AI & GEO
Search Generative Experience (SGE, now AI Overviews)
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What is Search Generative Experience (SGE, now AI Overviews)?
Search Generative Experience (SGE) was Google's experimental AI-powered search feature, opened to US users through Search Labs in May 2023, that displayed AI-generated snapshots at the top of search results above traditional organic listings. At Google I/O in May 2024, Google renamed it AI Overviews and began rolling it out to all US users, later expanding to many more countries and languages. The SGE name is no longer used.
SGE and its successor AI Overviews generate responses by synthesizing information from multiple web sources retrieved from Google's index, citing sources as links. The feature changes the SERP layout by inserting a large AI-generated block above organic results, reducing their visibility and contributing to zero-click searches for informational queries.
Why it matters for SEO
SGE was the testing ground for AI Overviews, a structural change to the Google SERP that can reduce click-through rates for informational queries that now receive an AI-generated answer. Knowing the history helps when reading older advice: guidance written for SGE generally applies to AI Overviews today.
Example
In 2023, US users who opted in through Search Labs saw an AI-generated snapshot at the top of results for queries like "things to do in Lisbon with kids". The same kind of summary, with linked sources, is what Google now shows to everyone as an AI Overview. Advice written about "optimising for SGE" in 2023 largely applies to AI Overviews today.
Free tools for Search Generative Experience (SGE, now AI Overviews)
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