To appear as a link in Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode you don’t need special techniques: the page has to be indexed, crawlable and useful, which is ordinary SEO. Google’s own documentation says there are no additional requirements and no special optimisations for these features. What you can do is check that the basics work, and the basics are few.
I’m Toure Tia Kevin, a web developer in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. This guide is based on Google Search Central’s “AI features and your website” page; where I add my own opinion, I say so.
What AI Overviews and AI Mode are
- AI Overviews: the box with an AI-generated answer above the regular results, with links to sources. Google says it only appears when its systems judge that it adds something to classic search, so it often doesn’t appear.
- AI Mode: the conversational search mode, where you ask follow-up questions and get answers with links to sources.
In both, your site can appear as a supporting link next to the answer. Traffic that comes from it is counted in the overall search traffic in Search Console: there is no separate report that isolates it.
What Google requires, and what it doesn’t
To be shown as a supporting link, a page must be indexed. Nothing else specific is needed: no dedicated files, no particular markup, no text rewritten “for the AI”. Google’s recommendations are those of good SEO:
- Allow crawling. Check that `robots.txt` and any CDN or firewall don’t block Googlebot.
- Make content findable through internal links. A page that no other page on the site points to is hard to discover.
- Provide a good page experience. Fast, readable on a phone, no pop-ups covering the text.
- Write content that is useful to people, with the important information as text.
If you’d rather limit how your text appears, preview controls such as `nosnippet` work for these features too. If you use them and the content still appears, the first check is that the control is written correctly and visible to Googlebot.
A 15-minute check for your site
| What to check | How |
|---|---|
| The page is indexed | “URL Inspection” tool in Search Console |
| `robots.txt` doesn’t block Googlebot | Open `yoursite.com/robots.txt` and read the `Disallow` lines |
| No `noindex` left on by mistake | Look at the page’s meta robots (a theme or plugin can leave it on after development) |
| The page receives internal links | From the menu or from another page of the site |
| The site is fast on a phone | Try the page on a mobile connection |
| Answers are in the text | Prices, opening hours, address and services written on the page, not only in images or PDFs |
A note of mine, not Google’s: firewall or hosting rules against “bots” are a common cause of crawling problems. If Search Console reports crawl errors you can’t explain, look there first.
What you don’t need to do
- You don’t need a special file for AI. Google doesn’t require dedicated files or markup for its AI features.
- You don’t need tricks. Filling the page with sentences designed to be quoted doesn’t replace content that really answers the person searching.
- You don’t need to buy “mentions”. Useful content and a technically healthy site are what count.
If you’re interested in the crawlers of other AI services (the ones that collect text to train models), that’s a different topic: I cover it in robots.txt and AI: deciding who can read your site.
What to do for a local business
For a small business, the useful work is what was needed before:
- a page for each service, with indicative prices and answers to the questions customers really ask;
- an up-to-date Google Business Profile with the same details as the site;
- a clear structure, with headings that describe the content;
- fast pages that read well on a phone.
How to work on local search is in local SEO in Veneto; if you want your site reviewed, see the SEO consulting service. To understand what a well-built site costs, read how much a website costs.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether my site appears in AI Overviews?
There is no dedicated report in Search Console: clicks and impressions from these features are included in the overall search totals. You can search the questions your site answers and see whether it appears among the links.
Do I need to change how I write?
Not for Google: the documentation says no special optimisations are needed. The usual rule applies: answer the question clearly, with the important information as text.
Can I opt out?
Yes, with preview controls such as `nosnippet`. It has a cost: it also limits how your text appears in regular results.
Do I need an llms.txt file?
Not for Google: it doesn’t require it for search. Other AI services may behave differently.
If you’d like me to look at your site and tell you what to fix, get in touch.
