AI Overviews vs Featured Snippets: What Changed for Your Clicks
A featured snippet quotes text from one page in a box above the results. An AI Overview writes a new summary, and may link several pages. Ahrefs found Overviews rose from 3.93% to 27.43% of sampled US desktop results in early 2025 while snippets fell from 15.41% to 5.53% 3. Write clear answers for both.
- A featured snippet extracts a passage from one page. An AI Overview generates a summary, then links to supporting pages.
- Google says you cannot ask to be featured in a snippet. Google's systems decide, and the same logic applies to Overviews.
- Ahrefs data showed Overviews growing as snippets shrank during early 2025. That is correlation, not proof of replacement.
- Ahrefs found a 58% lower click rate for the top result when an Overview is present. It is a correlation on desktop data.
What is the difference between AI Overviews and featured snippets?
A featured snippet shows a passage taken from a page, placed before the page title and link 1. An AI Overview is a summary generated by Google's AI, with links to supporting pages 2. One quotes. The other writes.
That changes who gets credit. A snippet names one source in a clear box. An Overview blends information and may link several pages, so your text may shape the answer without being quoted.
Both appear at the top of the results page, so both can answer a question before anyone clicks. The next sections cover how they pick sources, how often they appear and what the click data suggests.
How do the two compare side by side?
The table covers mechanics, source choice and controls. Rows marked with a source come from Google's documentation or the studies we opened.
| Question | Featured snippet | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|
| What is shown? | A descriptive snippet from a page, before the title and link 1. | An AI summary with links to supporting pages 2. |
| Who is credited? | One page. A click can take the user to the matching section 1. | Several pages can be linked 2. |
| How does Google pick sources? | Google systems decide. You cannot ask to be featured 1. | Page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. No special optimisation needed, per Google 2. |
| Does it use multiple searches? | Not described in Google's snippet guide. | May use query fan-out, which runs related searches across subtopics 2. |
| How do you limit it? | nosnippet blocks all snippets. A lower max-snippet may block featured snippets but is not guaranteed 1. | nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex limit what is shown 2. |
| How often does it show? | 5.53% of sampled US desktop results in June 2025, down from 15.41% in January 3. | 27.43% in June 2025, up from 3.93% in January 3. |
| Where is it reported? | Not described in Google's snippet guide. | Counted in Search Console under the Web search type, not split out 2. |
How does Google choose which pages to use?
Google gives the same message for both: you cannot request a place. On snippets it says plainly that Google systems decide whether a page would make a good featured snippet 1. On Overviews it says a page needs to be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet, with no additional requirements 2.
Ranking helps but does not decide. Ahrefs found about 76% of Overview citations came from the top 10 results in July 2025, but only 37.9% did in its March 2026 re-run (all SERP blocks) 4. Ahrefs notes its method changed between the two studies, so the figures may not be directly comparable 4. The authors suspect query fan-out, where Google runs related searches and cites pages that appear across them. They call it a hypothesis 4.
So a page can appear in an Overview without ranking first. Cover the sub-questions around your topic, not just the headline query. Our guide on query fan-out shows how.
Have AI Overviews replaced featured snippets?
Not proven, but the trends moved in opposite directions. In a million random US desktop results, Ahrefs found Overviews rose from 3.93% in January 2025 to 27.43% in June, while featured snippets fell from 15.41% to 5.53% 3. The authors said it seems very likely that Overviews superseded snippets, and reported a -0.91 correlation 3.
They also stressed it is correlation, not causation. The data is US desktop only and the comparison uses two points in time. Ahrefs also notes sitelinks visibility jumped around Google's March 2025 core update, so other SERP changes were happening at the same time 3. Ahrefs sells SEO tools, so check the trend yourself.
The safe reading is that snippets still exist, but they are a smaller target than they were. Do not build a plan on winning them alone.
What happens to clicks with each?
The best public data covers Overviews. Ahrefs compared 150,000 keywords with an Overview against 150,000 informational keywords without one. It found the presence of an Overview correlated with a 58% lower average click rate for the top result, comparing December 2023 with December 2025 5.
That figure comes from a forecast. It assumes the Overview keywords would have followed the same decline as the others. The study covers desktop only, and Ahrefs notes that zero-click trends and featured snippets also reduced clicks before Overviews arrived 5.
Ahrefs also cites other studies with different estimates, from about 47.5% to over 50% 5. We found no equally careful study that isolates snippets. Treat any single click figure as a range of outcomes, and measure your own pages.
How do you write one page that suits both?
Lead each section with a direct answer, then add the support. This helps a snippet extract a clean passage and helps an Overview lift a clear claim. Keep the answer short enough to quote on its own.
Use a question as the heading, give the answer in the first one or two sentences, and keep the page indexed with snippets allowed. Do not add nosnippet to pages you want quoted 12. Check an answer with the answer block checker.
Then cover the follow-up questions on the same page or in linked pages. The Overview may run several searches, so the linked pages need to answer the next question too.
- Before: Welcome to our guide. Many owners wonder about this topic, and there are lots of factors.
- After: A featured snippet quotes one page. An AI Overview writes a summary and links several pages. Write a direct answer first, then the detail.
Can you opt out of snippets or Overviews?
The controls are shared with Overviews: nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet 12. See AI Overviews vs AI Mode for the full list.
The snippet-specific caveat: to block only featured snippets, Google suggests lowering max-snippet, but it gives no exact value and says a low setting does not guarantee a block 1. For Overviews, Google also lists noindex 2. These also change your normal search snippet, so test one page first.
Should you still chase featured snippets?
Yes, as a side effect, not as a goal. A page with a direct, well-structured answer suits both formats. Spend the effort on clear answers and sub-question coverage, not on tricks for a box.
Use the quiz below to decide where to put your next hour.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask Google to feature my page in a snippet?
No. Google's snippet guide says you cannot direct it: Google systems decide whether a page would make a good featured snippet 1. You can write a clear, direct answer, but the choice is Google's.
Do AI Overviews cite the same pages as featured snippets?
Not necessarily. Snippets take text from one page. Overviews summarise and link several pages, and may run related searches 2. Ahrefs found only 37.9% of Overview citations were in the top 10 results (all SERP blocks) in March 2026, though its method changed since an earlier study, so the figures may not be directly comparable 4.
Do AI Overviews reduce clicks?
Ahrefs found a 58% lower average click rate for the top result when an Overview was present, in desktop data from 2023 to 2025 5. It is a correlation based on a forecast, and other studies give different estimates.
Will AI Overviews kill featured snippets?
Unknown. Snippets fell from 15.41% to 5.53% of sampled results in the first half of 2025 while Overviews rose 3. The authors call it a correlation, so we cannot say Overviews caused it.
Can I see AI Overview traffic in Search Console?
Only as part of overall search data. Google says traffic from AI features is included in Search Console and reported under the Web search type, so you cannot separate it from normal results 2.
Sources
- Featured snippets and your website · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: What featured snippets are; you cannot direct Google to feature a page; nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet controls (page updated 2025-12-10).
- AI features and your website · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Overviews link supporting pages; query fan-out; page must be indexed and snippet-eligible; no special optimisation; Search Console reporting; snippet controls (page updated 2025-12-10).
- How SERP Features Have Evolved in the AI Era · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 1,000,000 US desktop results; AI Overviews 3.93% to 27.43% and featured snippets 15.41% to 5.53% (January to June 2025); correlation caveats (22 July 2025).
- Update: 38% of AI Overview Citations Pull From The Top 10 · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 37.9% of cited URLs in top 10 in March 2026 versus about 76% in July 2025; fan-out explanation is a hypothesis.
- AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 58% · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 300,000 keywords; AI Overview presence correlates with 58% lower average CTR for position 1, December 2023 vs December 2025; desktop only; forecast-based; other studies give 47.5% to over 50% (4 February 2026).