Google AI overviews rank below position 1 in 12.4% of cases study
Google AI Overviews seem to be slipped in search rankings, opening new chance for SEO to outrank them and reclaim lost clicks.
Google AI Overviews have the top spot for U.S desktop search result 12.4%of the time. That’s a significant change from a month ago, when less then 2% of AI Overviews ranked below Position 1, according to new research from seoClarity, an enterprises SEO platform.
Why we care. Google’s AI Overviews hvae sparked concern among SEOs and publishers, especially following the loss of clicks and traffic. This data suggests there are still opportunities to outrank an ai Overviews and get clicks from organic results
By the numbers. AI Overviews appearin 19% of all U.S desktop keyword searches overall. Here’s the latest breakdown of where AI Overviews rank, based on seoClarity’s research, which factors in SERP features excluding ads.
- 87.6%of AI Overviews appear in Position 1.
- 7.6%appear position 2.
- 2.8% appear in position 3.
- 2% appear in Position 4 or lower.
AS for the intent of the queries that trigger AI Overviews:
- 84.16% are Information
- 12.38% are Transactional
- 3.31% are Navigational
- 0.15% are Local
About Transactional queries. When AI Overviews rank lower, it’s more likely to happen on transactional queries.
- For Ai Overviews that rank in Position 4 olower, transactional intent jumps from 12.38% to 22.7%.
- For example, the query [games on a Nintendo Switch], the AI Overviews is outranked by two Nintendo category pages and a Popular Products carousel.
What they’re saying. Why does Google move AI overviews further down a page could be due to user behavior. Mark Traphagen, vice president of product marketing and training at seoClarity told Search Engine Land:
What they’re saying. why does Google move Ai Overviews further down a page could be due to user behavior. Mark traphagen, vice president of product marketing and training seoClaritytold Search Engine Land:
- “In other words, google watches what people click on when an AI Overviews present. If most people are scrolling past the AI Overviews to click on an organic web result for a particular keywords, then Google may denote the Overview for that keyword.
- If the above is true, the best opportunity to outranke an AI Overviews is to be top ranked page for the keyword, well-optimized for good CTR. If people search preferring your result to the AI Overview, Google may promote your result above it
Conclusion:
The case study reveals that even though position 1 in Google search results is highly valuable, Google itself rank below position 1 in 12.4% of cases. This insight highlights the competitive nature of search engine results and underscores the importance of strong SEO strategies, relevant content, and user trust signals to outrank even top-tier platform like Google in certain queries.
