Google AI Overviews rank below Position 1 in 12.4% of cases: Study

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Google AI Overviews no longer hold the top spot for U.S. desktop search results 12.4% of the time. That’s a significant change from a month ago, when less than 2% of AI Overviews ranked below Position 1, according to new research from seoClarity, an enterprise SEO platform.

Why we care. Google’s AI Overviews have sparked concern among SEOs and publishers, especially following the loss of clicks and traffic. This data suggests there are still opportunities to outrank an AI Overview and get clicks from organic results.

By the numbers. AI Overviews appear in 19% of all U.S. desktop keyword searches overall. Here’s the latest breakdown of where AI Overviews rank, based on seoClarity’s research, which factors in SERP features excluding ads:

  • 87.6% of AI Overviews appear in Position 1.
  • 7.6% appear in Position 2.
  • 2.8% appear in position 3.
  • 2% appear in Position 4 or lower.

As for the intent of the queries that trigger AI Overviews:

  • 84.16% are Informational
  • 12.38% are Transactional
  • 3.31% are Navigational
  • 0.15% are Local

About Transactional queries. When AI Overviews rank lower, it’s more likely to happen on transactional queries.

  • For AI Overviews that rank in Position 4 or lower, transactional intent jumps from 12.38% to 22.7%.
  • For example, the query [games on a Nintendo Switch], the AI Overview is outranked by two Nintendo category pages and a Popular Products carousel.

What they’re saying. Why does Google move AI Overviews further down a page? It could be due to user behavior. Mark Traphagen, vice president of product marketing and training at seoClarity told Search Engine Land:

  • “In other words, Google watches what people click on when an AI Overview is present. If most people are scrolling past the AI Overview to click on an organic web result for a particular keyword, then Google may demote the AI Overview for that keyword. 
  • If the above is true, the best opportunity to outrank an AI Overview is to be a top-ranked page for the keyword, well-optimized for good CTR. If people start preferring your result to the AI Overview, Google may promote your result above it.”

Bottom line. SEO strategy and execution still matter.