# AI Overviews

Category: [AI Search & GEO](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/ai-search-geo/) › [AI search & answer engines](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/ai-search-geo/ai-search-answer-engines/) · Also known as: Google AI Overview, Search Generative Experience, SGE

**AI Overviews** are AI-generated summaries that Google Search shows above the regular results for some queries. They answer the question in a few paragraphs or bullet points and link to the web pages the answer is based on. Google describes them as a quick way to get the gist of a topic, with links for going deeper.

## How are AI Overviews created?

Google uses a Gemini model customized for Search. According to Google Search Central, AI Overviews and AI Mode rely on query fan-out. The system issues several related searches across subtopics and data sources and combines the results into one response. Google says this lets the overview link to a wider and more diverse set of pages than a single search would.

Whether an overview appears is decided per query. Google shows one when its systems judge it more helpful than the standard results alone.

## Where did AI Overviews come from?

Google announced the Search Generative Experience (SGE) on May 10, 2023 as an opt-in experiment in Search Labs, available in the U.S. in English. On May 14, 2024, Google announced that the feature, now named AI Overviews, would roll out to all users in the U.S. Expansion to other countries and languages followed in stages. The label SGE is outdated and only appears in older articles.

## What do AI Overviews mean for websites?

Google states that pages need to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet to be linked in an AI Overview. There are no additional technical requirements, special files or schema types. A page Googlebot cannot crawl or index will not appear.

Site owners have three levels of control:

- `nosnippet`, `data-nosnippet` and `max-snippet` limit which text can be used.
- `noindex` removes a page from Google Search entirely.
- A Search Console setting, rolled out worldwide by August 31, 2026, excludes a whole site from Google's generative AI features without affecting regular rankings.

For measurement, clicks from AI Overviews count toward the Web search type in the Performance report. The separate Generative AI performance report shows how often links to a site appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode, broken down by page, country and device. It reports impressions only.

## Example

As an illustrative example, a search for "difference between 301 and 302 redirect" can trigger an AI Overview. It explains both status codes in a few lines and links the pages it drew from, such as developer documentation and tutorials. The organic results follow below.

## Frequently asked questions

**How do I get my site into an AI Overview?**
There is no separate submission. Pages need to be indexed, snippet-eligible and relevant to the query or one of its sub-queries.

**Is an AI Overview the same as ChatGPT?**
No. AI Overviews are part of Google Search and are built from Google's index. ChatGPT is a separate product from OpenAI with its own search crawler.

**Should I trust Google AI Overviews?**
Google labels generative AI features as able to make mistakes. Shortly after the 2024 launch, Google acknowledged "odd and erroneous overviews" and described more than a dozen technical improvements. Checking the linked sources is the safest approach.

## At a glance

- **Type:** AI-generated summary above the search results
- **Since:** announced for the U.S. on May 14, 2024 (SGE experiment from May 10, 2023)
- **Requirements for links:** page indexed and eligible for a snippet, no additional requirements
- **Visible?:** impressions in the Search Console generative AI performance report
- **Docs:** [Google: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)

Last checked: October 8, 2026

*Diagram: Query fan-out.* A page can appear in the answer because it answers one sub-question well, without ranking for the original question (an inference from the method, not a Google statement).

## AI search: from ChatGPT to AI Mode

- **November 30, 2022:** OpenAI releases ChatGPT as a free research preview. The model is based on the GPT-3.5 series. ([Source](https://openai.com/index/chatgpt/))
- **February 6, 2023:** Google announces its conversational AI service Bard and opens it to trusted testers first. ([Source](https://blog.google/technology/ai/bard-google-ai-search-updates/))
- **February 7, 2023:** Microsoft launches the new Bing with AI chat and complete answers inside search. ([Source](https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/02/07/reinventing-search-with-a-new-ai-powered-microsoft-bing-and-edge-your-copilot-for-the-web/))
- **May 10, 2023:** Google introduces the Search Generative Experience (SGE) as an experiment in Search Labs. At launch it is limited to the US and English. ([Source](https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-search/))
- **November 15, 2023:** Microsoft renames Bing Chat to Copilot. General availability follows from December 1, 2023. ([Source](https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/11/15/microsoft-ignite-2023-ai-transformation-and-the-technology-driving-change/))
- **May 14, 2024:** At Google I/O, Google announces AI Overviews for everyone in the US, with more countries to follow. ([Source](https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-google-search-may-2024/))
- **July 24, 2024:** Bing previews its generative search experience. At first it appears for a small share of queries only. ([Source](https://blogs.bing.com/search/July-2024/generativesearch))
- **July 25, 2024:** OpenAI tests SearchGPT as a temporary prototype with a small group of users and publishers. ([Source](https://openai.com/index/searchgpt-prototype/))
- **October 28, 2024:** AI Overviews roll out in more than 100 countries and territories. Google expects more than 1 billion monthly users. ([Source](https://blog.google/products/search/ai-overviews-search-october-2024/))
- **October 31, 2024:** OpenAI launches ChatGPT search, first for paying users and the SearchGPT waitlist. Answers link to their sources. ([Source](https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-search/))
- **December 11, 2024:** Google launches Deep Research in Gemini Advanced. It browses the web on its own and compiles a report. ([Source](https://blog.google/products/gemini/google-gemini-deep-research/))
- **December 16, 2024:** ChatGPT search becomes available to all logged-in users in regions where ChatGPT is offered. ([Source](https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-search/))
- **February 2, 2025:** OpenAI introduces deep research in ChatGPT, starting with Pro users. ([Source](https://openai.com/index/introducing-deep-research/))
- **February 5, 2025:** ChatGPT search becomes available without signing up in all regions where ChatGPT is offered. ([Source](https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-search/))
- **March 5, 2025:** Google introduces AI Mode as an experiment in Search Labs. Google One AI Premium subscribers get access first. ([Source](https://blog.google/products/search/ai-mode-search/))
- **March 20, 2025:** Anthropic adds web search with citations to Claude. It launches as a preview for paid users in the US. ([Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/web-search))
- **March 26, 2025:** AI Overviews launch in Germany in German and English, together with other European countries. They are shown to signed-in users aged 18 and over. ([Source](https://blog.google/intl/de-de/produkte/suchen-entdecken/uebersicht-mit-ki-start/))
- **May 20, 2025:** At Google I/O, Google rolls out AI Mode to everyone in the US, with no Labs sign-up needed. ([Source](https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-ai-mode-update/))
- **May 20, 2025:** AI Overviews are available in more than 200 countries and territories and in more than 40 languages. ([Source](https://blog.google/products/search/ai-overview-expansion-may-2025-update/))
- **May 27, 2025:** Web search in Claude becomes available globally on all plans. ([Source](https://www.anthropic.com/news/web-search))
- **June 16, 2025:** Data from AI Mode counts towards the totals in the Search Console Performance report. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#ai-mode-is-now-counting-towards-totals-in-search-console))
- **October 8, 2025:** AI Mode launches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as part of an expansion to more than 40 new countries and territories. ([Source](https://blog.google/intl/de-de/produkte/suchen-entdecken/ki-modus-startet-in-dach/))
- **June 3, 2026:** Search Console adds dedicated performance reports for generative AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, first for a subset of sites. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports))
- **August 31, 2026:** The Search Console reports on generative AI features become available to all websites worldwide. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports))

## Not to be confused with

- [AI Mode](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/ai-mode/index.md): is a separate view in Google Search where the AI response continues as a conversation with follow-up questions. AI Overviews sit on the regular results page.

## Related terms

- [AI Mode](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/ai-mode/index.md)
- [GEO (generative engine optimization)](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/geo/index.md)
- [Query fan-out](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/query-fan-out/index.md)
- [Grounding](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/grounding/index.md)

## Sources

- [AI features and your website – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)
- [Supercharging Search with generative AI – Google Blog, 2023-05-10](https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-search/)
- [Generative AI in Search: Let Google do the searching for you – Google Blog, 2024-05-14](https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-google-search-may-2024/)
- [AI Overviews – Google Search](https://search.google/ways-to-search/ai-overviews/)
- [AI Overviews: About last week – Google Blog, 2024-05-30](https://blog.google/products/search/ai-overviews-update-may-2024/)
- [Generative AI performance report – Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139)
- [Search generative AI features control – Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16908024)
- [AI Overviews – Wikipedia (secondary source for timeline and 2024 errors)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_Overviews)

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Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/ai-overviews/