What Triggers AI Overviews? 86 Factors and 146 Million SERPs Analyzed

11/10/25
Source: Data & Studies – SEO Blog by Ahrefs by Ryan Law. Read the original article

TL;DR Summary of Understanding AI Overview Triggers in Search Results

AI Overviews appear on about 21% of all search queries, predominantly triggered by informational intent and long, question-based searches. They are more common on non-branded queries and YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics, especially medical queries, despite potential risks. Conversely, AI Overviews rarely appear for navigational, local, news, and NSFW queries, focusing mainly on evergreen informational content.

Optimixed’s Overview: Key Insights into AI Overview Trigger Patterns Across Search Queries

What Are AI Overviews and When Do They Appear?

AI Overviews (AIOs) are automated, AI-generated content snippets that Google displays on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) to provide quick answers. Analysis of 146 million SERPs reveals AIOs appear on 21% of queries, mostly for those with informational intent—mainly questions and longer queries.

Intent and Query Characteristics Influencing AI Overview Appearance

  • Informational queries: Account for 99.9% of AIO triggers, while navigational and transactional queries rarely show AIOs.
  • Non-branded vs branded: AIOs are 1.9 times more likely on non-branded searches (24.9%) than branded (13.1%).
  • Query length: Longer queries (7+ words) see AIOs on 46.4% of SERPs, compared to just 9.5% for single-word queries.
  • Question queries: AIOs appear on 57.9% of question-type searches, significantly higher than non-question queries (15.5%).

Impact of Keyword Categories and Topics

  • YMYL queries: AIOs are more frequent here, especially for medical queries (44.1%), highlighting Google’s preference to provide AI-generated content even in sensitive areas.
  • Industry-specific trends: High AIO presence in Science (43.6%), Health (43.0%), Pets & Animals (36.8%), and People & Society (35.3%). Low presence in Shopping (3.2%), Real Estate (5.8%), Sports (14.8%), and News (15.1%).
  • News and local queries: Very low AIO rates (news at 6.3% for very newsy queries and local searches at 7.9%), indicating AIOs target evergreen rather than timely content.
  • NSFW content: Rarely triggers AIOs (4%), showing avoidance of sensitive or adult topics.

Additional Observations and Final Thoughts

Google’s AI Overviews primarily serve to address “know” intent queries, focusing on providing comprehensive, AI-generated answers for informational needs. Despite potential issues like hallucination risks, especially in medical content, Google shows a strong preference for deploying AIOs in these critical areas.

These insights are valuable for SEO strategists aiming to understand when AI-generated content might compete on SERPs and how to optimize or target queries that are less likely to trigger AI Overviews.