TL;DR
- Google tested AI answers as SGE in Search Labs in 2023 and launched AI Overviews in the United States at Google I/O in May 2024.
- Google says pages need only be indexed and eligible for a snippet to appear as AI Overview links; no special schema or markup is required.
- Search Console's generative AI performance report, live for all sites as of 31 August 2026, shows impressions by page, country, device and date but no clicks or queries.
- nosnippet, data-nosnippet or the Search Console generative AI control keep content out of AI Overviews; Google-Extended does not.
AI Overviews are AI-generated summary answers that Google shows at the top of the results for some searches, with links to the websites used as sources. Users get an overview of the answer before deciding whether to click through. For site owners, AI Overviews change how people see search results, how many clicks a ranking earns, and what "being on page one" means today.
What AI Overviews are and where they came from
Google first tested AI-generated answers in search results as the Search Generative Experience (SGE), through Search Labs, in 2023. It launched them as AI Overviews in the United States at Google I/O in May 2024 and has since expanded them to other countries and languages in stages. AI Overviews do not appear for every search. Google shows one when its systems judge that a summary will be helpful, typically for complex questions or queries that need information from several sources.
Inside an AI Overview there is a written summary and links to the pages used to build it. The links can appear beside the text, below it, or behind an expand button, depending on the layout Google is testing at the time.
How AI Overviews differ from featured snippets
A featured snippet quotes text from one page and links to that page. An AI Overview is new text written by AI from information on several pages, and it shows several links. The difference matters in practice. A featured snippet gives clear credit to one site, while an AI Overview spreads visibility across several, and the user may get the answer they need without clicking at all.
| Aspect | Featured snippet | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|
| Source of the text | Quoted from a single page | Written by AI from several sources |
| Number of links | Usually one | Several in one box |
| In Search Console | Counted in the regular performance report | Counted in the regular report, with a separate view in the generative AI performance report |
| Site owner controls | nosnippet and max-snippet | nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet and the property-level generative AI control in Search Console |
How AI Overviews choose their sources
Google has not published how it selects sources. What its documentation for site owners does state is that, to appear as a link in AI features, a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Search with a snippet, and that there are no additional technical requirements or special markup to add. The usual SEO fundamentals still apply: pages that can be crawled, helpful content written for people, and important information in text rather than hidden in images.
Mechanically, the AI system retrieves passages from several pages and grounds its answer in them. Pages that state a fact clearly in one sentence, with the actor, the date and the figure all present, are easier to use than pages where the answer is spread across several paragraphs or written in general terms. This is the same principle behind generative engine optimisation.
AI Overviews versus AI Mode
AI Overviews appear on the normal results page, above or among the regular links. AI Mode is a separate, conversational search experience where users can ask follow-up questions and answers are longer. Both link to websites, and both are counted in Search Console's generative AI performance report.
How AI Overviews affect traffic and click-through rate
When an AI Overview appears for a query, the organic results are pushed further down the screen, and some users get their answer without clicking. The effect is not the same for every type of content. Simple informational queries such as definitions tend to be more exposed than queries where the person needs to act, such as buying, booking or contacting a business. At the same time, sites cited inside the AI Overview gain visibility at the top of the page.
The important thing is not to guess. Look at your own data: compare click-through rate for the same pages before and after AI Overviews began appearing for that group of queries, and check which types of query show impressions rising while clicks fall.
Where to see AI Overviews data in Search Console
Search Console has a generative AI performance report as a tab under the Performance report, which Google confirmed had rolled out to all websites worldwide as of 31 August 2026. It shows impressions by page, country, device and date for AI features on Google Search and Discover. Its limits are important:
- It has no click data and no query data, so you cannot calculate click-through rate from it.
- It is a filtered view of data already included in the Web search report, so its numbers must not be added to the regular totals.
- Every link inside an AI Overview is given the position of the AI Overview block, so the position figure does not tell you where your link sat inside the box.
- If a site has too few impressions in AI features, the report may not appear, and Google has not published the threshold.
Can you stop your site being used in AI Overviews?
Yes, at several levels. The most granular is data-nosnippet, applied to parts of a page you do not want shown. At page level, the nosnippet or max-snippet robots meta rules limit how text from the page is used in both regular results and AI features. At site level there is the Search generative AI control in Search Console, which Google confirmed was available to all websites as of 31 August 2026. It keeps a site out of AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI Overviews in Discover, both as links and as grounding for answers, and traffic and impressions from those surfaces disappear with it.
Note that Google-Extended in robots.txt does not switch off AI Overviews. Google-Extended controls use of content for training future Gemini models and for grounding in Gemini Apps and the Vertex API, not AI features in Search. Google also states that its generative AI-specific controls are not used as ranking signals in the non-generative AI parts of Search. Opting out is a trade between visibility in AI surfaces and control over content, and most businesses should weigh it carefully before doing it.
How to make Thai-language content easier to cite in AI Overviews
- Check that pages are indexed and do not carry an unintended nosnippet rule; some plugins and themes add these automatically.
- Answer the main question in the first two sentences of the page or of each section, then expand.
- State facts fully in one sentence: name the organisation, the date and the number, instead of writing "recently" or "many people say."
- Use headings phrased as the questions Thai users actually type, including mixed Thai-English terms such as "AI Overviews คืออะไร".
- Use comparison tables and step lists where the content suits them, because those formats are easy to extract.
- Include information that is specific to the Thai market, such as local requirements, prices or procedures, which translated foreign pages do not have.
- Get Organization and author structured data right so Google can connect the content to the brand.
An example of rewriting a paragraph so it can be used
This is a fictional example for an air conditioner installation page in Bangkok, written to show the technique. It does not describe any real business.
Before: "The best service at great value. Our professional team takes care of every step. Contact us today." This paragraph gives an AI system nothing it can use to answer a question. It does not say what the service is, where it is offered, how long it takes or how pricing works.
After: "Installing a wall-mounted air conditioner of 9,000 to 18,000 BTU in Bangkok and Nonthaburi takes about 2 to 3 hours per unit. The standard installation fee includes up to 4 metres of refrigerant pipe, with extra length charged per metre, and installation work is guaranteed for 1 year." This paragraph answers several real questions in two sentences: area, unit size, time, pricing conditions and warranty. Every number in the example is invented; a real business must use only its own facts.
The principle works in any industry. Replace adjectives with verifiable facts, state scope and conditions clearly, and place answers under headings that match the questions customers type. Writing this way helps human readers, regular search results and AI systems that need clear statements to assemble an answer.
Common misunderstandings about AI Overviews
- "You must rank first to be cited." Google's documentation does not say so. A cited page must be eligible to appear in Search, but Google does not specify a ranking position. Check the data for your own queries rather than assuming.
- "An AI Overview impression means someone saw the link." An impression is counted when the link is on the results page that was served, even if the user never scrolled to it. Links hidden behind an expand button are not counted until the box is expanded.
- "Opting out of AI Overviews will improve regular rankings." Google states that generative AI-specific controls are not ranking signals for the non-generative parts of Search, so opting out does not help regular rankings.
- "Longer content is always cited more." Length is not the deciding factor. Clear answers and complete facts in a sentence help. A long page with a scattered answer can be harder to use than a short page that gets to the point.
What this means for Thai businesses
Whether AI Overviews appear for Thai-language searches depends on country, language and query type, so Thai businesses should check their own core queries in both Thai and English, and record which queries show an AI Overview and which sites are cited. Queries that mix Thai with English technical terms, such as tool or platform names, deserve particular attention, because detailed Thai-language explanations of those topics are still scarce. An AI SEO review can map your pages against queries that show AI Overviews, and a technical SEO audit can find indexing problems or snippet settings that make pages ineligible to be cited.
FAQ
What are Google AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that Google shows above the results for some searches, with links to the websites used as sources. They launched in the United States in May 2024.
Do I need special schema to appear in AI Overviews?
No. Google says there are no additional technical requirements or special markup for AI features; a page must be indexed and eligible to show a snippet in Search.
Can I see click-through rate from AI Overviews in Search Console?
No. The generative AI performance report shows only impressions by page, country, device and date, with no click or query data.
Will blocking Google-Extended remove my site from AI Overviews?
No. Google-Extended controls use of content in Gemini Apps, the Vertex API and model training. To opt out of AI Overviews, use nosnippet rules or the generative AI control in Search Console.
Do AI Overviews make SEO irrelevant?
No. Pages cited in AI Overviews must already be indexed and good enough to show in Search, so SEO fundamentals remain the first requirement. What changes is how you measure results and how you write so content can be used.
If you want to know whether your key queries show AI Overviews, who is cited, and which of your pages to improve, Relevant Audience can audit and plan GEO and AI SEO work for Thai-language websites.
