How AI Overviews (SGE) are changing SEO strategy for UK agencies

Search engine optimisation is undergoing its most significant transformation in a decade. Google's AI Overviews — formerly known as the Search Generative Experience (SGE) — are now appearing prominently at the top of search results across the UK, fundamentally changing how users interact with search and how businesses need to think about their digital visibility. For UK agencies like STEPS Solutions in Halifax, West Yorkshire, this shift is not a distant trend to monitor — it is an immediate strategic challenge that demands a new approach to content, authority, and technical SEO.

What Are AI Overviews and Why Do They Matter for UK SEO?

AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear at the very top of Google search results, synthesising information from multiple sources to answer a user's query directly — before the user ever clicks a link. Originally launched as the Search Generative Experience (SGE) in the United States, Google rolled out AI Overviews to UK users in 2024, making it one of the most disruptive changes to the search landscape in years.

For UK businesses investing in SEO, the implications are significant. When a user's question is answered directly in the search result, click-through rates on traditional organic listings can decline — a phenomenon often referred to as zero-click searches. Studies tracking AI Overview rollouts have shown organic click-through rates dropping by anywhere from 18% to 64% for queries where an AI Overview appears, depending on the industry and intent of the search.

"AI Overviews are not the end of SEO — they are the evolution of it. The agencies that thrive will be those that optimise not just for rankings, but for being cited as a trusted source inside the AI-generated answer itself."

At STEPS Solutions, we advise clients across Yorkshire and the wider UK that the goal is no longer simply to rank on page one. The goal is to be the source that Google's AI trusts enough to quote.

How AI Overviews Are Changing the Organic Search Landscape

The traditional SEO model was built around earning a top-ten ranking in the blue link results. AI Overviews introduce a new layer — a Position Zero Plus, if you will — that sits above featured snippets and organic results alike. Understanding how this layer works is essential for any business or agency serious about maintaining search visibility.

The Shift from Ranking to Being Cited

Google's AI assembles its overviews by drawing on pages it considers authoritative, well-structured, and factually reliable. This means the traditional signals of SEO — backlinks, keyword density, page speed — remain relevant, but they are now joined by new priorities:

• Content depth and expertise: Google favours pages that comprehensively answer a topic, not just target a single keyword.
• E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Pages that clearly demonstrate author credentials and organisational authority are more likely to be cited.
• Structured, parseable content: Clear headings, bullet points, and direct answers make it easier for AI models to extract and cite your content.
• Schema markup: Structured data helps Google understand the context and reliability of your content.
• Original data and insights: AI Overviews tend to cite unique research, statistics, and expert commentary rather than generic information.

Query Intent Is More Critical Than Ever

AI Overviews tend to appear predominantly on informational and navigational queries — questions beginning with "how," "what," "why," and "best." Transactional queries (those with clear commercial intent) are less likely to trigger an AI Overview, which means product pages and service pages are somewhat protected. However, the top-of-funnel content that drives brand awareness and educates potential customers is directly in the crosshairs of this change.

What Is GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation?

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of creating and structuring content specifically to be cited, quoted, or referenced by AI-generated search results and large language models (LLMs). It extends traditional SEO principles into the age of generative AI, and it is quickly becoming a core discipline for forward-thinking digital agencies.

At its core, GEO asks a simple but powerful question: If an AI model were to answer a question about your industry, would it cite your content? For businesses in Yorkshire and across the UK, this question should now sit at the heart of every content strategy.

GEO vs AEO vs Traditional SEO: What's the Difference?

These three disciplines are complementary but distinct:

• Traditional SEO: Optimising pages to rank in the ten blue links — focused on keywords, backlinks, and technical performance.
• AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation): Structuring content to appear in featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and voice search results — focused on direct, concise answers.
• GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation): Creating authoritative, structured, well-evidenced content that AI systems like Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity cite as a reliable source.

The most effective strategy in 2024 and beyond combines all three. At STEPS Solutions, our Halifax-based team integrates these approaches into a unified content and SEO framework for clients across West Yorkshire and nationwide.

Practical SEO Strategies for UK Agencies Adapting to AI Overviews

Understanding the change is one thing — knowing how to adapt is another. Here are the strategic shifts that UK digital agencies and their clients should be making right now.

1. Prioritise Topical Authority Over Keyword Targeting

Rather than optimising individual pages for single keywords, build comprehensive content clusters that cover an entire topic in depth. A legal firm in Yorkshire, for example, should not have one page about "employment law." They should have an interconnected hub of content covering every aspect of employment law — dismissal, contracts, discrimination, tribunals — so that Google's AI recognises the site as a genuine authority.

2. Write for Both Humans and AI Parsers

Structure your content with clear headings, concise paragraph openings that state the main point, and direct answers to likely questions. Use FAQ sections, definition boxes, and numbered steps. This is exactly the kind of content that AI models extract and cite in generated overviews.

3. Implement Comprehensive Schema Markup

Use structured data including Article, FAQPage, HowTo, LocalBusiness, and Review schema to give Google's systems explicit context about your content. For local businesses across Yorkshire, implementing robust LocalBusiness schema remains one of the highest-return technical SEO investments available.

4. Build and Demonstrate E-E-A-T Signals

Add clear author bios with credentials, cite sources and data, keep content current, and earn authoritative backlinks from industry publications and local directories. Google's AI models weight trustworthiness heavily when deciding which sources to surface in an AI Overview.

5. Monitor AI Overview Appearances Using GSC

Google Search Console now provides some visibility into AI Overview performance. Track which queries are triggering AI Overviews for your site's core keywords and monitor shifts in impressions versus click-through rates to identify where the impact is greatest and where your content needs strengthening.

What This Means for Local SEO in Yorkshire and the UK

For businesses with a strong local focus — such as companies across Halifax, Leeds, Bradford, and Huddersfield — the impact of AI Overviews on local SEO requires specific attention. Local intent queries ("best web designer in Halifax," "SEO agency West Yorkshire") do sometimes trigger AI Overviews, but Google Business Profile data, local citations, and review signals remain critical inputs into how AI models answer these queries.

The key takeaway for local UK businesses is that local SEO fundamentals are more important, not less, in an AI-driven search environment. A well-optimised Google Business Profile, consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data across local directories, and a strong corpus of genuine customer reviews all feed into the AI's understanding of your business's credibility and relevance.

STEPS Solutions works with businesses across West Yorkshire to build exactly this kind of robust local search presence — one that is built to perform in both traditional search and in the emerging AI-generated results landscape.

Key Takeaways

• AI Overviews are live in the UK and are already affecting click-through rates for informational search queries across many industries.
• The new goal of SEO is not just to rank — it is to be cited as a trusted source inside AI-generated answers.
• GEO, AEO, and traditional SEO must be integrated into a single, unified content strategy to maintain visibility across all search surfaces.
• Content that is structured, authoritative, original, and comprehensive is the most likely to be picked up and cited by AI Overviews.
• Local SEO signals — Google Business Profile, reviews, citations — remain essential inputs for AI systems answering local intent queries.
• Technical foundations including schema markup, page speed, and mobile optimisation continue to support both traditional and AI-driven search visibility.
• UK agencies that adapt their strategies now will hold a significant competitive advantage as AI-powered search continues to mature.