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THOUGHTS / BEGINNERS GUIDE 23 May 2025 7 MIN READ

What Are Google AI Overviews and What Do They Mean for Your Website?

If you have searched Google recently, you may have noticed a new box at the very top of the results — before any website links — with an AI-generated answer to your question. These are Google AI Overviews, and they are causing a lot of concern among small business owners who rely on Google to bring in customers. Here is an honest, plain-English look at what they are and what they actually mean for your site.

Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of some search results, giving users an instant answer without needing to click through to any website. They are most common for general information questions. For local searches — "plumber in Sheffield", "hairdresser near me" — AI Overviews rarely appear, and Google Maps results still dominate. For most small service businesses, the practical impact is modest. The best response is the same as it has always been: a fast, clearly written website with useful, specific content about what you do and where you do it.

Google began rolling out AI Overviews (previously called Search Generative Experience, or SGE) in the US in 2024, and expanded them to the UK and other markets through 2025 and into 2026. They represent one of the biggest changes to how Google presents search results in years.

It is understandable that small business owners feel nervous. When a user can get an answer from Google without clicking any link, the concern is that fewer people will visit your website. Let us look at when that concern is valid and when it is not.

What Google AI Overviews Actually Are

When you type a question into Google, the search engine has always tried to find the most relevant web pages to show you. AI Overviews add a new step: Google's AI reads through multiple web pages, synthesises the information, and writes a summary answer directly in the search results.

This summary appears in a coloured box at the top of the page, above all the traditional blue-link results. It typically includes small citations — links to the sources it drew from — but many users read the summary and do not click any of them.

AI Overviews are most likely to appear for:

  • General information questions ("what is a privacy policy", "how do I remove a virus from my phone")
  • How-to searches ("how to repot a plant", "how to write a cover letter")
  • Comparison questions ("what is the difference between a limited company and a sole trader")

They are much less likely to appear for:

  • Local service searches ("electrician in Bristol", "dog groomer near me")
  • Transactional searches ("buy", "book", "order")
  • Searches that require up-to-date or highly specific local information
  • Searches where Google's own Maps and Business Profile results already dominate the page

Should Small Business Owners Be Worried?

The concern is real but often overstated for local service businesses. Here is why.

If your business gets enquiries because someone searched "carpenter in Leeds" or "wedding photographer Nottingham", Google is not going to replace that search with an AI summary. These are intent-driven, local searches where Google knows the user wants to find and contact a real business — not read a general explanation. Google's local results, Maps listings, and Google Business Profiles remain the primary output for these searches.

The businesses most affected by AI Overviews are those whose main traffic came from informational content — blog posts and guides that answered general questions. If a significant portion of your website visits came from people searching "what is [thing]" or "how to do [thing]", your organic traffic from those searches may decline as AI answers satisfy those queries directly.

For most local service businesses, Google AI Overviews change very little. The searches that bring you customers are still handled the same way.

What It Means If Your Website Is Cited in an AI Overview

There is also a positive side that gets less attention. When Google's AI does cite a source, that source gets a link displayed to millions of users. Being cited in an AI Overview can drive meaningful traffic — arguably more qualified traffic, because the user already knows something about what you offer before they click.

Google appears to favour sources that are:

  • Written clearly and directly, without excessive padding
  • Specific and authoritative rather than generic
  • Well-structured with clear headings and concise answers
  • From websites with a track record of being cited and trusted

In other words: the content practices that have always produced good SEO results also make you more likely to be cited in an AI Overview. There is no special technical trick.

Can You Opt Out of Google AI Overviews?

Not directly, and not in a targeted way. You can use the nosnippet meta tag to tell Google not to use your page content for snippets — but this also removes you from featured snippets, knowledge panels, and other rich results, which is usually not worth the tradeoff.

The more practical approach is to ensure your website content is accurate, well-structured, and specific enough that if Google does use it as a source, it represents your business well — and gives users a reason to click through for the full picture.

What You Should Actually Do

The honest answer to "what should I change about my website because of AI Overviews?" is: not very much, if your site is already well built.

  • Keep your Google Business Profile updated. For local searches, your Business Profile listing matters more than ever. Make sure your address, phone number, opening hours, and photos are current. This is the single highest-impact action for most local businesses.
  • Focus on intent, not just keywords. Write your website content for people who are ready to hire or buy — not just people asking general questions. Specific service pages ("bathroom tiling in Manchester") are more durable than general blog posts on broad topics.
  • Make your website fast and easy to use. When a user does click through from Google — whether from an AI Overview citation or a regular result — a slow or confusing website loses them immediately. Speed and clarity have always mattered; they matter even more now.
  • Do not panic-redesign. The search landscape is changing, but the fundamentals of a good small business website have not. A clear description of what you do, where you do it, who you do it for, and how to get in touch — combined with a fast, accessible, well-structured site — remains the right foundation.

Frequently asked

Will Google AI Overviews reduce traffic to my website?
For some websites, yes — particularly those that relied heavily on informational blog content to attract visitors. For local service businesses whose enquiries come from searches like "plumber in [town]" or "accountant near me", the impact is much smaller because AI Overviews rarely appear for those searches. Google's local results and Business Profile listings still dominate local service queries.
How do I get my website cited in a Google AI Overview?
There is no guaranteed method. Google selects sources based on relevance, clarity, and authority. The best approach is to write clearly and specifically — answer common questions about your service directly, use descriptive headings, and avoid padding your content with filler. Websites that already rank well for a topic tend to be cited more often. Strong technical foundations (fast load times, proper structure, no errors) also help.
Should I stop writing blog posts because of AI Overviews?
Not entirely, but the bar for a blog post worth writing has risen. Generic articles that summarise widely available information are now much less likely to drive traffic, because AI can produce a comparable summary. More specific, experience-based content — case studies, local guides, how-you-specifically-approach-a-job posts — is harder for AI to replicate and more likely to resonate with the visitors who do find it.
Is this the same as ChatGPT search?
No, though they are related concepts. Google AI Overviews are built into Google's own search engine and draw from Google's index of the web. ChatGPT's browsing feature and tools like Perplexity are separate products that also answer questions using web sources. The underlying technology is similar, but these are different services. For small business owners, Google remains far and away the most important search platform in the UK — and that is where your focus should be.

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