"The rollout has been rushed; Google is responding to the threat to their market share from other LLMs (like OpenAI's GPT-4o, AI-powered search platform Perplexity, and Microsoft's Copilot). The quality of results has been poor, forcing Google to release a statement outlining the steps it is taking to fix it. AI overviews do pose a threat to traditional results; brands not featured can expect a decline in click-through rate on traditional organic listings. The race to the top is going to be extremely competitive;"
"To get ahead, we need to understand the data that is training the LLM, by analyzing the results it serves. We see a bias towards user-generated content from Reddit and other online communities, demonstrating a preference for content with first-hand experience of the subject. We also see a bias towards publishers that can demonstrate expertise and authority on a subject through tactics such as authorship and off-site content syndication."
Google began rolling out AI-generated search summaries as part of a search generative experience, prompting reactions from fear to amusement among marketers. Publishers face a clear risk to organic traffic—historically around 40% from Google—if AI overviews reduce click-through rates to traditional listings. Early rollout quality problems provoked a Google response and signaled rushed deployment. Signals indicate LLM outputs favor user-generated content and sources demonstrating demonstrable expertise and authority. Marketers and brands must analyze the LLM training signals and adapt SEO and content strategies to emphasize experience, expertise, authorship, and off-site syndication.
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