Introduction to AI Overviews
New research has shed light on how Google’s AI Overviews work, and the results are interesting. It turns out that these AI Overviews tend to favor major news outlets, with the top 10 publishers capturing nearly 80% of all news mentions. This creates tough competition for smaller organizations that struggle for visibility in AI-generated search results.
The Study
SE Ranking analyzed 75,550 AI Overview responses for this study and found that only 20.85% cite any news source at all. Among those citations, three outlets dominate: BBC, The New York Times, and CNN account for 31% of all media mentions. This concentration of citations is a problem for smaller outlets, as it leaves them with limited opportunities to get mentioned.
Citation Concentration
The research shows a winner-takes-all pattern in AI Overview citations. BBC leads with 11.37% of all mentions, even though the study focused on U.S.-based queries. The concentration gets worse when you look at the bigger picture: just 12 outlets make up 40% of those studied, but they receive nearly 90% of mentions. This leaves 18 remaining outlets sharing only 10% of citation opportunities.
The Gap Between Major and Minor Outlets
The gap between major and minor outlets is notable. BBC appears 195 times more often than the Financial Times for the same keywords. Several well-known outlets get little attention, with Financial Times, MSNBC, Vice, TechCrunch, and The New Yorker together accounting for less than 1% of all news mentions. The researchers explain that this is because Google mostly relies on well-known news sources in its AI Overviews, likely because they are seen as more trustworthy or relevant.
Beyond Traditional Search Rankings
The concentration problem extends beyond citation counts. 40% of media URLs mentioned in AI Overviews appear in the top 10 traditional search results for the same keywords. This means AI Overviews don’t just pull from the highest-ranking pages; instead, they seem to favor sources based on authority signals and content quality.
Measuring Citation Inequality
The study measured citation inequality using a Gini coefficient, which scored 0.54, where 0 means perfect equality and 1 means maximum inequality. This shows moderate but significant imbalance in how AI Overviews distribute citations among news sources. The researchers noted that AI Overviews consistently favor a subset of high-profile domains, instead of evenly citing all sources.
Paywalled Content Concerns
The research also reveals patterns about paywalled content use. Among AI Overview responses that link to paywalled content, 69% contain copied segments of five or more words. Another 2% include longer copied segments over 10 words. The paywall dependency is strong for premium publishers, with over 96% of New York Times citations in AI Overviews coming from behind a paywall. Despite this heavy use of paywalled material, only 15% of responses with long copied segments included attribution, raising questions about content licensing and fair use in AI-generated summaries.
Attribution Patterns and Link Behavior
When AI Overviews do cite news media, they average 1.74 citations per response. However, 91.35% of news media citations appear in the links section rather than the main text of AI responses. Media outlets face another challenge with brand recognition, as they are four times more likely to be cited with a hyperlink than mentioned by name. But over 26% of brand mentions still appear without links, often because AI systems get information through aggregators rather than original publishers.
Query Type Makes a Difference
The type of search query affects citation chances. News-related queries are 2.5 times more likely to include media citations than general queries, with rates of 20.85% versus 8.23%. This suggests opportunities exist for publishers who can become go-to sources for specific news topics or breaking news. However, the overall trend still favors big players.
What This Means
The research suggests that established outlets benefit from existing authority signals, creating a cycle where citation success leads to more citation opportunities. As AI Overviews become more common in search results, smaller publishers may see less organic traffic and fewer chances to grow their audience. For smaller publishers trying to compete, SE Ranking offers advice: to increase brand mentions in AI Overviews, get backlinks from the sources they already cite for your target keywords.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study shows that AI Overviews tend to favor major news outlets, creating a challenge for smaller organizations. However, opportunities exist for publishers who can establish authority in specific niches. By building trust signals and topical authority, smaller publishers can increase their chances of being cited in AI Overviews. Additionally, focusing on building authority in specific niches rather than trying to compete broadly across topics can provide advantages. As AI Overviews continue to evolve, it’s essential for publishers to understand how they work and adapt their strategies to succeed in this new landscape.