Google can now answer some searches with an AI Overview, while AI Mode lets people explore a question through follow-ups. Both can link to websites. For a website owner, the questions are practical: which pages qualify, what should they explain, and what can you measure?
What Are AI Overviews and AI Mode?
AI Overviews appear within Google Search for some queries when Google judges an AI summary useful alongside conventional results. AI Mode is a more exploratory search experience for complex questions, comparisons and follow-ups. Both can show links to supporting websites. An AI Overview will not appear for every search, and links can vary. What a reader sees also depends on feature availability in their location and account.
Google says both features may use query fan-out: its systems run related searches across aspects of the question, then assemble a response. It does not mean you need a page for every query variation. Explain the subject and its relevant subquestions on the page that owns the task. For a broader introduction, see how AI search fits with ordinary search.
Which Pages Can Appear as Supporting Links?
A page must be indexed by Google and eligible to show a Search snippet. The site must also be included through its Search Console Search generative AI control. Eligibility does not guarantee selection.
Start with normal SEO: allow Googlebot to access the page, make the main information available as readable text, link to it from relevant pages, and keep the content accurate. Google does not require special AI schema, llms.txt or a separate “AI version” of a page. Our crawling and indexing guide covers the underlying access checks.
What Should the Page Actually Explain?
Answer the task a visitor has. A kitchen-appliance page, for example, might need to distinguish the product price from installation, maintenance and repair; show which models or areas are covered; and state which details require a current quote. The example describes a possible page, not a client result.
Keep the page's main answer easy to find, then include the conditions a buyer needs before acting. A generic summary is less useful than an accurate explanation of what is included. If several pages answer different tasks, connect them with sensible internal links. Do not manufacture near-duplicate pages for every fan-out query.
Can I Control Whether My Site Appears?
Search Console has a Search generative AI control for verified properties. Its default is to include the site's links and content. A site owner can exclude them from the covered AI features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. A property may inherit the setting of a parent property, so check the property that owns your site before drawing conclusions.
That control is separate from ordinary Search: Google says exclusion does not itself affect ranking or inclusion in the rest of Search. Snippet controls can limit what Search shows from individual pages; noindex removes a page from Search altogether. Google-Extended concerns certain model-training uses, not this Search inclusion switch. Changes may take time to propagate.
What Can Search Console Measure?
Google introduced a dedicated Generative AI performance report in 2026 and says it was rolled out worldwide by August 31. It reports impressions: occasions when a link to your site was shown in a supported generative AI feature. You can view data by page, country, date and device. AI Overviews and AI Mode are included; Search Labs experiments are not.
It does not count every brand mention, and an impression is not a visit. AI feature appearances are also included in the ordinary Search Performance report's Web totals. Compare these impressions with normal clicks and on-site actions, but do not treat them as the same metric. If the report is absent, Google lists rollout access and low impression volume as possible reasons. An empty report is not proof of permanent ineligibility.
A Sensible First Check for One Page
- Pick one page and task. Choose a real product, service or question people need answered.
- Check Search eligibility. Use Search Console URL Inspection to check indexing and what Googlebot received. Separately check snippet restrictions and your site's generative AI control.
- Read the page as a customer. Does it state the answer, scope, conditions and next step without sending the reader to guess elsewhere?
- Review evidence and freshness. Update terms, availability or prices only when you can verify them; do not invent experience to make a page look authoritative.
- Measure the right outcomes. Review the dedicated AI impression report if available, then compare ordinary Search traffic and meaningful website actions over time.
For several pages, use an AI search strategy to prioritize the work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Do AI SEO?
Start with a page Google can index and show with a snippet. Answer one real visitor task accurately, keep important details in readable text, and check your Search Console inclusion setting. No special AI markup is required for Google's AI Search features.
Does Indexing Guarantee a Link in an AI Overview?
No. Indexing and snippet eligibility make a page eligible to be considered, but Google does not guarantee that an AI Overview will appear or that the page will be linked.
Where Can I See AI Overview and AI Mode Impressions?
Use Search Console's Generative AI performance report for supported Search features. It shows impressions and page, country, date and device breakdowns; it does not measure all brand mentions or enquiries.
Can I Opt Out of AI Features Without Leaving Google Search?
Google's Search generative AI control can exclude your site's content from the covered AI features without itself removing your ordinary Search listings. Check inherited settings and read the control's scope before changing it.