What is AIO in Google Search?
Appearing in 2025, AI Overviews (AIO) are a feature that provide a quick, AI-generated summary of key information which has been gathered from multiple other sources (websites, forums, Facebook groups, etc.). This overview (which is generated by AI) appears at the top of search results.
Think of AIO as Google acting like a librarian: instead of handing you a stack of books, it quickly reads them, pulls out the clearest explanations, and summarizes the key points for you at the top of the page—while citing where those pieces came from.
Links from where the information came are “cited” and not as visible as websites previously were.
Who Should Read This Series
We’ve aimed to simplify AIO for marketers who manage their brand’s website, content, or Google presence and small business owners that realize they need to maintain their visibility in Google.
What You’ll Learn
This guide will highlight practical strategies to adapt your marketing strategy in an AI-first search era whether you are an ecommerce business, a local business usually found in Google Maps or have typically relied on being visible further down Google for people to find you.
Is AIO Replacing the Traditional Google Search Results?
AIO does not replace traditional results, but sit above them, which makes understanding how it works important for any business focused on visibility. AIO changes how information is displayed, but it doesn’t wipe out traditional SEO or paid search. SEO is not dead 🙂
When and Where AIO Appears
AI Overviews don’t appear for every search; their appearance is typically based on intent and complexity. Google triggers them when it believes an AI-generated summary will help users understand a topic more quickly or clearly.
Common Triggers:
Informational Queries
These are the most common query types:
- “What is heat stroke?”
- “How does compound interest work?”
- “Why does my phone overheat?”
AIO tends to appear when users are looking for explanations or definitions.
Multi-Step Queries
When a user’s query requires several steps or pulled-together information:
- “How to clean tile grout”
- “Best exercises for lower back pain”
- “How to compare electric vs gas lawn mowers”
Decision-Support Queries
AIO helps users weigh options or compare factors:
- “Which treadmill is best for small spaces?”
- “Pros and cons of organic dog food”
Sensitive topics (health, finance, safety)
AIO appears selectively, with frequent disclaimers for topics known as Your Money, Your Life (YMYL).
Commercial Queries
Commercial Queries AIO appears less frequently when clear commercial intent exists (e.g., “buy running shoes”).
How To Ensure You are Visible in AIO
AIO doesn’t surface the same way for every type of business. The steps you take to become visible depend on how people normally find you in Google – through product listings, through Google Maps, or through traditional organic search results.
This intro won’t cover those strategies in depth, but it will help you understand where to go next:
- Ecommerce businesses: AIO interacts with shopping queries through product feeds, structured data, and shopping intent.
- Local businesses: AIO can influence the visibility of the map pack and local results.
- Businesses relying on organic search: These sites need to focus on clear informational content that AIO can easily pull from.
- Advertisers: AIO can shift impression share, search terms, and ad visibility, so ad strategy may need adjustment.
Each of these is explored in its own guide in this series. Start with the one that matches how customers find you today.
