How to Optimise Your Campaigns for Google AI Overviews

Google AI Overviews are no longer a novelty. Ads appear in 25.5% of AI Overview results — up from 3% just a year ago. If you are running Search or Performance Max campaigns, you are already eligible for these placements. The problem is that most advertisers are not doing anything differently to take advantage of them.

This guide covers exactly what to change.

Understand what makes AI Overviews different

Before changing anything, understand why AI Overviews require a different approach than standard search.

In traditional search, a user scans a list of results and chooses what to click. The ad competes with nine other results for visual attention. In an AI Overview, Google synthesises one answer and presents it directly. The ad appears within or adjacent to that answer — not in a list.

This has two implications for advertisers:

• Intent is more advanced. Users who trigger an AI Overview are often in the consideration or decision stage — they want a synthesised answer, not a list of options to explore. Your ad needs to meet them there.
• Context matters more. The AI reads your ad assets to determine relevance to the query. Ad copy that is generic or keyword-stuffed performs worse. Copy that directly addresses the intent behind the query performs better.

Step 1 — Audit which queries are triggering AI Overviews

Not all queries trigger an AI Overview. Informational and complex queries are most likely to. Navigational queries (brand searches) rarely do.

In Google Search Console, filter your performance data by query type and look for patterns. Queries that include words like “how to”, “what is”, “best way to”, “should I”, and “compare” are strong AI Overview candidates.

Cross-reference these with your Search Terms report in Google Ads. The queries where you are already getting impressions and clicks are your starting point.

Step 2 — Restructure your ad assets for AI comprehension

Google’s AI reads your headline and description assets to determine whether your ad is relevant to the synthesised answer it’s generating. That means your assets need to be readable and informative — not just keyword-optimised.

Practical changes to make:

• Write headlines that answer questions, not just state products. Instead of “Buy Running Shoes Online”, try “Find the Right Running Shoe for Your Gait”.
• Use description lines to add context. What problem does your product solve? What makes it the right choice for this specific intent? Write it plainly.
• Add structured data to your landing pages. FAQPage, HowTo, and Product schema help Google’s AI understand what your page is about — which feeds into ad relevance scoring.
• Make sure your landing page matches the intent. If your ad appears in response to a complex consideration-stage query, send users to a page that addresses that question — not just a product listing.

Step 3 — Build a Performance Max asset group specifically for AI-stage queries

Performance Max campaigns are currently your best vehicle for AI Overview placement, alongside Search. Within your existing PMax campaigns, create a dedicated asset group for AI-stage queries.

For this asset group:

• Use audience signals focused on in-market and affinity audiences that match complex consideration behaviour
• Write all assets with AI Overview context in mind — informational, helpful, context-rich copy
• Exclude branded and navigational keywords from this group (they are unlikely to trigger AI Overviews anyway)
• Set a separate budget so you can measure performance independently

Step 4 — Map your bidding to AI-stage intent

AI Overview queries tend to cluster in the consideration stage — users are evaluating options, not yet ready to convert. If you are bidding purely on Target ROAS optimised for immediate conversion, you may be undervaluing these impressions.

Consider running a separate campaign or asset group with a Target CPA bid strategy focused on micro-conversions (email sign-ups, guide downloads, quote requests) rather than direct purchase. This lets you be present in AI Overview results for high-value consideration queries without distorting your conversion-stage ROAS targets.

Step 5 — Set up measurement for AI Overview performance

Google does not currently provide a standalone “AI Overview impression share” metric in the standard Google Ads interface. However, you can track directional signals:

• Monitor impression share for informational query segments
• Watch Quality Score trends — as your assets become more AI-context relevant, Quality Scores tend to improve
• In Google Search Console, track clicks and impressions for queries that correlate with AI Overview triggers
• Use Google’s Search Ads 360 or third-party tools (like SEMrush or BrightEdge) to monitor AI Overview ad coverage in your category

What to do this week

If you want to start immediately, focus on three things:

1. Pull your top 20 converting query types from Search Terms. Identify which ones are likely AI Overview triggers.
2. Rewrite the headlines and descriptions for one existing campaign with AI context in mind — concrete, question-answering, intent-matched copy.
3. Add FAQPage schema to your three most important landing pages.

None of these require new budget or new campaigns. They are changes to what you are already running — and the AI Overview impression uplift starts from there.