If you want to know how to rank in AI Overviews, here’s the short version from my own testing: on 20 Australian searches that showed an AI Overview, 72% of the cited websites already ranked on page one for that search, and the number one organic result was cited 16 times out of 20. Google says there’s no special trick to it, and my data agrees. The work is mostly normal SEO, plus a few fixes that make your pages easier to quote.
This guide covers Google only: AI Overviews, AI Mode and Gemini where it draws on Google Search. If you’re after ChatGPT or Perplexity, that’s a different post. If you’re not sure how these terms fit together, start with the difference between SEO, AEO and GEO.
In this guide
AI Overviews vs AI Mode: What Australians See Now
AI Overviews are the AI summaries at the top of a normal Google results page. They appear on some searches but not all, and they link to a handful of source pages.
AI Mode is a separate tab, a bit like a chat, where Google writes a longer answer and you can ask follow-up questions. Both run on Google’s Gemini models. Google says both use a “query fan-out” technique: they run several related searches in the background and build the answer from what those searches find.
Most guides are written for the US and skip the Australian timeline. Here it is:
- October 2025: AI Mode rolled out in Australia (Pickr, 8 October 2025), a few weeks after much of the rest of the world.
- Late 2025: Google said it would bring ads in AI Overviews to “select English-speaking markets” by the end of 2025, and by December its ad help page listed Australia (Search Engine Roundtable). Sensitive categories such as healthcare, finance and gambling are excluded from those ads.
- June 2026: Google’s AI shopping checkout went live in Australia, the first Asia-Pacific market on its Universal Commerce Protocol. Shoppers can buy single items from retailers such as Bunnings, THE ICONIC, Kogan, Adore Beauty and Petbarn directly inside Search (including AI Mode) and the Gemini app (Intellova).
So in 2026, an Australian searcher can get an AI answer, see an ad inside it, and in some cases buy without ever visiting a website. That’s the background to the “zero click searches” worry.
Does Being Cited Still Bring Clicks?
Yes, but fewer than a classic ranking used to. Before you work out how to rank in AI Overviews, it helps to know what a citation is worth. The best recent data is Seer Interactive’s 2026 update (published April 2026), which covers 53 brands, 5.47 million queries and 2.43 billion organic impressions from January 2025 to February 2026.
| Search result type | Organic CTR (Seer, 2026) | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| No AI Overview on the page | ~3.3% | Classic ranking still drives most clicks |
| AI Overview, your page cited | ~2.1% | Fewer clicks, but about 2.2× more than uncited competitors |
| AI Overview, your page not cited | ~0.9% | Ranking alone isn’t enough on these queries |
| Paid ads when an AI Overview shows | 16.2% (up from 14.6%) | Ads now compete inside and around AI answers |
Source: Seer Interactive, “AIO Impact on Google CTR: 2026 Update” (April 2026). Organic figures are Seer’s averages for informational queries, Jan 2025 to Feb 2026. Paid figure is January 2025 compared with February 2026. Seer doesn’t break the data out by country, and its client base leans US, so use these figures as a guide for Australia rather than exact local numbers.
Being cited gets you about 120% more clicks than being left out, though still around 38% fewer than if no AI Overview showed at all. Paid CTR is going the other way: it has risen on AI Overview searches while organic has fallen. So if a query triggers an AI Overview, being one of the cited sources is the best organic result you can get.
What Google Says Gets a Page Into AI Features
Google’s own documentation, AI features and your website, is unusually direct. To be eligible as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet. Google says: “There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary.”
The same page and Google’s newer AI optimisation guide add a few practical points:
- You don’t need AI text files, special markup or “special schema.org structured data” to appear.
- The same SEO basics apply: crawlable pages, important content in text, good internal links, and structured data that matches what’s visible on the page.
- Traffic from AI features is counted in Search Console’s Performance report, under the “Web” search type. There’s no separate AI Overviews filter.
- To limit what Google shows from your pages, use
nosnippet,data-nosnippet,max-snippetornoindex.
In plain terms, Google’s answer to how to rank in AI Overviews is to do normal SEO well. If you aren’t eligible for a normal snippet, you won’t be cited. If you are, you’re competing on the same signals as regular rankings.
What I Found Testing 30 Australian Searches
I ran 30 Australian service and product searches on google.com.au with Australian location settings on 28 October 2026. For each one I logged whether an AI Overview showed, which sites it cited, and whether those sites ranked in the page-one organic results. I used the same mix of trades, clinics and product searches as my plumber and clinic guides.
The headline numbers
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Searches that showed an AI Overview | 20 of 30 |
| Cited sources that also ranked on page one | 67 of 93 (72%) |
| Searches where the #1 organic result was cited | 16 of 20 |
| Top-three organic results that were cited | 41 of 60 (68%) |
| AI Overviews citing Reddit | 6 of 20 |
| AI Overviews with Business Profile cards inside them | 4 of 20 |
Five things stood out
1. “Service + suburb” searches mostly didn’t get an AI Overview. All 10 searches without one were simple local-intent queries, like “emergency electrician brisbane”, “dentist chatswood”, “locksmith hobart” and “family lawyer parramatta”. Those still showed the classic Maps pack and organic results. Searches with “cost”, “best” or a specific problem (“physio for lower back pain melbourne”) almost always did get an AI Overview.
2. Page-one rankings are the entry ticket. Nearly three in four citations came from page-one results, and in 9 of the 20 AI Overviews every cited source ranked on page one. The exceptions were mostly Reddit threads and a few specialist pages on cost-type questions such as bathroom renovations and Invisalign.
3. Ranking isn’t a guarantee. For “best electric bike australia”, not one page-one site was cited. Google used a Reddit thread and a retailer that wasn’t on page one. On “accountant for small business melbourne”, half the cited firms weren’t on page one either. The fan-out searches pull from pages that answer the sub-questions, not only the main query.
4. Reddit shows up on cost and “real opinion” questions. It was cited for hot water system costs, air conditioning installation, mortgage brokers, tree removal, e-bikes and Invisalign. When people want first-hand experience, Google reaches for forum answers.
5. Health and finance queries still get AI Overviews. Ads are excluded from these categories, but the AI answers aren’t. Physio, chiro, podiatry, hearing aids and mortgage broker searches all showed one, citing local clinics and, for hearing aids, health.gov.au.
AI Mode looked different for local searches
I also checked AI Mode until Google’s bot check stopped the test after five searches, so treat this as an early signal, not a finding. For “blocked drain plumber parramatta” and “emergency electrician brisbane”, every source AI Mode cited was Google’s own Business Profile data, not a website. For “physio for lower back pain melbourne” and “dentist chatswood”, it cited booking platforms like HealthEngine, HotDoc and Fresha rather than clinic websites. For “solar panel installation cost perth”, it cited the same sites that led the AI Overview.
For local businesses, that points to your Business Profile and directory listings doing more of the work in AI Mode than your website does.
See the full 30-search log
| Search | AI Overview? | Cited sites (organic position) | Cited sites on page one |
|---|---|---|---|
| blocked drain plumber parramatta | Yes | mrsplashplumbing.com.au (#1); parramattaplumbing.com.au (#3); blockeddrainparramatta.com.au (#2) | 3 of 3 |
| physio for lower back pain melbourne | Yes | elitespinalphysio.com.au (#1); melbournesportsphysiotherapy.com.au (#2); thermh.org.au (#6); facebook.com (not on page one); kieser.com.au (#4); melbournecbdphysio.com.au (#3); thealignmentstudio.com.au (#8) | 6 of 7 |
| emergency electrician brisbane | No | – | – |
| best running shoes for flat feet australia | Yes | pivotalmotioneducation.physio (#4); runrepeat.com (#1); theathletesfoot.com.au (#3) | 3 of 3 |
| dentist chatswood | No | – | – |
| solar panel installation cost perth | Yes | perthsolarwarehouse.com.au (#1); solarcalculator.com.au (#2); positiveenergy.com.au (#3); talkenergy.com.au (#6); solarchoice.net.au (#4) | 5 of 5 |
| conveyancer adelaide fees | Yes | lynchmeyer.com.au (#4); eckermanns.com.au (#1); saconveyancers.com.au (#2) | 3 of 3 |
| termite inspection gold coast | No | – | – |
| hot water system replacement cost sydney | Yes | samedayhotwaterservice.com.au (#1); reddit.com (not on page one); australianhotwater.com.au (#8) | 2 of 3 |
| roof restoration newcastle | No | – | – |
| family lawyer parramatta | No | – | – |
| accountant for small business melbourne | Yes | oliluca.com.au (#3); bizally.com.au (#1); 42advisory.com.au (not on page one); curveaccountants.com.au (#6); elephantadvisory.com.au (not on page one); marinaccountants.com.au (not on page one); rpsaccountants.com.au (#2); rogersonkenny.com.au (not on page one) | 4 of 8 |
| dog groomer brisbane northside | No | – | – |
| best mattress australia | Yes | sleepinggiant.com.au (#2); originmattress.com.au (#3); sleepingduck.com (#4) | 3 of 3 |
| air conditioner installation cost adelaide | Yes | reddit.com (not on page one); climat.com.au (#1); yess.net.au (not on page one); airconinstallationquotes.com.au (#7); choice.com.au (not on page one); energyloop.com.au (#6) | 3 of 6 |
| chiropractor for neck pain perth | Yes | southperthchiro.com.au (#1); carbonchiro.com.au (#2); uprightchiropractic.com.au (#6) | 3 of 3 |
| podiatrist heel pain sydney | Yes | performancepodiatrysydney.com.au (#4); guildfordpodiatrycentre.com.au (#2); sydneyheelpain.com.au (#3); healmyheel.com.au (#7) | 4 of 4 |
| invisalign cost melbourne | Yes | affordablebraces.com.au (#5); sunshinedentalgroup.com.au (#2); thedentalroom.com.au (not on page one); parkerdentalwilliamstown.com.au (#3); thesmilecollective.com.au (#7); smilesolutions.com.au (not on page one); citysmiles.com.au (#1); reddit.com (not on page one) | 5 of 8 |
| carpet cleaning canberra | No | – | – |
| bathroom renovation cost sydney | Yes | oxfordbathrooms.com.au (#2); threebirdsrenovations.com (#5); jonathan-homes.com.au (#3); cumminsjoinery.com.au (not on page one); renovationkingdom.com.au (not on page one); duragroup.com.au (not on page one); buildana.com.au (not on page one); nutrend.net.au (#4); site.co-architecture.com (not on page one); hipages.com.au (not on page one) | 4 of 10 |
| psychologist for anxiety brisbane | No | – | – |
| car service geelong | No | – | – |
| best robot vacuum australia | Yes | youtube.com (not on page one); au.pcmag.com (#1); jbhifi.com.au (#3); techradar.com (not on page one) | 2 of 4 |
| best coffee machine for home australia | Yes | arielle.com.au (#4); brotherofmine.com.au (#1); broadsheet.com.au (#2) | 3 of 3 |
| mortgage broker first home buyer sydney | Yes | reddit.com (not on page one); edenemeraldmortgages.com.au (#3); mortgagechoice.com.au (#1) | 2 of 3 |
| removalists melbourne to sydney cost | Yes | findamover.com.au (#1); muval.com.au (#2); taxibox.com.au (#7); sixbrothersremovalist.com.au (#8) | 4 of 4 |
| locksmith hobart | No | – | – |
| tree removal cost brisbane | Yes | reddit.com (not on page one); northbrisbanetrees.com.au (#1); edentrees.com.au (#5) | 2 of 3 |
| hearing aids cost australia | Yes | specsavers.com.au (#1); amplifon.com (#2); health.gov.au (#3); hearingaidprices.com.au (not on page one); hearingandaudiology.com.au (#9); hearingsavers.com.au (#8); theaudiologyplace.com.au (#7); hearingchoices.com.au (not on page one) | 6 of 8 |
| best electric bike australia | Yes | reddit.com (not on page one); bikesonline.com.au (not on page one) | 0 of 2 |
Method: searches run on google.com.au with gl=au and an Australian location, signed out, on 28 October 2026. “Page one” means the organic results on the first page (usually 7–9 after local packs and other features). Results vary by location, time and personalisation, so treat this as a snapshot, not a ranking study.
Local Businesses: Google Business Profile and AI Answers
If you run a trade or clinic, your Google Business Profile matters twice over. In my test, the plumbing, physio, chiro and podiatry AI Overviews embedded four to six Business Profile cards inside the answer, with ratings, opening hours and a call button. In AI Mode, the local trade answers were built entirely from Business Profile data.
The AI text pulled specific details from those profiles and websites: “$0 call-out fee”, “24/7 same-day service”, licence numbers and service lists. Businesses that publish those details clearly gave Google something to quote.
- Fill in every Business Profile field: categories, services, service areas, hours and a description that states what you do and where.
- Keep getting reviews. Every business shown in the AI cards had reviews, and most had a lot.
- Put the same facts on your site: pricing approach, call-out fees, licence numbers, emergency availability.
- Clinics: keep HealthEngine, HotDoc and similar listings complete, as AI Mode leaned on them.
That’s the biggest difference in Google AI Mode SEO for local businesses: your profile is the page being cited. For the full local playbook, see how plumbers win the Maps pack and my guide to SEO for clinics.
How to Rank in AI Overviews: Fixes That Make Pages Easier to Cite
This is the practical part of AI Overviews SEO. If you only remember one thing about how to rank in AI Overviews, it’s that the citation usually goes to a page that already ranks and answers the question most specifically. In rough order of impact:
- Get to page one first. 72% of citations in my test came from page-one pages. Ranking work comes before anything AI-specific.
- Check your snippet eligibility. Make sure important pages aren’t blocked by
nosnippet, a restrictivemax-snippet,noindexor robots.txt. If Google can’t show a snippet, it can’t cite you. - Answer the follow-up questions. Because of query fan-out, Google looks for answers to sub-questions: cost, how long it takes, what affects price, when to call someone. Cover them on the page with clear headings.
- Put real numbers on the page. Price ranges, call-out fees, timeframes and inclusions were what AI Overviews quoted on cost searches. Vague “contact us for a quote” pages gave Google nothing to use.
- Show first-hand experience. Reddit gets cited because it sounds like someone who has done the job. Add your own photos, job examples and specific details only someone who does the work would know.
- Keep important content in plain text. Don’t hide prices or service lists in images, PDFs or tabs that only load on click.
- Use structured data where it already makes sense, such as LocalBusiness, Product or Article, and make sure it matches what’s visible. It’s good SEO, though Google says it’s not required for AI features.
To see whether these changes are working, keep a list of your key searches and check them by hand each month. Search Console alone won’t separate AI clicks from normal ones.
What Not to Do: llms.txt, Chunking and Fake Mentions
Plenty of “AI SEO” advice in 2026 is either unnecessary or risky. Google has addressed three of the most common ideas in its AI optimisation guide:
- llms.txt: Google says Search ignores these files. Creating one “will neither harm nor help” your visibility in Google Search. It might matter for other AI tools, but not for AI Overviews.
- Chunking: “There’s no requirement to break your content into tiny pieces for AI to better understand it.” Write clear sections for readers. Don’t cut a good page into fragments.
- Fake mentions: Google says chasing inauthentic mentions across the web isn’t as helpful as it seems, and its spam policies now cover attempts to manipulate generative AI responses in Search. Paying for “best of” listicles that rank you first, or seeding fake Reddit posts, is a risk to your whole site.
AI Overviews and AI Mode: Frequently Asked Questions
How does Google choose which websites to cite in AI Overviews?
Google runs the main search plus several related searches (“query fan-out”) and cites pages that help answer them. The pages must be indexed and eligible for a snippet. In my test of 30 Australian searches, 72% of cited sites already ranked on page one, so normal ranking signals do most of the work.
Can I opt my site out of AI Overviews?
Not separately from normal Search. You can limit what Google shows with nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex, but these also affect your regular search snippets. Google’s documentation points to Google-Extended for its other AI systems, not as a way to leave AI Overviews.
Do I need schema markup to appear in AI Overviews?
No. Google says there’s no special schema.org structured data needed for AI features. Structured data is still useful for regular rich results, as long as it matches what’s visible on the page.
Is AI Mode available in Australia?
Yes. AI Mode rolled out in Australia in October 2025, and since June 2026 Australians can also buy from some retailers directly inside AI Mode and the Gemini app through Google’s AI checkout.
Why does my site rank on page one but not appear in the AI Overview?
In my test, AI Overviews cited between two and ten sources, and it picks pages that answer the specific sub-questions behind the search. If competitors give clearer prices, timeframes or first-hand detail, or a Reddit thread answers the question better, they get the citation. Check your snippet settings, then add the specific answers your page is missing.
Want a second opinion on why your pages aren’t being cited? I offer help getting cited in AI search for Australian businesses.
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