In today’s search landscape, showing up on Google isn’t just about your position on the page—it’s also about whether your content makes it into AI Overviews. These AI-generated summaries pull from various web sources to answer users’ questions quickly, often before they even click a link.

But does ranking high in traditional search mean you’re more likely to be featured in these summaries? The short answer: it helps, but it’s not guaranteed.

What the Data Tells Us

Most AI Overview citations still come from the top-ranking pages. A large majority of cited pages appear in the top 10 search results, with many of them sitting near position two. That said, some pages cited by AI Overviews don’t even rank on the first page—or anywhere close to it.

So while there’s a clear connection between high rankings and AI visibility, the relationship isn’t one-to-one. Some top-ranking pages are never cited, and others outside the top 100 still make the cut.

What This Means for Your SEO Strategy

Ranking well helps—but it’s not the whole story. You could hold the top spot and still be skipped by AI Overviews. At the same time, content that doesn’t rank as highly might still be included if it’s helpful, trusted, or structured in a way AI systems prefer.

Here’s what to take away:

● High-ranking content is more likely to be cited, but not always.

● Simply being in the top 10 gives your content a better shot.

● Content outside the top 10 can still be chosen if it’s strong, unique, or more relevant to the query.

How to Boost Your Chances of Being Cited

● Keep aiming for top 10 rankings. These are still prime real estate for both organic clicks and AI citations.

● Improve the value of your content. Think about what makes your page useful, complete, and clear. Are you saying something others aren’t?

● Build trust signals. Well-established domains and pages with clear structure, good formatting, and authoritative tone tend to perform better.

● Avoid being too generic. Pages that repeat what everyone else is saying may not stand out to AI systems. Find fresh angles.

● Monitor and refine. Keep an eye on which of your pages are being surfaced in AI results. Use that insight to refine what’s working—and what’s not.

Key Takeaway

Higher Google rankings improve your odds of being included in AI Overviews, but they don’t guarantee it. The way AI pulls and presents information is evolving—and so must your approach. If you want to win in this hybrid SEO-AI environment, it’s not just about rank. It’s about relevance, clarity, authority, and being the best answer available.

The good news? You can control all of that.