7 Ways to Get Your Content Featured in Google's AI Overviews

Google’s AI Overviews (AIO) are changing the search landscape, answering user queries directly at the top of the SERP. For many, this is a threat. For savvy SEOs, it's an opportunity.

Getting your content cited isn't about a single trick. This guide breaks down exactly how to rank in AI overviews using 7 critical, "people-first" strategies that align with Google's core ranking systems.

To get featured in AI Overviews, focus on creating high-quality, "people-first" content that clearly demonstrates E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Structure your content to answer informational, long-tail questions directly and concisely. Use technical signals like Schema markup and a clear heading hierarchy (H2/H3) to help AI understand your page.

What Are AI Overviews (and Why Do They Matter)?

AI Overviews (formerly part of the Search Generative Experience, or SGE) are AI-generated answers that appear at the top of many Google search results. Instead of just providing links, Google now synthesizes information from multiple high-ranking pages to create a single, comprehensive answer.

Being cited in one of these overviews can establish your brand as a primary authority on a topic, even if it results in fewer direct clicks for simple queries. Your goal is to be one of the trusted sources Google’s AI uses for its information.

Here’s how to optimize for it.

7 Actionable Tips for How to Rank in AI Overviews

Tip 1: Focus on Long-Tail & Informational Queries

AI Overviews are most often triggered by complex, informational, or conversational queries—not simple one-word searches.

• Why it matters: Users asking long, specific questions (like "how to repot a monstera without it going into shock") are looking for a detailed, expert process. This is where AI Overviews shine, and where you can provide unique value that gets cited.

• How to do it:

  • Shift your keyword research from broad head terms to long-tail conversational questions.

  • Use tools like the [Semrush Keyword Magic Tool's "Questions" filter] to find what your audience is really asking.

  • Target queries that imply a "how-to," "what is," "why," or "comparison" intent.

Tip 2: Double Down on E-E-A-T (Especially "Experience")

In a world of generic AI content, Google's "Helpful Content System" prioritizes content that demonstrates real, first-hand experience. This is your single greatest advantage for influencing AI Overviews.

• Why it matters: Google wants to cite sources that have actually done the thing they're writing about. The "Experience" in E-E-A-T is how Google differentiates a real review from a scraped summary.

• How to do it:

  • Show, don't just tell: Instead of "this product is good," write "When we tested the product for 3 weeks, we found two major pros and one critical flaw..."

  • Add original media: Include unique screenshots, original photos, or videos of your process.

  • Author Bios: Add a clear author bio to every post detailing why that person is an expert on the topic.

  • Cite data: Use original research, case studies, or internal data whenever possible.

Experience in Action (Example):

Generic: "To use the tool, you just enter your keyword."

Experience-Rich: "We ran 5 competitor domains through the tool. Here is a screenshot of the output for Domain A. As you can see, the 'Opportunity' filter (highlighted in red) immediately found 3 keywords our competitor ranks for that we had missed."

Tip 3: Structure Your Content for AI Readability

AI models don't "read" your article; they parse its structure. A clean, logical structure is essential for being understood and cited.

• Why it matters: AI Overviews often pull information from clearly defined sections. If your answer is buried in a long, narrative paragraph, the AI will skip it for a competitor's clear, concise bulleted list.

• How to do it:

  • One H2, One Idea: Each H2 heading should cover one main subtopic.

  • Answer First: Answer the question posed by your H2/H3 in the very first sentence that follows it.

  • Use Lists: Use bulleted and numbered lists for steps, features, or benefits. This format is easily digestible for both humans and AI.

  • Keep Paragraphs Short: Aim for 2-4 sentences per paragraph.

Tip 4: Implement Relevant Schema Markup

Schema markup (structured data) is the "meta-language" of search. It explicitly tells Google what your content is about, removing all guesswork.

• Why it matters: This is a direct, technical signal that your content is structured to answer a specific query. AI Overviews frequently pull from content marked up with FAQPage and HowTo schema.

• How to do it:

  • FAQPage: If your page has a "Frequently Asked Questions" section, mark it up with FAQPage schema.

  • HowTo: For step-by-step tutorials (like "How to Rank in AI Overviews"), use HowTo schema to define each step.

  • Article: Ensure your blog post uses Article or BlogPosting schema, including fields for author and dateModified to boost E-E-A-T signals.

[Code block placeholder showing an example of simple FAQPage JSON-LD schema] Caption: A basic example of FAQPage structured data in JSON-LD format. You can use tools like [Semrush's Schema Markup Generator - Internal Link] to create this code.

Tip 5: Create Genuinely Unique, High-Quality Content

This has always been true for SEO, but it's critical for AI Overviews. If your article is just a rewrite of the top 5 results, why would Google's AI cite you?

• Why it matters: Google’s AI aims to provide a synthesis. It looks for unique perspectives, data points, and insights to add to its summary. Your unique value is your ticket in.

• How to do it:

  • Offer a strong opinion: Don't just list facts. Explain why they matter.

  • Provide a comparison: Show how two or more methods/products stack up.

  • Present original data: e.g., "Our study of 10,000 SERPs found that AIOs appear 40% more often on queries containing 'vs.'"].

  • Cite authoritative sources: Link out to academic studies, industry reports, or Google's own documentation to support your claims. (See Tip 7).

Tip 6: Prioritize Crawlability & Site Health

Your content can't be cited if Googlebot can't find, crawl, and render it efficiently.

• Why it matters: AI models operate on Google's index. Poor technical SEO, slow-loading pages (Core Web Vitals), or incorrect robots.txt directives can make your content invisible to the very systems you're trying to influence.

• How to do it:

  • Run a site audit: Use a tool like [Semrush's Site Audit - Internal Link] to find and fix crawl errors, broken links, and orphan pages.

  • Check Core Web Vitals: Ensure your page loads quickly and is stable.

  • Use Internal Links: Link from your high-authority pages to your new content to help Google discover it faster.

Tip 7: Build Authority & Link to Authoritative Sources

Trust (the "T" in E-E-A-T) is built on-page and off-page. AI Overviews are designed to be reliable, so they prioritize sources that are demonstrably trustworthy.

• Why it matters: Citing an unknown blog with no backlinks is risky for Google. Citing a well-known, authoritative source (like Semrush, or a site you build into an authority) is a safe bet.

• How to do it:

  • External Links (Outbound): Don't be afraid to link out to high-authority sources to back up your claims. We recommend linking to [Google's official "Helpful Content" documentation - External Link] when discussing E-E-A-T.

  • Internal Links (Inbound): Build topical authority by creating a cluster of content around your main topic and interlinking it.

  • Backlinks (Off-page): Continue to build high-quality backlinks to your content to signal to Google that other sites trust you as an authority.

Bonus: How to Track Your AI Overview Performance

You can't optimize what you don't measure. You need to know which of your keywords are triggering AIOs and whether you are being cited.

The [Semrush Position Tracking tool - Internal Link] makes this easy.

1. Set up a project in Position Tracking for your domain.

2. Add the keywords you are targeting.

3. In the main dashboard, look for the "SERP Features" filter.

4. Select the "AI Overview" feature.

This will filter your keyword list to show only the queries that trigger an AI Overview. You can then check the "SERP" column to see if your domain is one of the sites being cited.

[Screenshot of the Semrush Position Tracking tool, filtering for the "AI Overview" SERP feature.] Alt Text: The Semrush Position Tracking interface showing a list of keywords filtered by the "AI Overview" SERP feature, with a site's position highlighted.

As this is a rapidly evolving feature, other tracking solutions are also emerging. That’s why we at Topify are excited to announce that our new tracking feature is launching soon, which will provide marketers with more options for monitoring AIO performance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is the single most important factor for how to rank in AI overviews? A: While there's no single 'magic bullet,' the strongest signal is high-quality, 'people-first' content that demonstrates strong E-E-A-T (especially first-hand Experience). Clear, direct answers to user questions, combined with a well-structured page, are fundamental to being cited.

Q: How are AI Overviews different from Featured Snippets? A: A Featured Snippet typically pulls an answer from a single source and places it in a box. An AI Overview synthesizes information from multiple sources to create a new, AI-generated summary. Optimizing for one often helps with the other, as both reward clear, concise, well-structured answers.

Q: Will AI Overviews kill all website traffic? A: No, but it will change it. AIOs will likely satisfy simple, top-of-funnel queries, reducing clicks for those terms. However, users with complex, high-intent needs (e.g., product comparisons, in-depth "how-to" guides) will still click through for more detail. Your job is to become the high-detail source they click.

Q: Can I block Google from using my content in AI Overviews? A: Check latest Google developer documentation. As of late 2024, standard web controls like robots.txt may apply, but this is evolving. The current consensus is that blocking may not be possible without also blocking your content from search results entirely.]

Conclusion & Next Steps

Understanding how to rank in AI overviews is the next evolution of SEO. It requires a "people-first" approach that is backed by strong technical signals.

The common thread through all 7 tips is demonstrable quality. By focusing on real experience (E-E-A-T), building logical content structure, and proving your authority, you provide Google's AI with trustworthy, citable material.