BrightEdge’s latest research provides a glimpse into the query types that typically trigger Google AI Overviews (AIO), shedding light on which queries and industries see more prevalence of these features.
The study reveals significant disparities in the frequency of AI Overviews across various industries, correlating with the prevalence of specific query types. Conversely, certain sectors encounter fewer AIO search features, highlighting a reverse effect in their visibility.
Google Search: A Paradigm Shift?
BrightEdge suggests this is the most significant paradigm shift in decades, but that understates the recent transformations in Google search, not just those in 2024. Many don’t need to realize that Google Search has functioned as an AI-driven engine since at least 2015, starting with RankBrain and subsequent backend enhancements.
This year’s notable change is AI’s more conspicuous presence as a featured element in Search, mainly supplanting the role previously held by Featured Snippets. Equally noteworthy, there may have been a foundational infrastructure change at the onset of 2024.
Google Search: A Paradigm Shift?
BrightEdge suggests this is the most significant paradigm shift in decades, but that understates the recent transformations in Google search, not just those in 2024. Many don’t need to realize that Google Search has functioned as an AI-driven engine since at least 2015, starting with RankBrain and subsequent backend enhancements.
This year’s notable change is AI’s more conspicuous presence as a featured element in Search, mainly supplanting the role previously held by Featured Snippets. Equally noteworthy, there may have been a foundational infrastructure change at the onset of 2024.
Understanding AIO Triggers
According to BrightEdge’s findings, Featured Snippets and interrogative queries are primary triggers for the AIO feature. Featured Snippets provide direct answers sourced from web pages, and BrightEdge observed a higher likelihood of AI Overviews appearing alongside these snippets.
Understanding Exclusions of AI Overviews
BrightEdge’s research revealed that local search queries were the least likely to trigger an AI Overview search result. This aligns with the nature of these queries, which typically seek structured information such as business names, addresses, and phone numbers—details that are not effectively summarized.
Similarly, queries generating sitelinks were also less likely to trigger AIO. Sitelinks appear in search results for branded queries, offering direct links to specific pages within a website (e.g., women’s clothes, men’s clothes for a clothing store). These types of queries are best served with direct data rather than a summarized overview.
Verticals Where AIO Are Most Common
The presence of AI Overviews in search results varied significantly across different verticals or specific industries and topics. This diversity does not necessarily imply Google’s targeted prioritization of specific verticals to display more AIO. Instead, it reflects the functionality’s alignment with the usefulness of features, which Search Quality Raters rigorously assess.
Healthcare-related queries notably resulted in AI Overviews approximately 63% of the time, reflecting their information-seeking nature.
In contrast, B2B technology queries triggered AIO results 32% of the time, while ecommerce searches yielded AI Overviews in 23% of cases.
Comparing AIO and SGE: Insights from BrightEdge
A noteworthy finding is that AI Overviews (AIO) are triggered 20% less frequently than Search Generative Experience (SGE) answers were.
BrightEdge’s analysis provides three key insights into why AIO are less prevalent compared to experimental SGE:
- AI is becoming more precise in generating helpful experiences.
- AI is now better at addressing user needs by providing summaries, recommendations, or conversational interactions.
- Google’s selection of answers has improved over time.
According to BrightEdge, Google’s enhancements include better anticipation of follow-up questions, enabling more comprehensive AI search summaries that effectively address user inquiries.
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