AIO results are an increasing source of traffic
The way we search continues to evolve.
No doubt you’ve googled something, and the first thing that pops up is a summary paragraph.
These summaries are becoming more popular by the day.
In the US, they covered roughly 6% of queries at the start of 2025, and now are appearing in half of all searches.
And being directly cited by these overviews can earn brands over twice as many organic clicks.
Clearly, those brands that can get themselves featured by these summaries stand to benefit.
So how can your business get a piece of this lucrative action?
This article will look at how AI overviews work and how you can best position your business to feature in them.
How AI overviews work
Normally, the aim of AI overviews is to answer your question with information that isn’t from any one particular site. Instead, they build a picture from several trusted sources. They’re often called zero-click results, and that term is worth examining in more detail.
If one of these summaries answers a user’s question right there on the first page of search results, they are less likely to click through to any of the sites listed.
AI overviews can seriously damage the click through rates of search results when they appear. That’s because the user often finds the answer to the question they’ve asked without having to click through any links at all.
But the picture is slightly different for brands mentioned directly in these overviews. Brands may be more likely to be mentioned when the searcher has a clear intent, like asking, “how to find a good value sofa.” This may trigger a mention of companies that could fit what the user is looking for and generate brand citations within the overview.
Consistent narratives
Since AI overviews draw their information from multiple sources, your brand is more likely to be featured if it’s been mentioned in several places as the answer to a query. Third party mentions of your business reinforce the perception that it is a valid option.
Actionable advice
If the aim is to give the user all the information they need without clicking through to a site, then publishing content with clear steps and instructions is going to help you get mentioned. Think about the questions users might ask that could lead them to you and build pages which answer that one question clearly.
Including the “why” behind your advice (once you’ve outlined clear key steps) is also helpful, providing a secondary level of explanation that can help to validate your answer. Unique perspectives and personal methods also perform well, offering takeaways beyond generic advice.
Client stories, specific scenarios, and case studies can all help to reinforce your credibility, demonstrate real experience and expertise in the topic, and help your chances of being cited.
Detailed information
Generic marketing fluff will get you nowhere. Be clear about specific services offered, the exact locations you serve, and how to get in contact with you. If a user searches for shipping companies in Bristol and two results come up, one with photos, reviews, a service list, and a phone number, the other a generic website, it won’t be much of a contest.
Using proper scheme markup can help search engines understand the key facts of your business and deliver those to interested parties.
Be conversational and genuinely helpful
Tone is important too. Writing like you’re talking to a friend fits with the style that many LLMs adopt when answering user queries. It’s also a reason why content from sites like Reddits, where users have authentic interactions, are often pulled into these AI overviews.
That leads us onto a final piece of advice: if you can help your customers online, do so! Find the forums where they are asking for advice and offer it, no strings attached. Doing so might feel like “giving away the secrets” to some, but in this new age of search, providing genuine value is a worthwhile investment.