Search Generative Experience Optimization

Google continues to lead the way in how it offers a hybrid search alternative to search engines. In its ranked search results, it may include a special search feature called AI overviews.

It’s a special form of results where Google’s artificial intelligence system offers up a generalized overview of a topic, issue or other matter when someone types in a question or topic that triggers an overview. Google believes users would benefit from a comprehensive discussion, rather than click through to the websites of businesses where they would follow their own information-seeking process. Searchers can then proceed over to Google Gemini, their AI LLM search engine.

I guess it’s a gentle nudge to AI search users to use Google Gemini rather than ChatGPT. Will it work? Time will tell how this battle plays out. The key to a search engine optimizer is to understand better how AI LLMs differ from traditional search engines.

Google search however, has massive and loyal user volumes conducting trillions of searches, and nudging them into AI searches might keep users away from competitor’s engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, and CoPilot. Honestly, I don’t think AI Overviews do the trick either from brand loyalty or usefulness. A weak information session via AI overviews, might alienate their users and cause them to search for “ChatGPT.”

Your prospects are more frequently typing in questions and this triggers an AI overview response such as this:

Google Introduced SGE at a Conference

SGE (related to Generative Experience Optimization or GEO). SGE was introduced at Google I/O in May 2023 as SGE and rebranded as “AI Overviews” in May 2024. For SEOs and content strategists, we call it search generative experience optimization, an aspect of advanced search engine optimization. It’s all about making our content ring true to AI LLMs algorithms and improving our content’s usefulness to users. This taks requires great knowledge and skill, such that new tools like Adobe’s LLM Optimizer won’t be sufficient to make your SEO strategy soar.

Google has its own lingo and perspective on AI-powered search which is different from how content strategists and Seo pros see it. SGE could change in the coming years, appearing more widely in the search results. As a topic, SGE is also done for other AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Bing Copilot, and Deepseek.

Google’s new AI-based feature has affected the SEO community’s outlook, somewhat downgrading the potential traffic/leads/revenue which small businesses might draw from Google search. About 20% of users are reading the overviews which means they might be less likely to click links and explore the top-ranking organic links.  This results in less Google traffic to websites, particularly information websites.

This is why we have to evolve beyond information and keywords to make our content a richer, fuller experience from blogs and landing pages, to product pages, all the way to bottom-of-funnel conversion pages. We have to make our content and brand more relevant, authentic, high-quality, and trustworthy to appeal to the new AI LLM search engines gaining market share in search today.  If you view the Generative Experience Optimization page, you’ll learn more about that.

User Experience Issues: Disruption, Wrong Focus

Although Google intends to improve and add AI features to this service, it suffers from trying to give users the same overviews — thus missing most user’s unique personal search intent. They disupt user’s natural search experience where they discover each topic and relevation organically and naturally (instead of having Google serve it up all at once). It’s like having a full meal crammed down your throat at an expensive restaurant. With SGE or AI LLM Search, it’s often too much too soon.  Searchers need time to understand the greater context, and not necessarily as a youngster!

Some say the AI overviews are helpful while others see it as extra pollution in the results to distract and force users to click on Google ads. More users are clicking on links in the overview snippet, but it still produces only a small number of referrals to websites. The organic results still generate the lion’s share of traffic and leads thus organic SEO is very valuable.

And those investigators note as well, that more people are bypassing the AI overview and scrolling down to find the organic results. Sites in the 3^rd to 10^th ranking are seeing more clickthroughs. This makes sense since if the user is turned off by the overview, they’re going to feel disrupted and discontented which will increase their hope that the lower search results might be of use to them.

The issue for Google users (Or in ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot) is that the overview is likely not suitable for them, even if 20% of the searchers appreciate it.  It’s a relevance issue and likely a quality issue as well. And the main issue about that is that searchers are having their natural self-directed search quest (user experience and journey) interrupted. Google currently does not allow users to shut the overviews off.

Google Serves its Own Business Interests First

In a business sense, the overview achieves a business goal of keeping users on Google and away from organic search results which allows users to leave Google. It may be creating more ad clicks for Alphabet revenue.

Google offers yet another feature called AI mode in the search page, where it hands the query or question off to Google Gemini, their AI LLM GPT tool. Google Gemini is impressive and the user interacts with it to refine their search and dig down. Google Gemini, further, offers a deep research feature where it will take its time for a comprehensive exploration and analysis on a question or a topic. It is very useful.

And this is why the hypesters are once again pronouncing the quick death of SEO.

Our Quest: Better Content that’s More Relevant to the AI LLMs

SGE and GEO are major evolutions in how Google (or Bing, ChatGPT) understand user intent and web content. SEOs have the challenge of solving this extra layer of content optimization to achieve visibility, relevance and clicks.  AI LLMs have their own unique algorithms which may not rely on web hyperlinks. Instead, as we’ll explore here, they rank pages based on specific relevance, perceived authority and trustworthiness, real experience and topic expertise.

My goal will be to research, design and coordinate your content experience for users in a way that solves all these many requirements.  I will use AI tools to research, organize, refine content but always write in a compelling way for your specific target audience. This unique human style is something Google values since the content is being fashioned as authentic and more significant for your customers.

Generative AI robot writing tends to be flat, academic, uninspiring, redundant, with overused phrases and words. Of course, it can be refined and improved, thus helping me make your tone of voice and brand more compelling to visitors.

Tips for Crafting Content to Align with AI LLM Algorithms

To improve your chance of your content or company name being featured in AI Overviews or generative‑AI results, we can use Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies that align with how LLMs choose and synthesize content.

As we’re designing your new content and redeveloping your old content, we have to build up its authenticity, authority, trustworthiness and credibility, along with evidence of actual experience and expertise. We have to design your collection content as a complete series of immersive touch points, that will impact visitors, and make their own information quest interesting and rewarding. We want to be the most significant source or brand and appear to be that to the AI LLMs.

Here are some tips to improve that outcome.

1. Lead with Clear, Concise answers to Questions (e.g., user intent)

• View your content as it if were a direct response to a likely user query (e.g., 1–2 sentences, for “what or where is the best place in Italy to tour?).   Does your content answer the likely questions your users have?  Does it provide the best satisfaction for what they want to do, from beginning to end.

3. Demonstrate E‑E‑A‑T (Experience‑Expertise‑Authority‑Trustworthiness)

• Showcase author credentials, use real-world examples, case studies, citations of reputable sources, and get quality backlinks from industry relevant sites with high trust and domain ratings.

4. Organize with Logical Headings & Topic Clusters/Themes

1. Use H1/H2/H3 headings, bullet points, and link to related articles to build topical authority and help AI follow your content structure.

5. Create content for conversational search

• Anticipate natural language queries, format headings/questions via the 5 W’s like “What is…”, When are the…”, or “How do I…,” matching how users ask questions.

6. Include Engaging Visual Content

• Great images move visitors emotionally. Use relevant optimized images/videos with descriptive alt text that answer specific sub‑questions, helping AI summarize rich visual information. Reuse images on other pages (in relevant text content) and use alt tag text that helps the LLM better understand the image’s keyword/topic relevance.

9. Optimize for Answer Engines (AEO/GEO)

• Think like AI: focus on concise answers, structured cues, metadata (like llms.txt/AEO files), canonical clarity for specific info paths, and embedding key points of topic relevance—to ensure your content is LLM‑friendly.

10. Audit with AI tools

• Regularly test your content by prompting AI models (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini) to answer queries—see if your page is cited accurately, and adjust for clarity and structure. Ask ChatGPT, Deepseek, Copilot, Perplexity, Jasper or Google Gemini to review your content in many different ways, to discover SGE or AEO weaknesses.

This topic of SGE is obviously complex and it doesn’t hurt to get the GPTs to help you a little. They don’t really understand our specific purpose our our unique ranking strategy or content experience strategy. Following them leads to mediocrity. Our goal is to be one of the few that makes it to the top for massive, qualified traffic.

Your content deserves maximum visibility and to make the best impact possible on your target audience.

See more on Generative Experience Optimization and AI LLM user intent segmentation as parts of high-quality content strategy.

Find out more about Gord and Advanced SEO/Content services that help you overachieve.