Google AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that Google Search shows above the regular results for some searches, with links to the sources the summary draws on. Google decides per search whether to show one, so an overview appears for some questions and not for others, and what it says can change over time.
When they appear
Google shows an overview when it judges that a generated summary helps the searcher. Whether one appears, and what it says, can vary with the wording of the query and over time. A brand can only be named in an overview that appears, so tracking starts with how often a question triggers one.
How sources show up
Each overview links to the pages it draws on, shown beside or inside the summary. Those links are citations in the AI sense: they show which pages shaped the answer. A page cited in an overview need not be the page ranked first in the regular results below it.
No API, and not AI Mode
Google offers no public API for AI Overviews, so measurement means reading the answer the search page shows. Overviews are also distinct from Google AI Mode, a separate conversational search experience with longer answers and follow-up questions. A brand can do well in one and poorly in the other, so each is tracked as its own engine.