Introduction
Search engine optimisation is entering a period of transformation. Traditional elements like rankings in organic search results are still important, but newer features like AI generated summaries are changing how content is surfaced and consumed. Featured snippets and AI Overviews represent two pivotal formats in this shift. Knowing how they differ and what they mean for your strategy is critical for staying visible.
What Are Featured Snippets
Featured snippets display a short excerpt, list or table from a single web page directly within results, often called position zero. They give users a quick answer while linking to your page for more details. For example, when users ask a what is or how to question, Google may pull a paragraph or bulleted list from one website and highlight it.
What Are AI Overviews
AI Overviews are newer search result features powered by large language models. Rather than quoting one source, they summarise information from multiple websites and present a synthesized answer at the top of results. These summaries are designed to provide a richer response to the user’s query.
Key Differences Between Featured Snippets and AI Overviews
- Source Structure: Featured snippets draw content from one webpage. AI Overviews pull and synthesise from multiple sources
- Selection Mechanism: Featured snippets rely largely on structured content and classic ranking factors. AI Overviews rely on advanced models that assess content relevance, authority and cross source summarisation
- Traffic Behaviour: Featured snippets often lead to high click through rates from the results page. AI Overviews may reduce click throughs because they aim to answer the query fully on the page, though they may still generate referral traffic via links to cited sources
- Optimisation Approach: While some optimisation techniques overlap, optimising for AI Overviews requires a broader focus on multi source citation and overall brand authority
Why Both Matter for SEO
Even though AI Overviews are rising, featured snippets are not obsolete. They still provide valuable visibility and serve as a stepping stone into newer formats. Many AI Overviews reference pages that previously held featured snippets. Appearing in either format significantly boosts your brand credibility and online presence.
How to Optimise for Featured Snippets and AI Overviews
- Provide direct, concise answers near the top of your content to target featured snippets
- Use clear heading structure, bullet points, tables and schema markup to make your content easy to parse
- Build authority by ensuring your site is trusted, referenced and linked by other sources
- Write comprehensive, factual content that is useful for summarisation by AI models
- Monitor search behaviour to determine if your target keywords trigger snippets or overviews
- Optimise for both user intent and machine interpretation to cover multiple visibility formats
What is a featured snippet in SEO?
A featured snippet is a highlighted answer extracted from a single webpage, displayed at the top of search results.
What is an AI Overview in SEO?
An AI Overview is a summarised answer generated from multiple sources using language models, often shown at the top of search results.
How do featured snippets affect traffic?
They often increase click through rates by offering a preview of the answer with a direct link to your page.
Do AI Overviews reduce website clicks?
Sometimes, as they aim to fully answer queries on the search page, but cited sources may still receive referral traffic.
Can one page appear in both formats?
Yes, high authority pages with structured content may be featured in snippets and cited in AI Overviews.
How should I write content for featured snippets?
Use clear questions and answers, bullet lists and concise definitions near the top of your content.
How do I optimise for AI Overviews?
Create authoritative, well cited, and factual content that is comprehensive and easy to summarise.
Which one provides better SEO results?
Both offer benefits. Featured snippets boost direct clicks, while AI Overviews build long term authority and visibility.
Are AI Overviews replacing featured snippets?
No, they are coexisting. Google and other engines still use both to improve user experience.
What is the best SEO strategy for both?
Structure your content clearly, answer search intent directly, and build authority through high quality links and citations.
Conclusion
Featured snippets and AI Overviews represent two important dimensions of modern search visibility. By understanding how each works and crafting content that serves both direct answer formats and summary based models, you position your website for sustained success. Traditional SEO remains relevant, but adapting for generative and summarised formats is increasingly essential.