What areAI Overviews?
The AI summary sits above the regular results, and whether your page is linked in it depends on conditions you can check yourself.
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Check your AI visibility or call: +49 151 1576 5566AI Overviews, called “Übersicht mit KI” in German Google Search, are AI-generated summaries that Google shows above the classic search results and backs up with links to websites. In Germany they have been live since 26 March 2025, in German and English, for signed-in users aged 18 and over. According to Google, a page qualifies as a source if it is indexed and eligible for a snippet.
- Google shows the summary on its own when it seems helpful, and users cannot switch it off.
- According to Google, sources come from the same ranking and quality systems as regular Search.
- In a Pew Research Center study, users clicked a result on 8 percent of searches with an AI summary and on 15 percent without one.
How Google picks sources for AI Overviews and what that means for you
Google says the AI features of Search rest on its core ranking and quality systems and that there are no extra requirements. On top of that comes query fan-out: for one question, Google runs several related searches on subtopics, so your page can be cited because it answers one sub-question particularly well, even if it does not rank at the very top for the main term.
Google's own guide from May 2026 gives a sober answer to anyone looking for special AI Overview tactics, because optimising for generative search is still SEO.
What improves your chances of appearing in AI Overviews
Nobody can guarantee a place in the summary, Google included. You can, however, create the conditions under which your page qualifies: keep pages crawlable and indexable, avoid nosnippet on pages that should serve as sources, and offer your own experience, figures and assessments instead of knowledge that sits on every other site.
The wider web counts too. In our own analyses, trade portals, directories and press coverage help decide whether a brand appears in the answer (that is our observation from projects, not a representative study).
Frequently asked questions
Why is our brand not shown in Google AI Overviews?
Check three things first. If the page is not indexed or carries nosnippet, it cannot be a source. Then see whether it answers your customers' sub-questions one by one and clearly, because Google runs several sub-searches for a single question. And if trade portals, directories and the press rarely mention you, you lack the outside confirmation that, in our analyses, helps decide. For many searches Google shows no summary at all.
Can I keep my website out of AI Overviews?
Yes, with the nosnippet robots meta tag, but it applies to all search results, so your page will also appear without a text snippet in regular search.
Where to go deeper
Google AI Overviews: How Google Picks Its Sources
Measure AI Visibility: Method, Metrics and Limits
Terms you should know in the same context
AI Mode (Google) · AI search · AI visibility · Structured data · Visibility index · Back to the AI glossary A to Z
You do not get into the AI summary with a special trick, you get there by answering your customers' questions clearly and from your own experience.