A stat landed this week that’s been doing the rounds in SEO circles and making its way into marketing newsletters everywhere: Google AI Overviews have increased by 58% in the last 12 months. So starts the panic. And the LinkedIn posts about the death of organic traffic (again). And the hot takes from people who’ve never run a B2B website in their lives.
Before you do anything drastic with your content strategy, let’s look at what that number actually means – because the headline and the reality are two different things.
Which industries are seeing AI Overviews grow?
The growth in AI Overviews isn’t evenly spread across every type of search. The biggest increases have been in healthcare (88% of queries), B2B tech (82%), and education (83%). These are sectors where people are searching for general explanations – “what is chronic fatigue syndrome,” “how does CRM software work,” “what does a marketing degree cover.”
Google can synthesise a tidy answer to those questions and keep users happy without sending them anywhere. So it does.
That’s very different from what your potential clients are searching for if you’re a B2B service business.
Why AI Overviews don’t affect most B2B service businesses
If you’re a B2B service business, the searches that matter to you are specific. Someone looking for an employment solicitor in Sheffield, a commercial photographer for product shoots, or a fractional CFO for a growing manufacturing company isn’t going to get an amalgamated AI answer and call it done. They need an actual human with a track record and a phone number.
Google knows this. AI Overviews appear far less frequently on searches with clear commercial intent – where someone is actively looking to hire, buy, or enquire. The 58% growth is mostly happening in the informational space, not in the “I need someone to help me with this” space.
What B2B businesses should do about AI Overviews
Not panic. Please.
If you’re creating content that answers the kind of general questions AI Overviews are designed for – “what is X” and “how does Y work” type posts – it’s worth knowing those might get fewer clicks than they used to. That’s a shift worth factoring into your content planning.
But if your website is doing its job – speaking clearly to the right people about specific problems you solve – you’re in better shape than the 58% headline suggests.
Focus on being the most relevant, clearest answer to the specific searches your clients actually type. That’s what gets you in front of the right people, and it’s what AI Overviews can’t replace.
Worried your website isn’t doing that well enough? Let’s have a proper look. Book an SEO 1:1 and I’ll tell you honestly what needs fixing.
