How to Show Up in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode (2026 Guide)

Ask Google a question today and the first thing you see is often not a list of links. It is an AI Overview: a short answer written by Google's AI, with a handful of sources underneath. And if you tap the AI Mode tab, you get a full conversation instead of search results at all.

AI Overviews rolled out Australia-wide on 29 October 2024. AI Mode followed in English on 8 October 2025. For a local business the question is simple: when Google's AI answers a question about what you sell, does it mention you, or your competitor?

This guide covers what Google has actually said it takes to appear, and the practical steps that make a difference for a small business.

What AI Overviews and AI Mode actually are

AI Overviews sit at the top of normal Google results. Google writes a summary answer and shows links to the pages it drew on. Those links are your chance to be seen.

AI Mode is a separate, chat-style way to search, built for longer questions and follow-ups. Google says it uses a technique called "query fan-out": instead of running one search, it runs several related searches across different subtopics, then combines what it finds into one answer.

That matters because your page can be cited for a question you never targeted. Someone asks "who should I get to redo my small business website in Springfield, and what should it cost?", and AI Mode may search separately for local web designers, typical website prices and what to look for. A clear page on any one of those can earn the mention.

What Google says it takes

Google's own Search Central documentation is blunt about this:

"There is no special optimization or special markup required for AI features."

To be eligible as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to show in Google Search with a snippet. That is it. There is no separate submission and no secret code.

Two things follow from that. First, be wary of anyone selling a special "AI Overview" trick. The work that gets you cited is good SEO, done properly. Second, meeting the requirements makes you eligible, not guaranteed. Google's systems still choose which pages to show for each question.

Step 1: Make sure Google can index your pages

If a page is not in Google's index, it cannot appear in an AI Overview, however good it is. Check this first.

• Look it up in Google Search Console. Paste the page address into the URL Inspection tool. It should say the page is on Google.
• Check for a stray "noindex". Website builders and SEO plugins sometimes leave pages hidden from Google after a rebuild.
• Do not block your snippets. Settings called nosnippet and max-snippet also limit what Google can use in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
• Know which crawler does what. Blocking "Google-Extended" does not remove you from AI Overviews. Google says that setting does not affect inclusion in Google Search, and AI Overviews are part of Search.

Step 2: Answer the questions your customers actually ask

AI answers are built from pages that answer a question clearly. Because AI Mode splits a question into smaller ones, the pages that get used tend to answer one thing well, in plain language, near the top.

• Put the direct answer first, then the detail. "Most small business websites we build start from $1,500" beats three paragraphs of preamble.
• Cover the questions people ask before they buy: price, how long it takes, what is included, which suburbs you cover.
• Use real headings that read like questions, and a short FAQ on your key service pages.

Step 3: Get your Google Business Profile right

For local searches, Google's AI answers regularly pull in businesses from Google Maps, along with their ratings and what reviewers say. If your Business Profile is thin, out of date or in the wrong category, you are giving the AI very little to work with.

Choose the most accurate primary category, list every service you offer, keep your hours and service areas current, and add real photos. Our step-by-step guide to getting your business on Google Maps walks through it, or see how we handle Google Business Profile management.

Step 4: Keep your details identical everywhere

Your business name, address, phone number and website should match exactly across your website, your Business Profile and the directories that list you. When the details conflict, any system trying to describe your business, AI or otherwise, has less reason to trust what it finds.

Step 5: Earn reviews that say what you do

A review that says "Great service" helps a little. A review that says "They rebuilt our Springfield Lakes plumbing website and the phone started ringing" tells Google what you do, where, and for whom. Ask happy customers to mention the service and the suburb in their own words. Never write or buy reviews.

Step 6: Use structured data, but do not expect magic

Structured data, sometimes called schema, is code that tells search engines exactly what your business is, what services you offer and where. Google says it is not required for AI features, and it gives no special route into them. It is still worth having, because it removes guesswork about who you are, as long as it matches what is visible on the page.

How to check whether you are showing up

• Ask the questions yourself. Search the questions your customers ask, in both normal Google and AI Mode, and note which businesses get named. Do it in a private browser window so your own history does not skew the result.
• Watch Search Console. Google says clicks and impressions from AI features are included in your overall search traffic in Search Console, so rising impressions on question-style searches is a good sign.
• Get a proper check. We run your real buying questions across Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT and Perplexity and show you who gets named instead. See AI visibility for how it works.

What we would skip

• Anything that guarantees placement in AI answers. Google chooses the sources, question by question. Nobody can promise a spot.
• A separate page for every possible phrasing. Query fan-out is not a reason to churn out near-identical pages. One genuinely useful page per topic works better.
• Blocking Google to "protect" your content. If your pages cannot be indexed or shown with a snippet, they cannot be cited either.

The short version: the businesses Google's AI mentions are, overwhelmingly, the ones that are easy for Google to understand and easy for customers to trust. That is the same work that wins the Google Maps top three, which is why we do the two together in our Google Maps Package and local SEO service.

Related reading: what SEO costs in Australia, how to get your business on Google Maps and our AI visibility service.