Google's AI Overview and what it means for your UK business website traffic

Google's AI Overview — formerly known as Search Generative Experience (SGE) — is reshaping how millions of people find information online. If you run a business in the UK and rely on organic search traffic to bring in customers, this development is not something you can afford to ignore. AI Overviews now appear at the very top of Google search results, providing users with a synthesised answer before they ever scroll to your website. For UK businesses — from sole traders in Halifax to growing enterprises across Yorkshire — understanding what this means for your website traffic, and how to adapt, is now a core part of your digital strategy.

What Is Google's AI Overview?

Google's AI Overview is an AI-generated summary that appears at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for many queries. Powered by Google's Gemini model, it pulls together information from multiple sources across the web to give users an immediate answer — without requiring them to click through to any individual website.

AI Overviews were rolled out broadly in the United States in May 2024 and began appearing in the UK and other international markets shortly thereafter. As of 2025, they appear for a wide range of informational, commercial, and local queries, although the frequency and format continue to evolve as Google refines the system.

How Does It Differ from Featured Snippets?

Featured snippets pull a single answer from a single source. AI Overviews are different — they synthesise content from multiple pages into a cohesive response. They may include inline citations, but users are given a complete enough answer that many will not feel the need to click further. This is the fundamental challenge it presents to website owners.

How AI Overviews Are Affecting UK Website Traffic

The impact on organic traffic is real and measurable. Early data from SEO research firms has raised significant concerns across the industry.

"Websites appearing in the top three organic positions for queries that trigger AI Overviews are seeing click-through rates drop by as much as 30–64%, depending on the query type and industry." — BrightEdge AI Search Research, 2024

The effect is most pronounced for informational queries — the types of searches where someone is looking for an explanation, a how-to, or a definition. For example, if someone searches "what is GDPR compliance for small businesses UK," Google may now answer that question entirely within the AI Overview, reducing the incentive to visit any individual site.

Which Types of UK Businesses Are Most Affected?

Not all businesses are affected equally. The sectors most exposed to traffic loss from AI Overviews include:

• Professional services (solicitors, accountants, financial advisers) where users ask general knowledge questions
• Healthcare and wellness providers with symptom or treatment-related content
• Home services (plumbers, builders, electricians) competing on how-to and advice content
• E-commerce retailers whose product descriptions and buying guides are used as source material
• Local businesses in Yorkshire and across the UK with blog content aimed at driving awareness

Businesses that rely on transactional queries — such as "book a plumber in Halifax" or "web design agency Yorkshire" — are generally less affected at this stage, as AI Overviews are less frequently triggered for highly localised, commercial-intent searches. However, this is changing.

What Google AI Overview Means for Local SEO in Yorkshire

For local businesses in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and the broader Yorkshire region, local SEO remains one of the most resilient channels in the face of AI Overviews. Here is why:

Google's AI Overview tends to rely on broad, nationally available content to construct its summaries. Hyper-local content — content that speaks specifically to your town, your community, or your local market — is much harder for AI to synthesise generically. A blog post about "the best commercial photographers in Halifax" or a service page targeting "accountants in Calderdale" contains the kind of specific, localised context that AI Overviews are less likely to absorb and reproduce.

Practical Local SEO Strategies That Still Work

1. Optimise and maintain your Google Business Profile — Local pack results and Maps listings are not replaced by AI Overviews and remain high-visibility positions.
2. Create genuinely local content — Write about community events, local case studies, and location-specific services. This builds relevance that AI cannot easily replicate.
3. Earn local citations and reviews — Online reviews and local directory listings continue to influence local search rankings regardless of AI Overview changes.
4. Build local backlinks — Links from Yorkshire-based news sites, business directories, and community organisations reinforce your local authority.
5. Target long-tail, high-intent queries — The more specific the search (e.g., "web developer for small businesses in Halifax"), the less likely it is to trigger a generic AI Overview.

How to Adapt Your Content Strategy for the AI Overview Era

The businesses that will thrive in this new landscape are those that adapt their content strategy to work with AI search behaviour rather than against it. At STEPS Solutions, we work with clients across Halifax and Yorkshire to build content strategies that remain effective as the search landscape evolves.

Optimise for Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)

Generative Engine Optimisation is the emerging practice of structuring your content so that AI models — including Google's Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity — are more likely to cite your website as a source. Key principles include:

• Write in a clear, factual, direct style that answers questions unambiguously
• Use structured data and schema markup to help AI understand your content
• Establish authorial credibility by including author bios, qualifications, and experience signals
• Publish original research, statistics, and expert commentary that AI models want to cite
• Structure content with clear headings, FAQs, and numbered lists that mirror how AI models parse and reproduce information

Invest in E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

Google's own quality guidelines emphasise E-E-A-T as a critical ranking factor. Content that demonstrates genuine expertise — written by identifiable humans with real credentials and real-world experience — is both more likely to rank and more likely to be cited within AI Overviews. For UK businesses, this means publishing content that reflects your actual knowledge, client outcomes, and professional background.

Focus on Bottom-of-Funnel and Transactional Content

AI Overviews are less likely to interfere with queries where a user is ready to make a decision. Content focused on conversions — pricing pages, contact pages, case studies, testimonials, and service-specific landing pages — remains highly valuable and is not easily displaced by an AI-generated summary.

Should UK Businesses Panic About AI Overviews?

No — but they should pay attention. AI Overviews represent a significant structural shift in how search works, not a temporary trend. The businesses that will be most harmed are those that relied heavily on thin, generic informational content to drive traffic without a broader digital strategy supporting them.

The businesses that will succeed are those investing in brand authority, local SEO, high-quality content, and multi-channel digital marketing. If your website traffic is already diversified — through social media, email marketing, paid search, and direct traffic — then AI Overviews are a challenge to manage, not a crisis to survive.

At STEPS Solutions in Halifax, we have been helping Yorkshire businesses adapt to changing search landscapes for years. The fundamentals of great digital marketing — delivering genuine value, building real authority, and speaking directly to your audience — have not changed. The tactics for achieving those goals are simply evolving.

Key Takeaways

• Google AI Overview is an AI-generated summary that appears above organic search results, potentially reducing click-through rates for affected queries
• Informational content is most vulnerable; transactional and hyper-local content is more resilient
• Local SEO — including Google Business Profile optimisation and location-specific content — remains highly effective for UK and Yorkshire businesses
• Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) and strong E-E-A-T signals increase your chances of being cited within AI Overviews rather than displaced by them
• Diversifying your traffic sources beyond organic search is now a strategic necessity, not a nice-to-have
• Businesses that invest in genuine expertise, authoritative content, and local visibility will be best positioned for long-term growth