"Google will sometimes fall back to showing featured snippets when it is unable to generate AI Overviews for a query. And when that happens, it sometimes looks like an AI Overview, but it is not an AI Overview, it is a featured snippet. We've kinda of seen this before with desktop results but now Rajan Patel, Google's VP of Engineering for Search confirmed this on X. Rajan Patel wrote, "On occasion we fall back to featured snippets when we are unable to generate an AI Overview.""
"Rajan added that the way it looks can be unclear, so Google will look for ways to clarify this experience. "This experience isn't as clear as it should be though, I asked the team to improve it," he added. This was in response to Alex Greenland who posted this example on X: I don't know what this feature is; never seen it trialled before"
Google will sometimes fall back to showing featured snippets when it cannot generate AI Overviews for certain queries. When a fallback occurs, the result can resemble an AI Overview visually while actually being a featured snippet. Rajan Patel, Google's VP of Engineering for Search, confirmed the fallback behavior on X and acknowledged that the presentation can be unclear. He said he has asked the team to improve clarity around the experience. The example prompting the confirmation originated from a post by Alex Greenland on X, which showcased an unfamiliar interface that led to forum discussion.
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