Google's AI Overviews and GEO: Impact on SEO in 2025

Google’s AI Overviews, introduced in mid-2025, have sparked considerable debate in the digital marketing and publishing spheres. These AI-generated summaries provide concise, synthesized answers to user queries directly on search engine results pages (SERPs). While designed to enhance user experience by delivering quick insights, the technology has raised critical concerns regarding its impact on organic traffic and search engine optimization (SEO).

Recent legal actions and regulatory challenges have also spotlighted the controversy surrounding the use of publisher content in AI Overviews without explicit consent. This evolving landscape calls for a deep understanding of how Google’s AI Overviews influence SEO practices and what strategies, such as Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), might help publishers adapt and thrive.

Penske Media’s Lawsuit and Publisher Backlash

In September 2025, Penske Media Group, which owns prominent titles like Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety, filed a lawsuit against Google. The lawsuit alleges that Google’s AI Overviews utilize publishers’ journalistic content without permission, resulting in significant declines in site traffic and affiliate revenues. This legal challenge underscores the tension between tech platforms leveraging third-party content and the rights of content creators.

Publishers argue that AI Overviews divert valuable user attention away from their websites, as the summaries often answer user questions directly on the search page. This reduces organic click-through rates (CTR), damaging publishers’ ability to monetize their content. The lawsuit in Washington, D.C., is one of several efforts by media companies to seek redress and possibly more control over how their content is used in AI-powered search features.

The lawsuit highlights broader concerns about content ownership and the economic implications of AI summarization technologies. It also raises questions about whether search engines should offer opt-out options for publishers to protect their interests.

EU Antitrust Complaint on Google’s AI Overviews

Earlier in July 2025, a coalition of independent European publishers filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission. The complaint centers on the allegation that Google’s AI Overviews unfairly divert traffic and revenue from smaller publishers by using their content without providing an opt-out mechanism.

This regulatory scrutiny reflects growing apprehensions about market dominance and potential anti-competitive behavior by tech giants. Independent publishers express fears that AI Overviews consolidate Google’s power over information access, making it difficult for smaller outlets to compete or maintain visibility.

The European Commission’s involvement indicates that legal and regulatory frameworks may soon adapt to address the unique challenges posed by AI-generated content in search. The outcome could set precedents affecting how AI tools interact with original content creators globally.

SEO in the Age of AI Overviews: Google’s Stance

Despite the disruptions caused by AI Overviews, Google representatives, including Gary Illyes, have clarified that specialized optimization techniques such as AI SEO, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are unnecessary. According to Google, traditional SEO practices remain sufficient for ranking well in both AI Overviews and AI Mode search results.

Google emphasizes that AI Overviews are built on existing search infrastructure, utilizing the same crawler, index, and ranking systems that have long governed organic search results. This suggests that content quality, relevance, and adherence to standard SEO guidelines continue to be paramount.

Moreover, Google’s AI systems prioritize content quality regardless of whether it is human or AI-generated, focusing on helpfulness and reliability. This reinforces the idea that creating clear, authoritative, and user-focused content is the best strategy in the evolving search ecosystem.

Impact of AI Overviews on Organic Click-Through Rates

Since their rollout in July 2025, AI Overviews have appeared in approximately 13% of U.S. searches, significantly affecting organic CTR. Studies have documented reductions in organic CTR ranging from 15% to as high as 64%, with average CTR dropping from 1.41% to 0.64% when AI Overviews are present.

This decline is especially pronounced for informational and how-to queries, where AI Overviews often dominate the SERP, providing comprehensive answers that reduce the need for users to click through to external sites. Consequently, publishers and website owners have experienced a measurable drop in organic traffic and engagement.

The shift challenges traditional SEO strategies and forces marketers to reconsider how to attract and retain visitors when users increasingly rely on summarized AI responses.

Overlap Between AI Overviews and Organic Search Results

Analyses reveal that AI Overviews correlate closely with traditional organic results, matching one or more of the top 10 organic listings 99.5% of the time. This high degree of overlap indicates that AI Overviews are primarily synthesizing existing top-ranking content rather than introducing entirely new sources.

As a result, AI Overviews often push organic listings lower on the page, competing directly for user attention in prime SERP real estate. This displacement further reduces visibility and click potential for organic links, intensifying the challenges faced by publishers.

The overlap also suggests that improving organic rankings remains crucial, as AI Overviews tend to feature content already deemed authoritative and relevant by traditional SEO standards.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Emerging Strategies

Although Google downplays the need for specialized AI SEO, many experts advocate for adopting Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies to improve visibility within AI-driven search features. GEO focuses on enhancing content clarity, depth, structured data usage, and topical authority.

These tactics align well with Google’s emphasis on content quality and helpfulness. For example, detailed, well-structured content with clear answers and semantic richness is more likely to be favored by AI Overviews. Implementing structured data can also aid AI systems in accurately interpreting and presenting content.

GEO is not about gaming AI algorithms but about refining content to meet evolving user intent and machine understanding, thereby maintaining competitive positioning in search results influenced by AI.

Effects on Local Business Search Visibility

Research into local search has shown that AI Overviews do not apply the same distance-based ranking algorithms used in traditional local packs. There is no significant correlation between a business’s physical proximity to the searcher and its ranking position within AI Overview results.

This divergence means that local businesses cannot rely solely on traditional local SEO tactics to appear prominently in AI Overviews. Instead, they must focus on overall content quality, relevance, and authority to improve their chances of inclusion in AI summaries.

The change adds complexity to local marketing efforts and underscores the need for businesses to adapt to AI-driven search dynamics beyond conventional local SEO frameworks.

The introduction of Google’s AI Overviews represents a transformative shift in how search results are presented and consumed. While offering users faster access to answers, these AI summaries pose significant challenges to publishers, impacting organic traffic and raising legal and regulatory issues around content use.

For SEO professionals and content creators, the key takeaway is that foundational SEO principles remain vital. Content quality, clarity, and topical authority continue to drive success. By embracing strategies that enhance these elements, including thoughtful application of GEO tactics, publishers can better position themselves in an AI-influenced search landscape. Meanwhile, ongoing legal developments and regulatory scrutiny will likely shape the future interaction between AI technology and content ownership rights.