What A New Google AI Overview Study Means For Your SEO And GEO Strategy

The standard belief that if you rank high on Google, you will be included in Google's AI Overviews has been challenged by a new study. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that Google’s AI-generated answers frequently cite sources that do not appear on the first page of conventional search results for the same query. The researchers studied 55,393 trending searches across 19 topic categories over 40 days. 

Nearly 30% of the webpages cited in Google's AI Overviews were not first-page results. The results show that companies now have two online visibility goals:

1. Rank prominently in organic search.

2. Become a trusted source for AI. 

Though these are related goals, the study shows businesses need separate strategies for SEO and GEO. 

The Washington University study examined when Google's AI Overviews appeared, which sources they selected, and how accurately the generated claims reflected those sources. Researchers issued the queries between March 13 and April 21, 2026. Rather than relying on a small set of handpicked keywords, they used trending searches across 19 categories to measure how Google’s AI Overviews behaved under a broad range of real-world search conditions. 

The researchers found that AI Overviews did not simply summarize the highest-ranking conventional results. Almost three in 10 cited pages were not present anywhere on the corresponding first page. The researchers concluded that Google’s AI source-selection process operates differently from its conventional ranking algorithm. These findings show that AI search is not merely conventional search with a summary placed above it. It introduces another retrieval-and-synthesis layer with its own source-selection behavior.

Ranking And AI Citation Have Different Objectives

Now, other large studies have found meaningful overlap between high-ranking pages and AI Overview citations. For example, a July 2025 Ahrefs analysis of 1.9 million citations from one million AI Overviews found that 76% of the most visible AI Overview citations came from pages ranking in Google’s top 10 for the same query. Up until recently, marketers used these studies as guidance for ranking in AI Overviews and on Google. 

However, when Ahrefs updated the study in March 2026, it found that only 38% of pages cited in AI Overviews also ranked in the top 10. The newer analysis covered 863,000 search results and approximately four million AI Overview URLs. So ultimately both studies point toward the same conclusion:

Ranking first on Google results and being cited by AI require different content strategies.

Pages rank well on Google because they satisfy broad search intent, demonstrate authority, and deliver a strong user experience. However, AI cites pages for different reasons. AI Overviews often only need one concise definition, a clearly stated statistic, or a claim that addresses a narrow part of a larger answer.

Understanding this distinction changes your content strategy. Your webpages will still compete for the primary keyword. However, they must also contain useful, self-contained passages that answer the smaller questions contained within that search. Content needs to be authoritative for human readers, competitive in organic search, and easy for machines to interpret and cite accurately.

Seven Strategies To Make Your Content Appear In AI Results

The study shows that earning an AI citation requires a different approach than ranking in conventional search. Companies can put these findings to work by making their content easier for AI systems to understand, verify, and use to generate answers. The following practices can strengthen AI visibility without sacrificing traditional SEO performance:

1. Give Explicit Answers

Use descriptive subheadings and answer common questions immediately below them. Keep each section focused on one clear question or concept. Clear, direct answers give AI systems distinct passages they can easily identify, interpret, and cite.

2. Support Clear Factual Claims

State your claims directly and support them with a link to a study, dataset, or internal source. Clear sourcing helps your readers verify the information and gives AI systems a stronger connection between your claim and its evidence.

3. Strengthen Topical Relationships

Name the key concepts on your page and how they relate to one another. Clear connections between subjects help AI systems understand your topic and match your page to relevant queries.

4. Publish Original Expertise

Use firsthand observations, case studies, and internal data to provide AI systems with credible, specific information to cite. Generic summaries have limited value to AI when hundreds of pages repeat the same information.

5. Create Extractable Information

Define terms clearly and explain meaningful differences between related concepts. Also, present processes in a logical order. Strong formatting makes your page easier to scan and gives AI systems clearly defined passages to retrieve.

6. Show Credible Authorship

Include your author qualifications, source citations, and clear company information. Explain why your author is qualified to discuss the subject. AI systems favor information from credible sources to reduce the risk of repeating inaccurate, misleading, or unsupported information.

7. Build Content Clusters

Do not rely on one article to establish your expertise. Instead, create connected pages that cover foundational concepts, applications, and original research. Then, use internal links to show how those subjects relate. A complete content cluster gives AI systems more evidence that you are an expert in the topic.

Optimize Your Content For Both Search Experiences

This study proves that the strongest online visibility strategy is to create pages that deserve to rank while making their most useful information easy to identify, verify, and extract. Borrowed Pen helps B2B companies turn their complex expertise into authoritative content built for conventional search, AI discovery, and most importantly, your buyers. 

Learn more about our SEO performance and content systems to build a content strategy that earns visibility wherever your customers search.