Optimizing Content for Google “AI Overviews”
AI Overviews differ from traditional Google Search results by providing summarized answers at the top of the page, rather than just a list of links. AI Overviews appear in Google search results when Google’s systems determine “generative responses” are more helpful to the end user. AI Overviews show when people need to see information from a range of sources.
- AI Summaries First – Instead of only showing blue links, AI Overviews generate a quick snapshot answer, pulling from multiple sources.
- Context & Deeper Exploration – Users get a concise explanation with linked sources to explore further, reducing the need to click multiple pages.
- Conversational & Intent-Based – Unlike old search results that relied purely on keywords, AI Overviews understand search intent better and provide more direct, detailed insights.
- More Diverse Sources – Traditional search favored high-ranking sites, but AI Overviews pull insights from a wider range of content creators, businesses, and retailers.
- Action-Oriented Results – AI Overviews help users complete tasks faster, offering step-by-step insights, product recommendations, and research summaries without extra clicks.
How to View SEO Results
You can view SEO performance reports in Google Search Console (a free service that helps you manage your website’s performance in organic Google Searches). It does require some setup. (You’ll need to verify ownership of your site and submit a sitemap.) Learn more about Google Search Console (GSC) here.
Best Practices for SEO in 2025
Be Unique and Clear
When you write your website copy, be sure to mention what makes your company unique and different. Talk about your approach, your expertise and show results. Your “story” needs to highlight clear value to your target audience.
Ensure accessibility (machine readable)
Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them, but also for machine learning. Things to be aware of to ensure your site is accessible according to W3C standards:
- Colors with good contrast
- Videos have captions
- Clear layout and design
- Easy to understand content
- Large links and button controls
Add Fresh Web Content
A good goal for adding new content to a site is at least once a month. This is great for adding new projects, work examples or educational content that would be useful to your audience. You should also update your service pages and/or product pages every 6-12 months. Be sure to monitor technical updates that could hinder your ability to show up in search engine results.
Build Local Authority
- Verify and update your Google Business Profile
- Get listing with your name, address and phone number (NAP) on directories
- Create content relatable to your local community
- Encourage your team to work on asking for reviews
- Use structured data markup (localbusiness schema)
- Earn local backlinks (these would be news and media outlets sharing your content and linking back to your site)
Optimize YouTube for SEO
Oftentimes YouTube is overlooked for search engine optimization. It’s easy to forget that YouTube videos also rank in Google’s search results. The power in YouTube SEO is that you can get double the visibility of your business (both on YouTube and on Google search). Here are three things you can do to update your YouTube right away:
- Add proper metadata (titles, tags, descriptions, and captions)
- Add captions to your YouTube videos (Learn more here at YouTube Studio.)
- Embed videos on your website and make a “watch page” to increase “dwell time”. There is a video indexing report in Google Search Console that shows you how many videos on your site are eligible for features on Google Search. Learn more about “watch pages”.
Use Structured Data
Using “structured data” on your website is like giving Google a cheat sheet about what’s on your website. This is above and beyond google just crawing the copy or text. There are special codes your marketing agency can use to give Google additional details that will ensure the right details show up in search results.
Even though structured data and schema markup aren’t clickable, they build credibility by making your business look more trustworthy and professional in search results. When Google understands your business better, it displays rich details like reviews, star ratings, product prices, or event times—helping users see important info at a glance before they even visit your site. This extra visibility makes your brand stand out, increasing trust and the chances that users choose your business over competitors, even before they click.
Risks of Using 100% AI Generated Content
There’s no hard rule on the percentage of web copy that should be AI-generated, but best practices suggest:
AI-assisted, but human-refined (70-80% human, 20-30% AI) – AI can generate ideas, outlines, and drafts, but humans should refine the tone, ensure accuracy, and align messaging with brand voice.
SEO-driven content (50% AI, 50% human) – AI can help with keyword optimization, metadata, and content structuring, but human expertise is needed for storytelling, credibility, and user engagement.
Product descriptions & FAQs (60-80% AI, 20-40% human) – AI can efficiently generate structured, repetitive content like e-commerce descriptions or common questions, but a human review is crucial for uniqueness.
Long-form content & thought leadership (80-90% human, 10-20% AI) – AI can assist with research, topic ideation, and summaries, but high-value, authoritative content should be original and human-driven to maintain authenticity.
Key Takeaway: AI is a great tool for efficiency, but content should always be reviewed, personalized, and optimized by humans to maintain credibility, brand identity, and audience trust. It is essential for balancing automation with the human touch in content creation.
Google AI Principles
Google recently shared a “Responsible AI Progress Report” this month (Feb 2025). They updated their AI principles to focus on responsible development, security, and transparency while continuing to innovate. The report highlights their work on AI safety testing, privacy protection, and educating people about AI risks. Google is also working on provenance technology to track AI-generated content and improve trust. Their goal is to balance progress with responsibility, adapting their approach as AI evolves.