A recent analysis by BrightEdge, an SEO (search engine optimisation) marketing company, revealed that Google’s AIO (AI Overview) feature is expanding in pixel height, pushing organic search results further down the SERPs (search engine results pages).
What are AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are AI (artificial intelligence)-generated responses that appear at the top of Google’s search engine.
These overviews provide search engine users with an answer to their query by synthesising information from various sources across the web.
By providing users with an answer directly within Google’s result page interface, AIOs reduce the need for users to click on traditional search results, such as organic blue links, to find the answer that they’re looking for.
When launched back in May 2024, Google’s AIO occupied approximately 600 pixels of screen space.
This is a significant amount of screen space, as this area is commonly referred to as “above the fold”. In digital terms, “above the fold” represents the portion of a page that is visible to a user upon loading, without the need to scroll down.
“Above the fold” is the most valuable real estate on the SERPs, as this area garners the most attention from users.
A recent study by Backlinko revealed that just 9% of users scroll to the bottom of the first page results.
This means that any organic search results that appear “below the fold” are less visible to the typical search engine user – meaning fewer users clicking through to the site.
The space occupied by Google’s AIO has grown to 800 pixels, with BrightEdge suspecting that this figure could continue to climb as far as 1,000 pixels of screen space.
The expansion of these AI Overviews means less visibility for traditional organic results, which are now being pushed further and further down the results page.
The traditional ‘blue link’ search results are now competing with Google. These changes have a profound impact on organic search results, as lower visibility means fewer clicks.
As AI Overviews continue to expand, website owners may need to adjust their SEO strategies to ensure that their content is included as a source of information within these AIOs.
Need help adapting your SEO strategy in the world of AI? Reach out to the team at Engage Web today.
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- Google tests addition of sitelink carousels on desktop search - January 16, 2025
- Growing height of Google’s AI Overviews is taking over the SERPs - January 9, 2025
