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Google AI Overviews are quietly destroying ad visibility (and the data is brutal)
Posted by on December 4, 2025 at 9:05 amJust came across some fascinating research on how AI Overviews are reshaping the paid search battlefield, and honestly, it's worse than I thought.
TL;DR: Your ads are losing visibility 25% of the time on average. But the real story is in HOW it's happening.
The breakdown:
- Healthcare is getting massacred — 64.6% of ads sit below AI Overviews. Makes sense given how much Google wants to "help" with health info, but it's basically nuking ad visibility.
- Mobile is where dreams go to die — Small screens + long AI Overviews = your ad might as well not exist. Automotive sees nearly 50% of mobile ads buried.
- Gaming is literally a coin flip — 50/50 split on whether you appear above or below. Talk about volatility.
But here's where it gets interesting:
The data shows something counterintuitive. In industries like Automotive and Gaming, LONGER informational queries (4+ words) actually give you BETTER placement above AI Overviews than short commercial terms.
In Gaming, 1-2 word queries = 0% visibility above AI. But 7-9 word queries? 100% above AI placement.
So while everyone's dumping budget into short, high-volume keywords, there's potentially massive opportunity in mid-funnel informational searches that nobody's bidding on aggressively.
It's like when everyone rushes to buy the hot stock after it's already pumped, but the real alpha was in the overlooked sector nobody was watching.
What I'm doing about it:
- Splitting campaigns by device (mobile needs different strategy entirely)
- Testing aggressive bids on longer informational keywords
- Rewriting ad copy to emphasize what AI can't — urgency, deals, human trust factors
The SERP isn't what it was six months ago. Adapt or die, basically.
Anyone else seeing similar patterns in their verticals?
Data Source: https://searchengineland.com/how-ai-overviews-are-impacting-ad-position-and-the-fight-for-top-spot-465258
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1 Reply
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Nice insights in my opinion it will overcome by pmax or ai max in 2026 to uplift visibility
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I wouldn’t get too gung ho about changing your entire paid search strategy. Things are transitioning quickly and if you’re running broad match or keywordless targeting your ads are showing inside of AI results more often… Google is quickly ramping this up.
Things will be different for sure, but it’s premature to assume we’re already in the new normal.
For example, Google just started experimenting with serving combo AI overviews and AI mode together yesterday.
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You do realize that AI overview accepts google ads for relevant searches. This is why you need to frame your terms as answers to questions. So you can appear within and below the AI overview.
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what is true is that Google has kept the usual fraud of manipulating auctions to keep revenue growth even in the phase of zero click queries, ai overviews and falling clicks + conversions that used to flow to advertisers
How can cpcs be up despite a drop in clicks and conversions from paid search advertising?
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AI Overviews burying ads in healthcare and mobile makes sense but the idea that longer informational queries give better placement is correlation not causation… those queries probably just have less AI Overview trigger rates because Google’s confidence in providing definitive answers drops on complex specific searches.
Bidding aggressively on informational keywords hoping for better placement above AI is backwards strategy… you’re paying for traffic with lower conversion intent just to avoid algorithmic ad positioning you can’t control anyway.
Better approach is optimizing for the traffic you can get regardless of where it shows not chasing placements that might change tomorrow.
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Feel sorry for our SEO bros. If we’re struggling, then imagine how they’re feeling.
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Ok, but is targeting informational queries on desktop really going to help your bottom line? I think you’re missing the forest for the tree.
Some specific industries are exceptions, but at least 60% to 80% of your traffic and revenue will come from mobile devices. Optimizing against it is just missing out on the biggest pool of opportunities, and if you’re not showing up on mobile I guarantee your competitors are.
You’re only paying for clicks anyway so chasing first position at all costs is either going to burn more money on unqualified users that click whatever comes first, inflate your CPCs, or just make it easier for savvier searchers to just scroll straight past the obvious paid links.
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This is an insightful post, and the data is certainly eye-opening. The rise of AI Overviews is indeed shifting the paid search landscape, especially in industries like healthcare and gaming. It’s interesting to see how longer, informational queries are giving advertisers a better chance at visibility – something that may not be top of mind for most marketers focused on high-conversion keywords.
At **Widoczni**, we’ve started adapting to this shift by looking at mid-funnel queries with a bit more aggression. We’ve been testing the same strategies-restructuring campaigns by device and emphasizing ad copy that highlights urgency and unique selling points that AI can’t replicate. It’s been an eye-opener in terms of improving ROI while competitors focus on high-volume, short-tail keywords.
I totally agree with the point about mobile ads-small screens plus long AI summaries do bury ads, so adjusting bidding strategies for mobile is essential. It’s going to be interesting to see how the AI landscape continues to evolve and how much advertisers have to pivot to keep up.
Anyone else here trying the longer-tail query approach in a more strategic way? Would love to hear how it’s going!
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