat this is to try and rank for non-informational queries where AI Overviews aren’t currently being used, especially when spending advertising budget.
