Google’s AI overview visibility fluctuates amidst continued testing and refinement

Google’s AI Overview Visibility Fluctuates Amidst Continued Testing and Refinement

In a dynamic landscape of search engine optimisation, Google’s AI Overviews have continued to display considerable fluctuations in their visibility within search results. According to new data from enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge, the visibility of Google’s AI Overviews increased to 12% in July before declining to 7% by the end of the month. This is part of an ongoing trend of volatility in AI-generated answer appearances, which saw a notable 15% visibility in May, followed by a dip to lower visibility in subsequent months.

While the presence of AI Overviews in Google’s searches exhibited a more robust profile compared to June, their volatile nature suggests that Google is still in the experimental phase regarding these features. Key changes in July indicate Google’s continual testing and refinement of AI Overviews in terms of formats, citations, and the extent of their presence in search results.

Noteworthy is the decrease in visibility for AI Overviews in certain sectors. Most significantly, travel and entertainment queries tracked by BrightEdge’s Generative Parser no longer displayed AI Overviews. Furthermore, the vertical space occupied by AI Overviews in search results diminished by 12.5%.

Sector-Specific Observations

In July, there was a marked decrease in the appearance of AI Overviews for several types of searches:

• General Product Searches: Common queries such as “shoes” and “furniture” saw fewer AI Overviews.
• Brand-Specific Queries: Searches naming specific brands like Google and Apple displayed fewer AI-generated results.
• Basic How-To Queries: Simple instructional searches, such as “how to do” and “how to find,” also saw fewer AI Overviews.
• Healthcare Searches: AI results related to healthcare, especially involving “rare,” “genetic,” and “complex” disorders, were reduced. Despite this reduction, healthcare still had the highest number of AI Overviews at 61%, though down from 68%.

Conversely, certain types of queries experienced an increase in AI Overview visibility:

• Salary-Related Queries: Searches around job salaries, such as “nurse salary” and “human resources manager salary,” saw a significant rise in AI Overviews, jumping from 7% to 85%.
• Complex Technical Keywords: Keywords such as “confirmatory factor analysis” saw more AI Overviews.
• Long-Tail Keywords: Specific and detailed queries like “types of data analysis” increased in AI Overview presence.
• Specific Product Features: Queries detailing product attributes, such as “gooseneck electric kettle,” were more likely to feature AI Overviews.

General Growth and Volatility

A general increase in overlap with Google’s search results was observed, particularly for pages ranking in positions 31-100, which sometimes exceeded a 3% overlap. However, citations for top 10 results decreased significantly, with major fluctuations noted by pages from sites like Wikipedia, the CDC, USA Today, and Forbes experiencing a drop in citation frequency.

Additional findings detailed in BrightEdge’s latest data showed that AI Overviews appeared for a variety of query types over the course of July:

• B2B Tech Queries: AI Overviews rose from 29% to 45% in July, though this figure saw a significant decline towards the month’s end.
• Education Queries: Visibility increased from 16% to 38%, yet again this sector experienced notable volatility by the end of July.
• Insurance Queries: There was a presence of AI Overviews for 35% of insurance-related searches in the latter half of July, but this again dropped significantly as the month concluded.
• Ecommerce Queries: AI Overviews for ecommerce rose from 11% to 17%, with increased volatility towards the end of the month.
• Finance Queries: Queries in the financial sector showed a modest rise, from 6% to 6.5%.

For more detailed insights, interested parties can refer to BrightEdge’s “Ultimate Guide to Google AI Overviews”, which elaborates on these findings and offers a comprehensive view of the trends and fluctuations seen in AI Overview visibility within Google’s search results. The report provides crucial data for SEOs and content creators navigating this evolving aspect of search engine dynamics.