Sometimes, when you Google something, an AI-generated paragraph shows up at the top of the results, giving you an answer and including a few cited sources for the information. This feature is called Google’s “AI Overview,” or AIO for short. We’re going to strip away all the myths and misunderstandings about this, so you can make sense of what you’re being told.
The Pitch You Keep Hearing
I’d be willing to bet you need two hands to count the number of times you’ve been told you need to show up in AIO results nowadays. You’ve heard it from the OEM. You’ve heard it more than once at a 20 Group. You’ve definitely heard it from a few vendors — maybe your existing vendors, maybe some trying to pitch you.
The claim sounds sensible; this is a new feature that takes up space on the page, and you need to show up there so you’re getting your share of the attention. In theory, a specialized flavor of SEO is what you’re supposed to pay a vendor for, in order to show up here.
Let’s dig in and do a couple real-world exercises to check that theory.
First, a quick note about keywords so you understand what we’re about to cover. For every example I use here, feel free to replace it with the make or model that would be relevant to your store. I want you to think about the keywords you’re told you need to show up for and ask yourself, “If I show up for that keyword, would it help me sell more cars?”
High-Funnel Keywords
Will showing up for the keyword “Silverado Towing Capacity” help you sell more Silverados? No. The searcher was too high-funnel. In fact, we don’t even know they’re considering a Silverado purchase; they might be considering an RV purchase, and they already own a Silverado.
Try this: Google “Silverado Towing Capacity” right now. Feel free to replace Silverado with another truck model or switch it to something like “RAV4 Trim Levels.”
Notice two things about the results. First, there’s an AI Overview at the top, and we’ll come back to that in a moment. Second, scroll down and look at what else shows up. Are the dealers in the results local to you?
No! They’re all over the country, because Google ranks pages and cites things in the AIO based upon perceived authority or writing quality for that specific research keyword, NOT based on proximity to the dealership. Google does this because they understand, based on how users behave, that this kind of search is strictly for research.
Try this for some other keywords, like,
- Honda Accord Warning Lights
- Jeep Wrangler Oil Change Interval
- Ford F-150 Engine Options
Each of these has an AIO at the top, and any dealer results you find will be all over the country, NOT local to you.
So, what would happen if your store was one of those cited resources in the AIO? Or was one of the organic results further down? You would indeed get traffic to that blog article or page, but that traffic would not produce any leads, because that consumer is researching.
Transaction-Intent Keywords
Now try a different Google search: “Chevy Dealers.” Again, feel free to replace it with your preferred make. Do you see an AI Overview? No. Are the dealers local to you? Yes! Now try “Silverado for Sale” and “Toyota Service.” Same story.
OEMs, vendors, and self-proclaimed experts are all claiming that AIO is important and you need to show up there, but no one is explaining how they expect this to produce low-funnel traffic that converts into leads.
Why AIO Doesn’t Drive Leads
The vast majority of highly searched, transaction-intent keywords do not produce an AI Overview on Google. This is because there’s no great way to answer that keyword with a paragraph, and Google has figured out that an AIO just gets in the way here.
An AIO appears regularly for research keywords, but it appears for only about 1% of transaction-intent keywords, by volume of searches. You can certainly find transactional keywords that will show an AI Overview, but they’re going to be more specific and therefore less frequently searched.
What You Should Actually Do Instead
Chasing AIO yourself or with a vendor who’s telling you this is important is a misallocation of your time, effort, and money. Google has even stated that the cited sources in an AIO are determined based on existing SEO practices.
If you want more leads from organic Google searches, bypass the hype and the FOMO pitch. Focus on material SEO solutions that are focused on generating leads and request an organic opportunity analysis from Wikimotive to see firsthand which keywords will drive leads for your store and how you actually show up where it counts.