AI Overviews Are Changing Search: How Smart Businesses Can Respond

Search is undergoing one of its biggest shifts since the rise of mobile browsing. Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs) – automatically generated summaries now appearing across a growing share of search results – are quietly reshaping how people discover information and how often they click through to websites.

For UK businesses that rely on organic search for website visibility and lead generation, this shift matters. Not because SEO is “dead”, but because customer discovery behaviours have changed more in the past 18 months than in the previous decade. The businesses that recognise and adapt to this early, will enjoy a strategic advantage; those that ignore it risk losing visibility even when their rankings haven’t changed.

This article explains what’s changing, why it’s happening and what businesses can do to stay visible in an AI-driven search landscape.

What Exactly Are Google’s AI Overviews?

AI Overviews are short, instant summaries that Google places above traditional search results. They synthesise information from multiple sources, offering users a direct answer without requiring them to click through to a website.

For users, this is convenient. For businesses, it means that even top-ranking pages may see fewer clicks, simply because Google is giving the user the answer upfront.

The rollout began in the US, but expanded significantly across the UK during this year. Even if a UK business hasn’t noticed major declines yet, most will be affected as AIO coverage increases.

How Common Are AI Overviews?

Contrary to early fears, AIOs don’t appear on every query – but the amount of subjects and queries they do appear for are ever growing:

Industry analysis earlier this year suggested that AI Overviews increased from 6.49% of all U.S. desktop searches in January 2025 to 13.14% just 2 months later in March.
More recently, new research revealed AIOs now appear for around 1 in every 5 searches on average.
UK penetration is slightly lower today but rising steadily.
Based on Google’s historical rollout patterns, analysts expect coverage to expand to 25% of all generic queries (i.e. non-branded) by late 2026.

This isn’t a total reshaping of search. It’s a creeping evolution, but one with a clear, measurable impact.

Are AI Overviews Reducing Clicks? The Evidence

Several independent studies highlight a noticeable shift in user behaviour when an AI Overview is present.

One study summarised in mid-2025 by Pew Research and covered by Search Engine Land found:

When an AIO appears, only 8% of searches result in a click to a traditional organic result.
Without an AIO, the equivalent figure is around 15%.
Links within AI Overviews themselves receive barely 1% of clicks.
Users are more likely to end the search entirely after reading the AIO summary, suggesting that Google is increasingly acting as both the search engine and the answer.

In practical terms, even if your website still ranks #1 or #2, the click-through rate (CTR) may significantly drop if an AI Overview is shown above the organic search results.

Across the UK, many businesses are already seeing the pattern of steady rankings but falling organic traffic. In many of these cases, the businesses haven’t yet realised AI Overviews are the reason.

Why Is This Happening? A Shift in User Intent

AI Overviews fundamentally change how users interact with Google.

1. Quick answers no longer require a click

For “what is…”, “how to…”, or other simple factual queries, users increasingly get what they need directly from the AI Overview.

2. More complex or commercial queries still favour traditional results

When a user is looking for a service provider, product or local business, they’re far more likely to scroll past the AIO and evaluate the real businesses below.

3. Google is positioning itself as the “final answer”

As generative AI becomes more confident, Google is reducing friction by giving people the information where they already are – the search results page. The emerging pattern isn’t fewer searches, but fewer low-intent clicks.

What This Means for Businesses

The impact of AI Overviews varies by industry and by query, but the general picture is clear with some real risks and some equally real opportunities:

Risks

Informational content may lose visibility.
FAQ-style traffic (e.g., “what does X mean?”) is most vulnerable.
Generic content that doesn’t demonstrate expertise may be summarised away by AI.

Opportunities

Local intent searches remain far more resistant to AIO takeover.
Commercial and service-led queries still drive strong traffic.
Businesses with strong authority signals (reviews, mentions, trustworthy content) are more likely to be referenced by AI systems, particularly for opinion-based queries.

A key components of these changes is that traffic quality increases even as click-through volume decreases. Those who do click are more serious prospects.

Beyond SEO: The Rise of AI Search Optimisation

Traditional SEO focuses on rankings. Although rankings still matter, in an AI-driven search environment an additional layer is emerging: AI Search Optimisation (sometimes called Generative Engine Optimisation). Put simply, AISO is about making your content more “referenceable” by AI systems.

Recent research into large-scale generative search behaviour highlights several patterns:

AI systems prefer content with clearly structured information.
Short, factual statements and explicit definitions are more likely to be cited.
Consistent metadata and schema markup help AI understand and summarise content accurately.
Websites with strong authority and external trust signals are prioritised when AI systems decide which sources to reference.

This is not about writing for robots, it’s about writing clear, trustworthy content that humans and AI can both interpret without ambiguity.

How Smart Businesses Can Stay Visible in an AI-First Search Landscape

Here’s how forward-thinking companies can adapt:

1. Make your content AI-friendly

Focus on clarity, use straightforward explanations and well-structured pages. Break down complex topics into sections that can be easily referenced.

2. Strengthen your authority footprint

Google’s AI systems pull most confidently from brands they “trust”. That trust is built through:

Independent citations.
Strong reviews.
PR coverage.
Expert-led content (focussing on E.E.A.T.)

3. Use structured data (schema) properly

Schema helps Google and AI models understand your services, pricing, FAQs, contact information, specialisms and more. It’s not technical trickery, it’s modern SEO hygiene.

4. Target searches AI cannot replace

When planning content for your site, it’s useful to know that AI struggles to summarise:

Local intent.
Specialist expertise.
Personalised services.
Complex industry-specific queries.

This is where UK businesses can continue to win meaningful visibility.

5. Evaluate your content strategy

Not all blog posts are equal anymore. Evergreen guides, specialist insight pieces and case studies still attract valuable traffic. Thin or generic posts will increasingly be answered by AI instead, with no need for the user to click through to the original content.

6. Monitor how your keywords behave with AIO presence

Your keyword strategy now needs to include tracking:

Where AIOs appear.
How impressions change.
Shifts in click-through behaviour.

This is less about rankings and more about understanding search experiences.

What the Next Two to Three Years Are Likely to Bring

Based on current trends, several developments are highly probable:

AI Overviews will expand, but not to every query. Google will be cautious where accuracy or liability matters.
Traffic volumes will continue to shift, but businesses providing genuine expertise and original thoughts will still win clicks.
Brand authority will become a core ranking signal, not just a “nice to have”.
High-intent SEO will grow in importance, as low-intent queries increasingly receive AI answers.
Businesses that adapt early will build a lasting advantage, as competitors will be slower to respond.

Search isn’t disappearing, but it is becoming more selective.

Conclusion: Adaptation Beats Anxiety

AI Overviews represent a meaningful change in how Google provides answers, but this need not be a crisis for businesses that stay proactive. The businesses that succeed in an AI-driven search landscape will be those that:

Communicate with clarity.
Demonstrate genuine authority and expert knowledge.
Create content worth citing.
Understand where AI helps and where it cannot replace them.

The fundamentals of digital visibility haven’t vanished, but they are evolving. Smart businesses must continue to evolve their content strategy along with them. By understanding these changes and the direction of travel into the future, new content strategies can be created and quality traffic can still be won.

If you’d like help assessing how AI search is affecting your visibility or you need support adapting your digital strategy, contact the experts at C4B Media today and we’ll be happy to help.