The AI Overview is the new position one. Here's what triggers it, how it picks its citations, and how to become one of them.
Google AI Overviews summarise an answer from pages that already rank well for the query, weighted toward content that answers directly, demonstrates first-hand expertise and carries valid structured data. To be cited: rank for the underlying query, put the answer in your first paragraph, and mark the page up with schema.
Overviews trigger most on question-shaped and research-stage queries — "how much does X cost", "what's the best way to Y", "X vs Y" — and least on navigational or high-stakes transactional searches. For service businesses this means the research phase of your customer's journey now happens inside the Overview, before they ever see your ad or listing. The brands named there enter the shortlist; everyone else doesn't exist.
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List the 20 questions your customers ask before buying. For each: check whether an Overview appears, note who's cited, then build (or restructure) a page that answers the question in its first paragraph with evidence below — pricing factors, process, local specifics, real expertise. Mark it up with FAQ schema. Track citation changes monthly alongside your assistant tests. The pages that win Overviews also feed ChatGPT and Perplexity retrieval — one effort, every platform.
Related: the complete AI search guide — or check your foundations with the score calculator.