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How AI Overviews Are Changing Search in Australia

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Lachlan Nye
Author Lachlan Nye

Director of Growth at Salt Agency, a Brisbane-based performance and creative growth marketing agency. He leads…

How AI Overviews Are Changing Search in Australia

How AI Overviews Are Changing Search in Australia

You type a question into Google. Up pops a detailed answer written by AI – no clicking, no scrolling, no visit to a website.

Sound familiar?

That’s AI Overviews. Google’s big gamble on generative search. And it’s already rolling out in Australia.

Let’s break down what this actually means for your business, your SEO, and your bottom line.

What Are AI Overviews?

You’ve probably seen them. When you search something, Google now sometimes shows a box at the top with a complete answer generated by its AI model Gemini. It pulls information from multiple sources, summarises it, and serves it right there.

No link-copying. No organic click.

Google started testing this in the US last year, and in 2024 they expanded it to Australia, the UK, and other markets. It’s not just a test anymore – it’s the new normal.

How AI Overviews Are Eating Your Clicks

Here’s the reality you need to sit with.

A study from BrightEdge found that AI Overviews appear in about 15% of all search queries. For informational queries – think “how to” or “what is” – that number jumps to over 40%.

Every time an AI Overview shows up, organic click-through rates drop. Why? Because the user gets their answer without leaving Google.

For businesses relying on blog traffic or Shopify product descriptions, that’s a direct hit.

I’ve seen reports of some sites losing 30–50% of their organic traffic after AI Overviews rolled out for their keywords. That’s not a blip. That’s a structural shift.

And if you’re running a local business in Brisbane – a cafe, a tradeservice, a boutique agency – you might not feel it on brand searches. But you will for any question-driven content you’ve invested in.

So What Does This Mean for Your SEO Strategy?

You can’t just write blog posts and hope for the best anymore. You need to play the AI game.

Google’s AI pulls from sources it trusts. That means authority, structure, and relevance matter more than ever.

Here’s what we’re seeing work:

  • Clear, concise answers – The AI looks for direct, well-structured replies to specific questions. Think bullet points, short paragraphs, and headers that match the query.
  • Schema markup – Structured data helps Google understand your page’s purpose. If you haven’t done FAQ schema, Q&A schema, or HowTo schema, start now.
  • Topic depth – Thin content gets ignored. You need complete, authoritative coverage on a topic. That’s where Salt Agency helps clients build content clusters that dominate a subject.

You still need to rank in the top 3 to even have a chance at being cited in an AI Overview. But you also need to be the kind of source Google’s AI wants to cite.

The Video and Visual Play (Yes, It Matters Here)

Google’s AI Overviews aren’t just text. They sometimes pull in images and even video thumbnails.

That’s where your videography and photography investment pays off in search.

If you’re producing product demos, explainer videos, or branded content with high-quality visuals, you’re giving Google richer material to work with. And the more assets you have in Google’s ecosystem, the higher your chance of being cited.

At our studio here in Brisbane, we’ve seen clients who combine strong SEO with great video content outperform those who just write. We break that down in our post on why video marketing works for Australian businesses.

How to Adapt Your SEO for the AI Overview Era

You can’t ignore AI Overviews. But you can pivot.

Here’s your action plan:

  1. Audit your current content – Find the queries where AI Overviews are appearing for your industry. Use tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to spot zero-click search patterns.
  2. Optimise for question-based queries – Build FAQ pages, how-to guides, and structured list posts. Every piece should answer one clear question.
  3. Build topical authority – Don’t write one post and move on. Create clusters around core themes. Internal links matter. Google’s AI rewards sites that own a subject.
  4. Invest in off-page SEO – Backlinks still drive authority. And authority is what gets you cited inside those AI boxes.
  5. Track zero-click traffic – If organic clicks drop but brand impressions or indirect conversions hold, you might be getting “invisible” value from being quoted. Hard to measure, but real.

If SEO sounds like a moving target right now, you’re not wrong. But that’s exactly why you need a strategy that adapts.

I cover the basics in our guide on what SEO is and how it works, but the real work is in execution.

Will AI Overviews Kill Organic Search?

No. But they’re reshaping it.

Think of it like this: Google isn’t trying to destroy websites. It’s trying to answer questions faster. If your content is the best answer, you still win. You just win differently – through brand awareness, referral traffic from within the Overview, or by being the click that happens after the AI answer.

The real losers? Generic, thin content that nobody links to. The winners? Trusted, expert sources that AI models want to cite.

That’s where an agency like ours comes in. We help businesses build that authority from the ground up – from branding to content to paid media.

Curious how your current SEO stacks up? Check out our blog for more strategies, or reach out to us in Brisbane. Let’s make sure your Google Performance doesn't get left behind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do AI Overviews appear for every search?

No. They’re most common for informational queries – questions, tutorials, definitions. Commercial and local transactional searches still show traditional results more often.

Can I block my content from being used in AI Overviews?

Not directly. You can use noindex or other technical tags, but that also prevents you from ranking in organic results at all. Better to optimise for inclusion.

Will AI Overviews replace traditional SEO?

Not entirely. SEO is broader than just rankings – it covers technical site health, user experience, local visibility, and conversion. But the way you approach content creation needs to evolve.

How do I know if my website is being cited in AI Overviews?

Monitor your Google Search Console data. Look for impressions on queries where an Overview appeared. Third-party tools like Semrush also have features that track AI Overview visibility.

References

  • BrightEdge Research – “Generative AI in Search: Q2 2024 Data”
  • Google Search Central – “AI Overviews and Your Content”
  • Salt Agency – What Is SEO and How Does It Work
  • Salt Agency – Blog
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