AI Overviews SEO (AIO)
AI Overviews optimisation that gets you cited, not buried beneath the answer
AI Overviews optimisation makes your pages the sources Google trusts and names when it answers buyer questions itself. That puts your business in the answer your buyers read first.
Why rankings alone no longer protect you
Page one used to mean seen. Not any more.
The problem
The AI answer sits above your ranking
When a buyer searches a question about your category, Google often shows an AI Overview first. It summarises the answer and cites a handful of sources. If you are not one of them, your hard-won ranking sits below the fold of the answer your buyer actually reads.
Why it costs you
Fewer clicks, and a competitor named instead
Ahrefs found top-ranking pages get a 58% lower average click-through rate when an AI Overview appears. Pew Research Center found people clicked a traditional result on 8% of visits with an AI summary, versus 15% without. Meanwhile the businesses Google does cite look like the obvious choice, and buyers carry that impression into their shortlist.
How we fix it
Become a source Google chooses to cite
AIO makes your content eligible and attractive to cite. We find the buyer questions that trigger AI Overviews in your market, restructure your key pages into clear, factual answers, add the structured data Google reads, and track where you appear against your competitors.
The click is moving. Here is the evidence.
Independent research shows ranking and being seen are no longer the same thing.
58%
lower average click-through rate for top-ranking pages when a Google AI Overview appears
Source: Ahrefs, May 2026 (300,000 keywords)
8% vs 15%
of Google visits led to a click on a traditional result with an AI summary, versus without one. Only 1% clicked a link inside the summary.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2025
94%
of business buyers use AI somewhere in their purchasing process, up from 89% the year before
Source: Forrester, 2025
What we do
How we get your business into AI Overviews
Practical, page-level work built on strong SEO and tied to the enquiries you want to win.
Buyer question audit
We map the questions your buyers ask at each stage of a purchase and check which ones trigger an AI Overview today. You see where AI answers already shape opinion in your market, and who they cite.
Citable answer restructuring
We rework your key pages so each important question gets a direct, factual answer near the top, followed by supporting detail. Clear headings, short definitions, lists and tables make your content easy for Google to lift and credit.
Schema and structured data
We add and fix schema markup for your organisation, services, articles, FAQs and authors. Structured data tells Google precisely what a page is about and who stands behind it.
Entity and E-E-A-T signals
Google weighs experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust. We strengthen named authors, credentials, case studies, original data and consistent business information, and build mentions on trusted industry sites.
Tracking you and your competitors
We monitor which of your priority questions show an AI Overview, whether you are cited, and which competitors are cited instead. You get a clear view of progress, not guesswork.
Content that fills the gaps
Where no page on your site answers a valuable question well, we plan and write one. Content is built for decision-makers first, and structured so AI can cite it.
Ranked but not cited, or cited in the answer?
Ranked but not cited
- Your page ranks well, but sits below an AI answer that names someone else
- Clicks fall even though your position has not changed
- Your competitor looks like the default supplier in your niche
- You find out months later, when enquiries have already dropped
Cited in the AI Overview
- Your business is named in the answer buyers read first
- The citation acts like a third-party endorsement from Google
- Buyers who do click arrive better informed and closer to a decision
- You track your citations and act on changes quickly
Why act now
Most B2B markets are still early
Few B2B competitors have optimised for AI search yet. That is the opportunity. The businesses that act now can become the default answer in their niche before the space gets crowded.
The gap also compounds. Brands that are mentioned and linked across the web get cited more, which earns them more mentions. Every month you wait, those already cited pull further ahead.
AIO works alongside our B2B SEO and generative engine optimisation, so your authority in search turns into citations in AI answers.
What AI Overviews tend to cite
- Clear, factual pages that answer real buyer questions directly
- Well-structured content with headings, lists, data and schema
- Consistent business information wherever it appears
- Mentions and reviews on trusted third-party sites
- Genuine expertise: named authors, case studies, original data
- Fast, crawlable pages that are kept up to date
How we work
The same four stages we use on every account, tailored to AI Overviews.
01
Learn
We learn your market, buyers, competitors and sales process, then audit which buyer questions trigger AI Overviews and who gets cited today.
02
Plan
You get a written plan in plain English: the questions to target, the pages to restructure or create, and the technical and authority work needed, ranked by commercial value.
03
Deliver
Our in-house specialists restructure content, implement schema, strengthen author and entity signals and build mentions on trusted sites.
04
Measure
We report on AI Overview citations against your competitors, alongside enquiries, qualified leads and pipeline, with clear actions for what happens next.
Related services
Generative engine optimisation
Get recommended by ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Perplexity when buyers ask them to shortlist suppliers.
B2B SEO
The authority AI Overviews draw on starts with strong organic search.
How B2B buyers use AI search
Our guide to how AI is changing the way buyers find and choose suppliers.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI Overviews optimisation?
AI Overviews optimisation (AIO) is the work of making your content eligible to appear, and be cited, in Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. It combines content restructuring, structured data, technical SEO and authority building. The aim is for your business to be named in the answer, not just ranked below it.
Is AIO different from SEO?
AIO builds on SEO rather than replacing it. Google's AI answers draw on pages it already trusts, so strong SEO is the foundation. AIO adds the specific work that makes those pages easy to cite: direct answers, clear structure, schema and stronger expertise signals.
Can you guarantee we will appear in AI Overviews?
No. Google decides what to cite, and nobody can honestly guarantee a citation. What we can do is remove the reasons you are being overlooked, make your pages the clearest answer available, and track your progress against competitors so you can see what is working.
How long does it take to see results?
Restructuring an already strong page can be picked up soon after Google recrawls it. Building authority and third-party mentions takes longer. Your written plan sets realistic expectations before work starts.
How do you measure success?
We track whether your priority questions show an AI Overview, whether you are cited, and which competitors are cited instead. We report that alongside what matters commercially: enquiries, qualified leads and pipeline.
How do you rank in AI Overviews?
There is no position to buy or claim. Google picks sources it finds clear, relevant and trustworthy. That means direct answers near the top of the page, sound structure and schema, strong author and entity signals, and a site that already performs well in organic search. We work on all of these together.
Find out if Google is citing you, or your competitors
Book a free strategy call and we will check how visible you are in AI Overviews today and show you where the quickest gains are.
