How do you rank in Google AI Overviews? 6 steps to greater visibility

AI Overviews (AIO) are summaries generated by artificial intelligence based on existing content that ranks for certain search queries. They appear at the top of search results and show both the sources used for the summary and a separate panel with additional information.

The purpose of AI Overviews is to make information more quickly and easily accessible, so that users don't have to scroll through dozens of search results to find the information they want. This is where they are similar to featured snippets—they provide an immediate answer to a question or search query, which can lead to zero-click content where visitors no longer click through to your website.

During our preparations for the Dutch launch, we conducted extensive research into the international markets where AI Overviews are already active. The good news? AI Overviews are less widespread than you might think. Of the 2.2 billion keywords in Ahrefs' US database, only 17 million keywords rank for AI Overviews. Of all keywords with SERP features, that's about 11.7%.

What we have seen in our analyses—and what we now also expect in the Netherlands—is that AI Overviews actually offer opportunities for pages that normally rank lower. Unlike featured snippets, which usually take content from the top 10 results, research shows that 40% of AI Overview sources rank between positions 11 and 20.

From our experience with international clients, we know that AI Overviews can drive more qualified traffic to websites. Because these summaries give users a good overview of the topic, visitors who click through are often more engaged and further along in the customer journey—exactly the type of visitor we always focus on at Reward.

While AI Overviews are new to the Dutch market, at Reward we have developed strategies over the past few months based on our observations in other markets. These steps are based on research into 300,000 keywords and our own experience in preparing customer campaigns.

Step 1: Target long-tail keywords

In our preliminary analyses, we observed that AI Overviews mainly appear for long-tail keywords consisting of an average of four words, compared to two words for standard searches. We have already applied these insights in various content strategies for our clients, even before AI Overviews were active in the Netherlands.

• To effectively find these keywords:
• Start with a seed keyword relevant to your industry
• Expand this with question words such as "how," "when," "who," "what."
• Focus on keywords with at least 4 words
• Filter on AI Overviews as soon as this data is available in Dutch SEO tools.

Step 2: Choose keywords with low difficulty

No less than 71% of AI Overview keywords have a keyword difficulty score below 30, with a median of 12 (compared to 33 for non-AI results). This means that, on average, you only need 13 unique referring domains to rank for AI Overviews, compared to 41 for regular keywords.

To use this feature:

• Analyze your competitors' keywords
• Filter by AI Overview SERP features
• Set a maximum keyword difficulty of 30
• Identify the low-hanging fruit keywords

Step 3: Match informational search intent

At Reward, we have always focused on understanding search intent, and this proves to be crucial for AI Overviews. International research shows that 99.2% of AI Overview keywords are informational in nature. This confirms what we already suspected: AI Overviews are mainly generated when users are looking for details, explanations, or guidance.

Our content strategies have already anticipated this by creating more demand-driven content. Commercial and transactional keywords currently account for less than 10% of all AI Overview SERPs, but we expect this to vary in the Netherlands as the feature evolves.

Step 4: Optimize for featured snippets and people-also-ask

AI Overviews trigger an average of 3 SERP features, with people-also-ask, featured snippets, and thumbnails being the most common. Interestingly, featured snippets appear in more than half of all queries in the dataset, despite the presence of AI Overviews.

The main difference? Featured snippets often favor exact matches in wording, while AI Overviews are more focused on search intent.

Step 5: Improve your brand presence

One of the most interesting discoveries during our preparations is that AI Overviews not only collect data from your own website, but from the entire web. This insight has helped us develop broader brand visibility strategies for our customers.

For example, if someone searches for "best project management software," AI Overviews can pull information from various sources, not just official product websites. That's why we've been advising our customers for months to increase their brand visibility across the web—a strategy that is now proving even more valuable with the arrival of AI Overviews in the Netherlands.

Step 6: Find and fill AI visibility gaps

An AI visibility gap occurs when a competitor ranks for an AI Overview, but you do not. To identify these gaps:

• Analyze where competitors do appear in AI Overviews
• Examine the context of these references.
• Create content that specifically addresses these gaps.
• Approach sources that do not yet mention your brand

At Reward, we haven't been sitting still over the past few months. While AI Overviews were already active in other countries, we developed, tested, and refined strategies. Just like making the perfect Limoncello, it all comes down to the right ingredients, timing, and attention to detail—and we are proud that we can now support our customers from day one with proven strategies.

Based on our preparations, these are our recommendations:

1. Start researching today: We have already developed frameworks to identify which keywords in your industry are likely to trigger AI Overviews.
2. Adjust your content strategy: Our experience shows that demand-driven, informative content is becoming crucial.
3. Continue to optimize featured snippets: These remain important alongside AI Overviews.
4. Strengthen your brand authority: Start building broader online visibility now
5. Monitoring from day one: We have set up monitoring systems to closely follow developments in the Dutch AI Overview.

AI Overviews are now a reality in the Netherlands too, and at Reward we are ready for them. Our months of preparation mean that we not only understand the theory, but have also developed practical strategies that are directly applicable to Dutch companies.

Although AI Overviews present new challenges, we mainly see the opportunities. By focusing on long-tail keywords with low difficulty, creating informational content, and increasing your brand visibility, you can benefit from this new SERP feature right from the start.