What’s Going on With Google’s AI Overviews?

Earlier this year, Google rolled out its much-anticipated AI overviews. And it resulted in a major disruption in the SEO space. It’s leaving many people wondering whether Google AI has killed SEO and if investing in content marketing is worth it anymore. Here, we’re diving into the Google AI SEO implications and helping you decide if you should continue to create content on your site.

What are AI Overviews?

Google first rolled out Google Search Generative Experience, which then became known as AI overviews. When someone inputs a query into Google, it uses AI to scour the web and find relevant information for that person’s question. In theory, this sounds great. Who doesn’t love a streamlined process? But, there were some bugs early on.

What’s Wrong with AI Overviews?

At the time of writing this article, AI doesn’t understand humor and the nuances of human communication. Many speculate it might have been pulling jokes from sites like Reddit or The Onion and assuming it was accurate information. That’s why it started giving answers that weren’t correct and were potentially harmful to searchers. For example, someone searched “how many rocks should you eat per day,” and it came up with this answer:

Image credit: UC Berkeley Library

UC Berkeley had to come out with a statement saying that isn’t true. So, AI overviews were giving information that could harm both human health and the reputation of esteemed organizations like UC Berkeley.

And that’s not the only example. One person searched “how to keep cheese from sliding off pizza” and the AI overview suggested adding glue to the recipe. That’s not a great suggestion if you ask me.

What Is Google Doing About AI Overviews?

Google recognizes that it can’t be promoting false information like this, which has led the organization to scale back AI overviews. This is especially true in ‘Your Money or Your Life’ categories. A recent study from SE Ranking showed that the frequency of AI overviews in search results has decreased from 64% to 8%. Another study from BrightEdge reports that Google’s AI overviews dropped from 84% of queries to 15%. But, even though AI overviews have dropped significantly, they’re still having a great impact on SEO.

Google AI and SEO: What’s the Impact?

Since Google announced its plan to incorporate AI into search results, the SEO industry has been trying to figure out how that will impact organic traffic. Many have hinted at a catastrophic drop in traffic that could harm websites and lead flow. A study by Bounteous suggests an 18-64% decrease in organic traffic, especially involving informational-type queries.

So, you might be wondering, “With this Google AI SEO stuff, should I stop investing in content altogether?” After all, putting keyword-optimized content on your website is the key driver of organic traffic. With AI giving overviews at the top of the Google search results, is it worth it to put content out there anymore?

The answer to your question? You should actually double down on content, according to ex-Google employee, Pedro Dias. But, it should be a specific type of content.

“We need to understand how we can distinguish between instant answer traffic and users who want to consume our content,” he said in an interview with Search Engine Journal. “And this is the area where we should put our efforts. Focus on building content for the people who don’t want the summary or the quick answer. Those who want to ‘read the book’ and consume the details to augment their knowledge.”

According to Dias, this approach will require businesses and content creators to get more selective with the traffic they’re targeting. Rather than a “take all the traffic you can get” mentality, you should instead leverage Google to provide targeted traffic that you can then transfer into your community.

This means there will be an increased reliance on business owners to provide information that cannot be discovered by AI. AI can give searchers information that covers broad concepts in a variety of categories. But it can’t provide nitty-gritty details that are most helpful to consumers and decision makers.

Take an example from one of our clients that makes plasma cutting machines. We wrote an in-depth article about the heat-affected zone (HAZ) with plasma cutting, getting exclusive information from the client. Within a month of publishing, we heard from the client that this content is a huge reason for a potential six-year contract with a major company. When our client shared that blog, the potential customer was impressed at the level of nuance. They noted our client was the only company that captured the research behind plasma cutting and its capabilities.

This shows that in-depth, human-written content will win every time in delivering difference-making traffic. And with the influx of AI-written content on the web, you need to double down on this human-first content. Of course, your company will have to decide what it’s willing to give away for free and what needs to be gated. But, offering this detailed information is what’s going to get you those quality leads. You’ll beat the competition that AI overviews are putting out there and create loyal customers.

Need Copy That Converts? Trust NgageContent

Human-generated content will always beat AI. At NgageContent, we have over 10 years of experience crafting content that sells. We work with you to determine what content gaps exist in your industry, creating blogs, web content, emails, and more that position you as a leader in your space.

But our services go beyond that, too. From website design to HubSpot implementation and more, we do it all. When you work with us, you get a team dedicated to your success for years to come. We can help you overcome the Google AI SEO dilemma and garner quality leads for your business. Contact us today for an initial consultation.