In the latest update to its search engine results page (SERP), Google is testing a new position for its AI Overviews feature.
Since its launch in May 2024, the AI Overviews feature has consistently appeared at the top of the results page, occupying the highly sought-after “position zero” – the section above the standard list of blue links.
This position is considered prime real estate of the search engine results page, as it is typically the first thing a user sees before scrolling. Results in this position typically receive the highest click-through rates, making it a valuable place for results to appear.
This recent test was spotted by X user, Sachin Patel, who saw an AI Overview appear below a list of traditional blue links in response to the search query “seo news”.
This change could suggest that Google is reconsidering the best way to present its search results to ensure they continue to provide the most value to their users.
By striking a balance between artificial intelligence (AI)-generated answers and traditional search results, this change could benefit both search engine optimisation (SEO) professionals and search engine users.
For SEO professionals, it provides more opportunities to rank higher with traditional content, while search engine users are given a greater variety of responses to their queries.
This isn’t the first time Google has experimented with changes to the placements of its SERP features. Back in December 2022, Kopek, another X user, spotted that Google was testing the placement of its featured snippets.
Typically found at the top of the results page, Kopek saw a featured snippet appear further down the results page, below traditional search results.
We will have to wait and see whether this test will lead to permanent changes to Google’s results page.
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