Search Google for almost anything lately and you will often see an answer before the results: a few paragraphs Google's AI wrote, sometimes with businesses or sources named inside. That is an AI Overview. For your customers, it means many of them get an answer without ever scrolling to the old list of links. For your business, it raises one urgent question: when the Overview names businesses like yours, is yours among them?
What are AI Overviews, exactly?
AI Overviews are Google's generated summaries that sit at the top of the results page. Rather than only listing links, Google reads across many sources and writes a direct answer, frequently citing specific pages and, for local searches, specific businesses. The details it uses come from the same places AI tools generally trust: websites that clearly answer the question, Google Business Profiles, and reviews. It is Google doing in-house what ChatGPT and Perplexity do, right where your customers already search.
How do I get my business into an AI Overview?
There is no form to submit and no button to press. You earn a place by being the clearest, most trustworthy source on the question being asked. In practice that comes down to a handful of things:
- Answer the actual question in plain text. If people ask "how much does X cost in Charlotte," have a page that answers it directly, in words, near the top. Overviews quote sources that get to the point.
- Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current. For local Overviews this is a primary source. Right categories, services, hours, and a steady flow of reviews.
- Add structured data. It helps Google read and trust what your page says without guessing.
- Be consistent everywhere. Matching name, address, and phone across the web makes Google confident enough to cite you.
- Earn recent, specific reviews. They corroborate your claims and often get reflected in the summary.
Do AI Overviews hurt my traffic?
For purely informational searches, yes, they can reduce clicks, because the visitor gets the answer in place. But that is the wrong thing to fixate on for a local business. For searches with local intent, someone looking for a service near them, being named in the Overview drives calls, direction taps, and bookings, click or no click. The real risk is not lost clicks. It is being left out of the Overview while a competitor across town gets named in it.
The pattern that wins
Notice that none of the steps above are tricks, and all of them overlap with what gets you recommended by ChatGPT and Perplexity too. That is the point. A site that plainly answers real questions, a complete Google Business Profile, clean structured data, consistent details, and fresh reviews is the same foundation that wins across every AI surface at once. Build it once, show up everywhere. Here is the companion piece on how ChatGPT picks who to recommend.
See whether you're showing up in AI answers
The free AI Visibility Check shows what Google's AI, ChatGPT, and Perplexity currently say when someone searches for a business like yours, whether you are named, and the three fixes I'd make first. No call, no obligation.
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What are Google's AI Overviews?
AI-generated answers Google shows at the top of the results page for many searches. Instead of only listing links, Google summarizes an answer and often cites specific sources and businesses inside it. For local searches it frequently names businesses and pulls details from their sites, Google Business Profiles, and reviews.
How do I get my business into an AI Overview?
There is no submit button. You earn it by being the clearest, most trustworthy source on the question: a page that answers it directly in plain text, a complete and consistent Google Business Profile, structured data, and recent reviews. Overviews favor sources that are easy to read and corroborated elsewhere.
Do AI Overviews hurt my website traffic?
They can reduce clicks on purely informational searches, since the answer appears without a click. But being named in the Overview is valuable visibility, and for local searches it drives calls, directions, and bookings. The real risk is being left out while a competitor is named.