Google’s AI Overviews Don’t Use Links. Here’s Why It Matters.

Last week’s antitrust case dropped a bombshell: Google’s AI Overviews don’t use links in ranking.

Instead, they rely on something called FastSearch, a stripped-down retrieval system that prioritizes speed and semantic matching over traditional ranking signals.

That explains why we’ve seen spammy, even penalized sites showing up in AI Overviews—it’s not Google’s “full” algorithm at work.

What We Know

Here’s the breakdown from court documents:

• FastSearch supplies the base documents for AI Overviews.
  It retrieves fewer docs than Google Search, making it faster but lower quality.
  

• RankEmbed is the core model.
  It’s a deep-learning system trained on click-and-query data + human rater input.
  

• Semantic relevance > link authority.
  FastSearch matches meaning, not popularity, which is why links don’t play a role.
  

• User data drives results.
  Click patterns and query behavior help train RankEmbed, providing it with context for what is considered “useful.”

👉 In short: AI Overviews don’t inherit the same authority-based checks we’re used to in Google Search.

Why This Is Huge for SEO

For two decades, links were the backbone of Google’s rankings. They were trust signals. Authority signals. The currency of SEO.

But in AI Overviews, links are sidelined. Relevance and user interaction are at the forefront.

This creates a few massive shifts:

1. Authority ≠ Placement in AI Overviews
   Even if your site is highly authoritative, it may not surface if FastSearch doesn’t prioritize it.
   

2. Content > Backlinks
   Semantic alignment, clear answers, and topical coverage matter more than link profiles in AI-driven results.
   

3. User Engagement Becomes the New Authority
   Click data and user satisfaction are shaping RankEmbed. If people engage with your content, that’s more valuable than a backlink.

My Take

This shift is both a challenge and an opportunity.

• Challenge: Traditional SEO tactics (link building, PageRank sculpting) have less influence in AI Overviews.
  

• Opportunity: Marketers who pivot toward answer-first content, UX, and engagement optimization will win visibility where links no longer matter.

This also confirms what many of us have suspected: SEO is splitting.

• Classic SEO (links, authority, technical health) → still critical for organic rankings.
  

• AI SEO (semantic content, structured data, UX signals) → the new frontier for AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.

What You Should Do Now

Here’s how to prepare for this AI-first search future:

• Write answer-first content. Short, direct, scannable responses increase chances of being pulled into AI summaries.
  

• Optimize for semantic relevance. Cover topics thoroughly, use natural language, and address variations of queries.
  

• Boost engagement metrics. Time on page, scroll depth, and clicks matter more than backlinks in FastSearch’s world.
  

• Use structured data. Schema makes your content easier for AI to parse and cite.
  

• Experiment beyond Google. Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Gemini are all shaping discovery behaviors.

Bottom Line

This isn’t the “death of links.” They still matter for organic rankings.

But for AI Overviews—the search feature stealing clicks from your site—links are no longer the deciding factor.

The winners will be the brands that shift from link-first SEO to answer-first marketing.

Final Thought:
SEO is no longer one game. It’s two. Traditional search will still reward links as trust signals. AI Overviews will reward clarity, semantic relevance, and engagement. You can’t ignore either.

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Shane Barker