SGE SEO: Everything You Need to Know About Search Generative Experience

From the Florida 2003 update to RankBrain in 2015, the Google search algorithm has gone through several major changes that have impacted the digital marketing sphere. Search Generative Experience (SGE), now known as AIO, is the most groundbreaking update in recent history – and marketing teams across the world are scrambling.

Search Generative Experience is the first Google algorithm update that actively incorporates artificial intelligence into the search engine. Instead of solely recommending top websites, SGE and AIO instead generate a short summary in response to your query while linking their sources.

Even in the months following the first iteration of SGE, websites saw a decrease in CTR of 7.31% globally. No matter what industry your business works in, SGE and AIO are vital Google updates that you need to pay attention to and pivot toward addressing.

In this article, I’ve covered everything you need to know about search generative experience, breaking down what it is, SGE SEO, AIO vs SGE, and other FAQs you’ll need to know to enhance your digital presence in this new AI-first era of Google search. 

What Is Search Generative Experience (SGE)?

Google Search Generative Experience was an experimental AI search engine addition that launched in 2023. Google’s SGE aimed to provide users with a summary of the top pages, using ranking websites as sources to then generate a summary in response to a query. 

SGE became permanent in 2024, after testing in major markets like the US and the UK. SGE aims to streamline the searching process by providing an answer instead of making a user click on a site. 

Search Generative Experience includes a summary of the content, links to top websites and sources, and any other information that the user is likely to search for.

What Is SGE SEO?

SGE SEO is a new evolutionary pathway of modern SEO that focuses on allowing your busienss to make its way into the AI-generated search snippet. SGE SEO uses a range of new techniques, like utilizing long-tails and clearly identifying search page intent to rank better in the AI era of Google searches.

While SGE SEO, sometimes known as AIO SEO, is a more recent development, it is quickly becoming a central skill that all digital marketing teams should understand and use. There are sevearl overlaps between traditional SEO and SGE SEO, but the latter has a few additional strategies and content positioning tactics to employ.

Key Features of AI SGE: How Does Google SGE Work?

SGE works by scraping data on the top pages for a search query, synthesizing it, and then producing a short AI summary of that information. Based on a user query, SGE will respond directly to the question, providing insight or recommending products depending on the user’s intent.

Here are the key features of SGE:

• Conversational Tone: SGE uses a conversational tone, breaking down information in a way that is as easy to understand for the user as possible.

• Top-Source Synthesis: SGE draws information from the top-ranking pages for a query.

• Page Links: SGE links out to the pages it used for research, which provides your business with an opportunity to get clicks directly from the AI-generated overview.

• Context and Nuance: SGE uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to a greater degree, allowing it to better understand what a user wants to find out and cultivating a better response due to this context. 

Especially due to the conversational and context-dependent nature of SGE, users will increasingly be able to use longer, more complex search terms on Google in the future.

What Are Google AI Overviews?

Google AI Overviews (AIO) are a direct evolution from SGE. They are a permanent addition to Google search pages and provide the same information as SGE but with more context and better refinement. AIO is the result of the SGE testing that Google conducted in 2023 and 2024.

The Google AI Overviews release permanently in May of 2024 in the USA. Since then, Google has systematically rolled out AIO into more territories. Additionally, Google has started to offer AIO responses for more industries, keywords, and niche content over time. This is an ongoing effort, with Google’s continuous learning increasing the number of pages AIO is on over time. 

Differences Between AI Overviews and SGE (AIO vs SGE)

While SGE and AIO are very similar, they are not the same thing. SGE is the first iteration of AIO, meaning that AIO is a more powerful, refined version of SGE. While SGE was an experimental, temporary search feature, AIO is permanently embedded into the search engine as of mid-2024.

Here are the main differences between AI Overviews (AIO) and SGE:

• AIO Takes Up Less Space: SGE often dumped a great deal of information, while AIO offers sleek, tailored responses.

• AIO Uses Embedded Links: SGE only included source links on the side of the SGE panel, while AIO now embeds links directly in its generated content to let users trace exactly which site they took the information from.

• AIO is permanent: AIO has a broader, global rollout and is here to stay in Google search results, while SGE has been faded out and replaced over time.

AIO and SGE both replace featured snippets, meaning that digital marketing teams should begin to change their strategies to use AIO SEO techniques.

SGE SEO: How to Optimize for AIO SEO

By following the leading SGE SEO strategies, your business can rank more effectively in this AI-first era of user searching. Although many of the SEO strategies you’re already using still remain useful, there are a number of new techniques that you should begin incorporating if you want to drive growth with your business content writing.

Here are some of the leading AIO SEO strategies to help you optimize for SGE:

Keep Direct Answers Shorter

According to research by SurferSEO, the vast majority of direct responses generated by AIO are around 157 words. This means that one or two sentences is all they use to define words, reply to queries, or offer information.

When answering question keywords in an article, your business should keep this lower word count in mind. For example, defining things as succinctly as possible or responding to questions in just a few paragraphs is now the most effective method of gaining visibility in search engines.

This truly is another iteration of Google’s Helpful Content policy, as they want direct answers over fluff. 

Source: SurferSEO Insights from 400,000 AI Overview Searches RE Length

Build Quality Long-Form Articles

Writing and publishing high-quality long-form articles is a leading strategy to rank your content with AIO SEO. The main reason for this is that the vast majority of simple queries are going to be rapidly solved by AI. For example, if someone Googles ‘How many ml in 10 cups’, these simple questions are instantly answered by the AI overview.

The main click-through opportunities in this age of SGE SEO are by positioning your business as an industry leader. By writing in-depth long-form articles on topics in your industry, you provide highly useful content hubs for your users to click on and read through. Not only will you appear as a reference in the AIO, but you’ll also capture clicks for providing such in-depth content.

Where possible, write long-form, evergreen articles that will keep the clicks coming in even with AIO summaries.

Use Longtail Keywords More Freely to Capture a Wider Range of SGE SEO Terms

One major SEO shift that search generative experience has brought about is the enhancement of Google’s own NLP capabilities. By better understanding user context in a search query, Google can now provide article suggestions that go beyond the old method of keyword-oriented searching.

While keywords are still enormously important, your business can now be a little looser when it comes to long-tail strategy. AIO allows people to type in longer, more complicated queries that may not follow the simple direct keyword strategy. For long-form content writing, this is actually a major improvement.

When planning SEO SGE articles, be sure to look for longtails that you can scatter throughout your article. For human-first writing, this is also a win-win, as you can stop including unnatural-sounding keywords and instead allow your writing to resemble exactly how a user will be searching.

Clearly Identify the Intent of a Page

Another major shift when it comes to search generative experience SEO is that the AIO will create a featured snippet that is heavily dependent on the user’s search intent. For example, in the image below, this search term has a clear commercial search intent. Due to that, the AIO has product recommendations and links out to products.

For a more informational search term, you’re more likely to see the AI-generated summaries with links to references. Understanding the search intent for the page you’re creating will allow you to structure your content in a way that is more intuitive for the AIO to ingest and reproduce.

Where possible, still to single-page intent and highly targeted content writing services.

Adapt to Your Own Industry

Another useful tip for ranking with AIO SEO is to ensure that your business understands what types of content work best for your audience. For example, SaaS content and tech content would work best with highly structured long-form articles that go in-depth on a related topic. This will help feature you in the AIO while also ensuring you’re one of the top references AI draws from.

On the contrary, when writing HR content, there may be a larger number of short questions that users are searching for. How to use X payroll system, when to move to Y system, etc. With that in mind, creating articles that directly tackle these questions in shorter sections could be an effective way to get yourself into the AIO.

Can You Disable Search Generative Experience?

Over the past few years, there have been several strategies that users have employed to turn off SGE and AIO. These ranged from including a swear word in your search term to using “-AI” in every search. Although each of these worked for a time, they no longer function.

There is currently no way to disable the search generative experience function on Chrome. Over time, Google will likely roll out an AIO for every single major search term, with more being covered every single day. With that in mind, digital marketing teams need to get used to AIO and begin to work an AIO SEO strategy into their digital marketing techniques.

Final Thoughts on SGE SEO and AIO

Search Generative Experience (AIO) is a permanent addition to the digital search engine landscape. For users, this could be a welcome addition or a frustrating bit of clutter. Either way, it seems that Google has zero plans of removing or offering an option to hide the AIO from search results. On the contrary, Google recently expanded AIO coverage across a number of industries, making this a nearly ubiquitous search tool.

For marketing teams that still want to rank in the era of SGE and ensure their content makes it into the AIO, it’s vital to supplement existing SEO strategies with new AIO SEO techniques. While not as established as the tried-and-true digital SEO strategies, we do already have a great deal of insight into what works for AIO SEO.

If you’d like a helping hand creating effective digital marketing content campaigns that rank well and feature in AI summaries, I can help. With years of experience as a digital marketing manager and B2B content writer, I have extensive knowledge of modern SEO and can adapt to SGE search engine optimization.

Reach out today to get started.