Find affected pages
Lay positions and clicks per page against each other. Where the position holds and the click rate falls, the suspicion is well founded.
AI Overview optimisation inside Google search
The answer sits above your result.
AI Overviews and AI Mode answer the question before anyone reaches the results list. This work is about appearing as a source inside that answer and making the resulting click loss visible.
The point
Two goals that can contradict each other.
Two surfaces
one search engine
- AI Overviews answer above the list
- AI Mode its own dialogue mode
- Classic results still underneath
All three draw on the same index but weight it differently. So we measure them separately and do not merge the numbers.
The first goal is being named and linked as a source inside the generated answer. The second is keeping the click. The two do not always go together: answering a question completely hands the system exactly the material that makes the click unnecessary.
So we decide per page type. For definition questions the mention is the goal, since the click is barely holdable there anyway. For comparison and purchase pages we invert it: supply the answer, but tie the genuinely useful part to the page, such as a calculator, live availability or your own data.
That trade-off is the actual substance of this service. Everything else is clean technical work that needs doing regardless.
Approach
What we work on.
Make it answerable
Core statement at the top, clearly bounded and without preamble. What a system cannot lift out, it does not quote.
Build in a reason to click
Calculator, configurator, live data, reviews, availability. Something a text answer cannot reproduce.
Technical groundwork
Structured data, a clean heading outline, stable addresses, fast delivery.
Measure
Appearance in the generated answer, linking, click rate per position. Kept separate for overviews and dialogue mode.
Reset the targets
Some pages will not see their old click numbers again and remain valuable. That belongs in the assessment, not in an excuse.
As of 15 August 2026. Google changes how these surfaces look, how widely they appear and how they link on an ongoing basis, usually without notice. We check the current state at the start of every project rather than relying on what was true six months ago.
Common questions
About AI Overviews.
What are AI Overviews?
Answers generated by Google that sit above the classic results list and summarise several sources. They do not appear on every query, mainly on those where an explanatory answer is possible.
What is Google AI Mode?
A separate mode where search runs as a dialogue, with follow-up questions and answers building on each other. It draws on the same index but weights differently from the classic list, which is why we measure it separately.
Can we opt out of AI Overviews?
There are controls in the page head that limit how much text may be used as a preview. It is a blunt instrument: it can cost you the mention as well. We only use it when a piece of content should not be summarised for a good reason.
Why does our page appear in the answer but not as a link?
Summarising and crediting are two different things. A system can use content without linking it prominently. Clearly bounded, quotable passages raise the chance of a visible mention without guaranteeing it.
How often does Google change the presentation?
Frequently and without notice. So we document every measurement with a date and a screenshot. Without that record you cannot tell later whether a drop was caused by you or by a change on their side.
Which page types are hit hardest?
Explanatory content and definition questions. Exactly the pages many people built as the entry to their funnel. Product, pricing and booking pages are affected far less.
Can we measure whether we appear in AI Overviews?
Only approximately. No official report exists for it. We work with our own queries, document the results and lay them next to the click data. That is not exact statistics, but it is the most solid approximation currently available.
Does structured markup help?
It helps the system assign the content correctly, which makes it a precondition rather than a lever. Anyone selling markup as a switch is overstating it. Without markup, though, the assignment is considerably less certain.
What about images and video?
Both appear in these surfaces, with their own logic and far less traceability. We include them in the measurement but do not turn them into a separate service while no reliable approach can be derived.
How is this different from AEO?
AEO works at the question and answer level across all answer systems. This service is cut to the surfaces inside Google search and counts the click loss there. The work overlaps, the measurement frame does not.
Is it worth it if we have few informational queries?
Then less so. If your pages almost exclusively serve purchase and booking queries, the click loss is small and there are more important things to do. We say that after a first look at the data.
Difference
How others do this, and how we do.
Not a judgement on individual agencies, but a description of two approaches. The right column is checkable, because this website itself is built that way.
| Difference | Usual agency approach | agenticsearch.at |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A proposal after a first call | A measurement with a date, before anything gets recommended |
| Basis | Keywords from classic search | A question set of real prompts, clustered and prioritised |
| Proof of success | Rankings and a visibility index | Mentions per question and system, with the raw data |
| Reporting | A monthly dashboard with curves | The same measurement repeated, change called only after three runs |
| When unsure | Try it and see what happens | We say what is not evidenced, and write it on the page |
| Tooling | Agency licences, access ends with the contract | The question set and the data are yours, afterwards too |
| Scope | As many channels as possible from one supplier | A capped number of concurrent projects, otherwise we turn it down |
Your guides
You play the lead.
You know your business, your customers and your offer better than any agency does. What is usually missing is solid numbers on how AI systems talk about it, and an order in which to tackle that.
Who is behind this
two people
- Florian Hieß measurement, technology, structure
- Romana Hieß day to day support and implementation
- Operated by Digital Wings GmbH, founded 2010
- Client projects 100+
The number of concurrent projects is capped. When a piece of work needs more capacity than exists, we turn it down rather than take it on.
01
You know where you stand
It starts with a measurement, not a proposal. You see in black and white which AI answers name your company and which do not, with a date and a question set.
02
You know what comes next
Instead of a list of everything, you get an order. Every step has a result you can verify yourself, including without us.
03
You keep the decisions
Your offer and your positioning stay yours. We tell you what stands in the way of visibility and take on the technical part of it.
Next step
Let us find out where you stand in AI answers.
One conversation, 30 minutes, no sales pressure. You leave with an honest read on whether this is worth the effort for you.
