How AI Overviews Are Changing SEO Strategy in 2026
By José Antonio Mijares | 2026-01-10 | 6 min read
AI Overviews sit above the rankings. Write a page Google can lift — then check ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Grok.
If you are still writing only for the ten blue links, you are writing for half the page.
AI Overviews sit above the rankings on many informational queries. The box answers first. Your #1 can sit below the fold. Citation in that box is now part of SEO — not a side project.
We will not invent a share of searches. The box is there often enough that the page has to work for it.
What AI Overviews are
AI Overviews (the surface that started as Search Generative Experience) are Google’s short, generated answers at the top of results. The model synthesizes a few sources and shows small citation links.
A query like “best CRM for a small team” used to return a list. It now often returns a written answer, then the list. The links in the box are the new above-the-fold.
Why ranking is not enough
Classic SEO still matters: crawlability, links, a page that deserves to rank. That is table stakes.
The gap: you can rank #1 and still lose the reader to the box. The opening: you can be cited in the box without being #1.
Treat both as one job. Jamak runs that as SEO and GEO together — ranked in Google, cited in the answer.
How to get cited in the box
No private dataset. No “3–4x from schema.” These are the things a page that gets lifted actually does.
1. Answer in the first sentence
The box pulls a clean answer. Hide the point in a warm-up paragraph and the model will lift someone else.
Weak: “CRM software can help businesses in many ways. There are various factors to consider…”
Strong: “For a small team, start with the free HubSpot CRM if you need a shared inbox, Pipedrive if the work is a pipeline, Zoho if budget is the constraint.”
Answer first. Context second.
2. Use schema where the page is the schema
FAQ, HowTo, Article, Organization — when the page is actually that thing. Schema helps Google parse the page. It is not a citation multiplier we can quote. Do not spray FAQ markup on a page that is not a FAQ.
3. Build depth on one topic
A pillar plus supporting pages beats fifty disconnected posts. Update the pillar. Name the author. Add a fact you can stand behind. Skip the statistic you cannot source.
4. Write for a stranger
The model is matching meaning, not a keyword density. Define the term. Give an example. Problem, then the fix, then how to do it.
5. Earn mentions the box already trusts
Links still matter. For Overviews, a mention on a source Google already cites is worth more than a pile of directory links. Publications, docs, and the odd .edu or .gov page when they are real.
GEO is the name for the rest of the job
Overviews are one surface. The same buyer also asks ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Grok.
G — Get cited. Structure the page so a model can lift a block. E — Establish authority. Depth, and mentions off your domain. O — Optimize for understanding. Clear language, schema that matches the page.
That is GEO: citations on six surfaces — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Google AI Overviews. Not Copilot. Reddit is not a sixth engine.
The fundamentals overlap. A page that answers first and shows who wrote it works on more than Google.
What to do this month
This week. Open your ten most important pages. Does the first sentence answer the query? Search the queries yourself and see whether an Overview appears. Add FAQ schema only on pages that are FAQs.
This month. Finish or rewrite one pillar. Put Article and Organization markup on the pages that deserve it. Point internal links at the pillar, not at a tag archive.
This quarter. Map the topics you actually sell. Earn a mention on a source Overviews already cite. Run the same prompts on ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Grok — not only Google. Jamak logs those six surfaces in Ezeo when the work is in scope. A sheet is enough if you are doing it yourself.
The point
AI Overviews did not kill SEO. They added a box above it. Write the page for the box and for the ranking. Then check the other five surfaces, because the buyer is not only on Google.
SEO and GEO are that job. One set of pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do all Google searches show an AI Overview?
No. Overviews show up often on informational queries and less often on others. We will not invent a percentage. Search the queries you care about and look. If the box is there, your page has to work for it.
Q: How do I get cited in AI Overviews?
Answer in the first sentence. Use schema only where the page is that schema. Build depth on one topic. Write so a stranger can follow it. Earn mentions on sources Google already cites. Schema is not a guaranteed lift.
Q: What is the difference between SEO and GEO?
SEO is ranked pages in Google. GEO is citations in AI answers — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Google AI Overviews. You can rank #1 and still lose the reader to the box. The same pages should do both. See /services/seo and /services/geo.
Key Takeaways
- The box sits above the ranking: Citation in an Overview is part of SEO. We will not invent a share of searches.
- Answer first: The model lifts a clean sentence. A warm-up paragraph gives the slot to someone else.
- Schema matches the page: FAQ, HowTo, Article — when the page is that thing. Not a 3–4x claim.
- Six surfaces, not one: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and AI Overviews. Not Copilot. Not Reddit.
- SEO and GEO are one job: Ranked in Google, cited in the answer. /services/seo and /services/geo.