Can Optimising for AI Overviews Harm Traditional Search Rankings?

At first, it seemed like AI overviews would appear everywhere, but Google has since scaled them back. Still, Google’s algorithms are constantly changing. However, one thing is clear: ignoring AI overviews completely could mean missing out on traffic, while it also presents new growth opportunities for your business. Let’s break down the potential impact of AI overview optimisation on traditional search rankings.

How AI Overviews are Affecting Your Search Rankings 

AI overviews change how people find and click on content, which in turn affects your site’s visibility. Here is how Google’s AI search engine optimisation impacts your traditional rankings and ways to improve your website search rankings:

Organic Click-Through Rate

WordStream data shows a 34.5% decline in CTR for pages that appear in AI overviews. Even pages in the top 4 organic positions saw a 7% drop. Because AI overviews lead to more zero-click searches, which means users can read answers directly on the search page without visiting the source. But for deeper questions, users may still click through for more details. 

Content Summaries

Google prefers clear, helpful answers. Just stuffing keywords won’t work anymore—your content must be genuinely useful to be featured. Structure content with AI-friendly summaries to increase your chance of being cited in an AI overview. This creates clearly defined sections that highlight key takeaways. Place your brand’s mission, values, and unique selling points at the beginning of the content because AI tools often extract information from the top of the page.

Placement of Traditional Search Results

AI overviews occupy most of the top space in search results. As a result, even high-ranking organic listings are pushed down, reducing visibility and clicks for sites. However, if your content is featured in an AI overview, it can appear above traditional search results. Which helps in increasing your site’s visibility, even if your content typically ranks on page two. 

Authority and Trust Signals

AI overviews favour content from websites that are seen as reliable and credible. Sites with strong reputations, expert authors, and backlinks from trusted sources are more likely to be featured. You need to focus on targeted content and high-quality backlinks to increase your chances of being featured in AI overviews. 

Long-tail and Niche keywords

AI summaries work well for general questions but often don’t answer detailed or specific ones. It gives you the chance to rank for long-tail keywords, reaching people with the exact information they are searching for. AI systems can select well-structured content from smaller or lower-authority sites. It gives your businesses in niche sectors a chance to appear in prominent positions.

What Should You Do?

• Structure Content uses short paragraphs, descriptive H2/H3 headings, and bullet or numbered lists to enhance readability and improve parsing by AI systems.
• Strengthen E-E-A-T Signals in author bios, expert citations, and data-backed insights to demonstrate authority and link to reputable sources.
• Optimise for “next-step” clicks. Anticipate what users will want after reading the AI answer and provide it.
• Monitor your traffic and Performance. Check if AI overviews are helping or hurting your visits and adjust accordingly. 

AI overviews are here to stay, but they don’t replace search rankings. Focus on being the best answer for what people are searching for solutions. Adjust your strategies according to AI search engine optimisation to ensure a positive impact on your site.

Conclusion

Optimising for AI overviews impacts traditional search rankings, but it won’t hurt if done right. Instead, Google’s AI overview can boost visibility and place your content above regular results. Balancing AI overview optimisation with traditional SEO requires a focus on explicit, useful content, target-specific keywords, and building trust with expert-backed information. Balance both AI and organic strategies to get more traffic and stay competitive.

At Rankingeek Marketing Agency, we analyse your website’s structure, schema markup, and internal links to ensure AI Overview optimisation complements rather than harms your traditional search rankings. Our team conducts technical SEO audits, implements structured data, and monitors performance with tools like GA4 and Google Search Console. To help your site perform effectively in both AI-driven summaries and standard search results. Contact Us Today!