1 in 5 Google Searches Now Show AI Overviews

Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs) aren’t just a beta feature anymore—they’re transforming the actual search landscape.

Ahrefs analyzed 146 million search results to understand when and where AI Overviews appear. The findings reveal clear patterns across query type, intent, and industry—and they point to a growing shift in how information, not brands, dominates discovery.

Here’s what you need to know (and what it means for your marketing strategy).

AI Overviews Show on 21% of All Searches

Across all keywords, 20.5% now trigger an AI Overview. But that average masks significant differences between query types.

• Short queries (one word): AIOs appear only 9.5% of the time.
  

• Longer queries (7+ words): AIOs appear nearly half the time (46.4%).
  

• Question-based queries: AIOs appear most often — in 57.9% of cases.
  

• Non-question queries: Only 15.5%.

The takeaway: Google’s AI systems prioritize complex, informational, and question-based searches.

These are specifically the kinds of searches content marketers and publishers depend on for organic traffic — so expect greater exposure but fiercer competition in these areas.

Where AI Overviews Appear Most Often

Ahrefs broke down the data across 86 keyword characteristics and found clear category-level trends:

• Science: 43.6% of searches trigger AIOs
  

• Health: 43.0%
  

• Pets & Animals: 36.8%
  

• People & Society: 35.3%
  

Meanwhile, commercial and time-sensitive topics see far less AIO activity:

• Shopping: 3.2%
  

• Real Estate: 5.8%
  

• Sports: 14.8%
  

• News: 15.1%

This data reflects Google’s cautious risk positioning. The company’s AI systems limit coverage on money, health, and breaking news—topic categories where misinformation or outdated data can be irrelevant after a period of time.

Yet, interestingly, medical YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) queries still top the chart at 44.1%, suggesting that even high-stakes topics aren’t fully exempt from AI summaries.

What Google Seems to Be Prioritizing

If we step back, a pattern emerges:

1. Depth over immediacy. AI Overviews appear for queries that are exploratory or educational, rather than transactional.
   

2. General information on specificity. Google prefers broad, non-branded queries for AI summarization.
   

3. Stability over volatility. News and local queries show much lower AIO rates, reflecting Google’s caution to apply AI summaries where accuracy can change hourly.

Put simply, Google uses AIOs to extend its role in long-tail information discovery, not to replace high-stakes or time-sensitive search.

Brand vs. Non-Brand: A Visibility Divide

Ahrefs found that non-branded queries trigger AIOs 24.9% of the time, compared to just 13.1% for branded queries.

That means generic informational searches—“best protein for runners” or “how to write a privacy policy”—are nearly twice as likely to show AI Overviews as brand-focused queries like “Nike running shoes” or “Shopify privacy policy generator.”

If you rely on top-of-funnel, non-branded traffic, you’re competing directly against Google’s own AI layer.

CPC Doesn’t Matter—Intent Does

Contrary to what many expected, Ahrefs found no correlation between CPC and AIO appearance.

Whether a keyword costs $1 or $50, the likelihood of an AI Overview appearing remains between 12% and 27%.

That suggests this isn’t about Google protecting ad revenue—the intent and complexity of the query itself drives it.

The Strategic Takeaway

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if your business depends on informational content, you’re operating in the high-AIO-impact zone.

Informational publishers, how-to blogs, and educational brands are facing the biggest visibility squeeze as AI Overviews become increasingly the default in more markets.

But there’s good news, too, because AIOs still rely on high-quality sources for synthesis.

Google’s AI doesn’t write from scratch; it extracts from authoritative, well-structured, and clearly cited content. That means you can still win citations, clicks, and visibility within these experiences.

How to Optimize for AIO Visibility

Based on current patterns, here’s what you can do immediately:

1. Structure your answers clearly.
   Use H2s and H3s to define one complete thought per section. Using summaries, numbered steps, and FAQ-style formatting improves extractability.
   

2. Focus on “Who, What, How” content.
   AIOs trigger most often on questions. Reframe key pages to answer direct questions with clear, concise, and factual content.
   

3. Add schema markup.
   Structured data helps Google understand your page’s purpose and boosts eligibility for inclusion.
   

4. Refresh your top informational assets.
   Outdated data lowers trust signals. Update publish dates, citations, and references often—especially in YMYL categories.
   

5. Monitor AIO exposure.
   Track which queries now display AI Overviews using Ahrefs or SERP APIs. Knowing your exposure rate helps predict potential traffic loss.

Why It Matters for Marketers

This study highlights a shift of focus from ranking to representation.

It’s not just about appearing in blue links—it’s about being chosen by Google’s AI to inform the answer.

The next wave of SEO isn’t about chasing keywords but about building clear, authoritative, and well-structured content that earns inclusion inside AI experiences.

We’re not optimizing for snippets anymore; we’re optimizing for AI summaries.

Final Thought

AI Overviews now appear in one of every five Google searches—and that percentage will grow.

As generative layers become the default entry point for information, you need to think beyond visibility and focus on eligibility.

If you want your content to show up in AI Overviews, you need to build for precision, structure, and trust.

Because in the new search economy, Google doesn’t just reward answers. It rewards the best summaries of them.

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