If you have searched Google recently, you may have noticed a new block of text at the top of some results pages: a short, AI-written summary with links underneath. Google calls these AI Overviews, and in May 2024 it began showing them to everyone searching in the United States.

For local businesses, such as cafés, plumbers, dentists, salons and repair shops, the change raises practical questions. Will customers still click through to your website? Could an AI summary get your hours or prices wrong? Do you need to change how you write your pages? This guide explains what Google has actually said about AI Overviews, what is still uncertain, and the sensible steps a local business can take now without chasing every rumor.

Where AI Overviews came from

AI Overviews did not appear overnight. In May 2023, Google announced an experiment called the Search Generative Experience in a post titled Supercharging Search with generative AI. It described an AI-powered snapshot of key information to consider, with links to dig deeper, along with suggested next steps and the ability to ask follow-up questions. The experiment ran in Search Labs, an opt-in program, and was available only in the U.S. and in English at launch.

A year later, Google moved the feature into regular search. Its May 14, 2024 announcement, Generative AI in Search: Let Google do the searching for you, said AI Overviews would begin rolling out to everyone in the U.S., with more countries coming soon, and that Google expected to bring them to over a billion people by the end of the year.

So the feature is new for most searchers, but it has been tested for some time. It will likely keep changing.

What Google says about clicks and traffic

The biggest worry for most business owners is traffic. If a summary answers the question, will people still visit the website?

Google’s own position, stated in the May 14 announcement, is that the links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query, and that people are visiting a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions. It also said Google would continue to focus on sending valuable traffic to publishers and creators.

Those are Google’s claims, based on its own data, and they describe averages across many searches. They do not tell you what will happen to a particular plumber in a particular town. Some kinds of simple questions may be answered without a click, while more complex questions may still send people to detailed pages. The honest answer for any single business is that nobody outside Google can say yet, and the effect will depend on what people search for.

That uncertainty is a reason to measure your own results rather than react to headlines.

How AI Overviews choose information

Understanding how the feature works helps explain what you can influence. After some widely shared odd answers, Google published a follow-up on May 30, 2024, AI Overviews: About last week. It explained that AI Overviews are powered by a customized language model, but that the model is integrated with Google’s core web ranking systems. According to Google, they are built to only show information that is backed up by top web results, and they include relevant links so people can explore further.

The same post described why mistakes happen. When AI Overviews get it wrong, Google said, it is usually because of misinterpreting queries, misinterpreting a nuance of language on the web, or not having a lot of great information available. It gave the example of a data void, where little reliable content exists on a topic, and described cases where satirical or joking forum posts were picked up.

For a local business, the takeaway is practical. AI Overviews draw on web content Google already ranks. Clear, accurate, consistent information about your business gives the system better material to work with. Vague, outdated or contradictory information gives it worse material.

Hands in green sleeves photograph two croissants with a phone on a wooden counter beside an orange cup and blue napkin.

Why accuracy now matters more

A traditional search result shows your page title and a short snippet, and the customer clicks through to read the details in your own words. An AI summary may combine information from several sources into a few sentences. If your website says you close at 6 p.m. on one page and 5 p.m. on another, or your service area page has not been updated since you stopped serving a neighboring town, that confusion can be repeated back to customers.

Start with the facts customers most often search for:

  • Opening hours, including holiday hours and seasonal changes.
  • Address, parking and directions.
  • Service areas and the services you do and do not offer.
  • Prices or price ranges, if you publish them.
  • How to book, order or get a quote.
  • Policies such as cancellations, returns or warranties.

Check that each appears consistently across your website and any other places you control, such as your business profiles and social media pages. Remove or update old pages that contradict current information. This is unglamorous work, but it is the most direct way to avoid being described incorrectly.

Write pages that answer real questions

AI Overviews are aimed at helping with more complex questions that might previously have taken several searches. Google’s May 14 post gave an example of a planned capability: asking, in one search, for popular yoga or pilates studios in a city along with details about their introductory offers and walking time from a particular neighborhood.

That suggests local businesses should think about the specific questions customers ask before they buy. A café might answer whether it has vegan options, Wi-Fi or space for small groups. A roofer might explain what a typical inspection involves, how long repairs take and what affects cost. A dental practice might describe what to expect at a first visit.

Write those answers plainly and specifically, using the words customers actually use. Thoughtful copywriting helps here: short sections, clear headings and direct answers are easier for people to read, and they are also easier for search systems to understand.

Avoid stuffing pages with phrases aimed at AI. Google has not published any special markup or trick for appearing in AI Overviews, and its explanation points back to the same ranking systems that reward helpful, reliable pages.

Show what makes your business real

One of the issues Google described in May was AI Overviews drawing on content that was not meant seriously, or on pages with little reliable information. Its response included limiting the use of user-generated content that could offer misleading advice and limiting satire and humor content.

Local businesses have an advantage here: first-hand knowledge. Photos of your actual work, details about your team, explanations based on real jobs, and honest descriptions of what you do give your pages substance that generic content lacks. That is useful for customers whether or not an AI summary ever cites it.

A man in an orange jacket walks past a shop with a blue awning while looking at his phone, a green bicycle by the wall.

An illustrative example

Imagine a small bakery whose website lists weekday hours on the home page but still shows last year’s holiday closures on a separate page, and whose only description of custom cakes is a single sentence. Someone asks Google whether the bakery takes cake orders for a weekend party and when it is open. Whatever system answers that question, human or automated, the bakery has given it conflicting hours and almost no detail to work with.

A tidy fix would remove the old holiday page, show current hours in one consistent format, and add a short page explaining how custom orders work, how much notice is needed and how to place one. This example is invented for illustration and does not describe a real business or result.

Keep information current

AI systems can only be as current as the information available to them. If your menu, prices or hours change, update your website promptly, and check other listings you manage at the same time.

It helps to schedule a regular review, perhaps monthly for busy businesses and quarterly for others, to check key pages for accuracy. Regular content updates make this easier to sustain, especially before busy seasons when customers are searching most.

Measure instead of guessing

Because the effect of AI Overviews will vary, track what is happening to your own site rather than relying on general predictions. Useful signals include:

  • Visits from search to your key pages, compared with the same period last year.
  • Calls, bookings, quote requests and contact form submissions.
  • The search terms that bring people to your site, where your tools report them.
  • Customer comments about what they read before contacting you.

If you see changes, look at which pages and questions are affected before drawing conclusions. A drop in visits to a simple information page may matter less if calls and bookings hold steady. Keep notes on when you made changes to your site, so you can compare before and after fairly.

Check what AI Overviews say about you

From time to time, search for the questions your customers ask, including your business name with words like hours, prices or reviews. If an AI Overview appears, read it carefully and follow its links. If it states something inaccurate, check whether the source is your own outdated page, a third-party listing or something else, and fix what you can control.

Google’s May 30 post said it had established processes to remove responses that do not comply with its policies and that it welcomes feedback. Using the feedback option on an incorrect overview is reasonable, but correcting the underlying information is usually the more reliable fix.

Misconceptions worth setting aside

A few claims circulate quickly whenever search changes, and they are worth treating with caution. One is that websites no longer matter because AI answers everything. Google’s own description says AI Overviews are built from top web results and include links, so they depend on websites existing and being useful. Another is that a special file, tag or keyword formula can force your business into AI Overviews. Google has not announced one. A third is that every business will lose traffic. Google says the opposite on average, while independent evidence for individual local businesses is still thin. The calm position is to keep doing the fundamentals well and watch your own numbers.

The bottom line

AI Overviews are a significant change in how some search results look, but the fundamentals for local businesses have not changed. Accurate, consistent, helpful information about your business remains the foundation. Keep your key facts current, answer real customer questions clearly, show what makes your business genuine, and measure your own results before making big decisions.

If you want help reviewing how your site appears in search and where to focus first, Motta Industries’ search engine optimization team can walk through your pages with you.