Where to Expect AI Overviews in B2B Searches (And How To Adapt to Them)

Key takeaways from our study

• AI Overviews appear in 30.1% of all B2B searches.
• The types of queries most likely to trigger B2B AI Overviews are queries seven words long or longer (61.9%) and informational queries (43.5%).
• The types of queries that are safest from B2B AI Overviews are commercial (28.8%) and transactional (19.1%) queries, as well as branded (29.7%) and local (24.2%) queries.

Today’s search landscape can be tough for B2B companies like yours. That’s due in large part to Google’s AI Overviews, which have become increasingly ubiquitous in the past year. So ubiquitous, in fact, that it might seem like they’re appearing in every search now.

In truth, AI Overviews only show up in 30.1% of B2B searches — but that’s still a huge number, and it’s only growing bigger! In fact, that’s slightly higher than the baseline frequency of 25.8%, meaning B2B queries are disproportionately exposed to AI summaries.

These statistics come from a study we recently conducted here at WebFX of over 2.3 million keywords to determine which searches most (and least) frequently contain AI Overviews. Below, we’ll be breaking down some of the main takeaways from that study, with a specific focus on B2B keywords.

You can use the information found below to determine which searches to target with your SEO, as well as which tactics to use when doing so.

Which B2B keywords trigger the most AI Overviews?

There are a couple of different categories of B2B keywords that frequently return AI Overviews. The biggest ones are:

1. Longer queries
2. Informational queries

1. Longer queries

One of the biggest findings from our study was that longer B2B keywords face a much higher risk of AI Overviews than shorter ones. You can see the specific statistics below:

As you can see, there’s a sharp jump in AI Overview likelihood when a query reaches 7 words. That means that longer, more conversational keywords — such as “how to implement an ERP in small manufacturing firms” — are at a much higher risk.

If you’re trying to avoid AI Overviews, you’re better off targeting short-tail keywords. Unfortunately, the tradeoff there is that short-tail keywords come with a lot more search competition from other websites.

2. Informational queries

Another type of query that has a high AI Overview rate is informational queries. According to the results of our study, AI Overviews have a 43.5% chance of appearing in informational B2B searches. (For comparison, the baseline rate across all industries is 39.4%.)

That means educational content — such as compliance guides and how-to pages — will more than likely have to compete with AI Overviews in search results. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t create educational content, of course, but you should be prepared for it to appear beneath AI responses.

Specific categories of informational content are even more likely to compete with AI Overviews than others. Those categories include:

• Cost estimates
• Compliance frameworks
• Technical processes

Keywords related to those areas — such as “gdpr violations examples” or “plane stall speed,” for example — are some of the most common magnets for AI Overviews.

Which B2B keywords are the safest from AI Overviews?

Now that we’ve seen where B2B AI Overviews tend to show up the most, let’s talk about where they show up the least. Here are the queries that are the safest from AI Overviews:

1. Commercial and transactional queries
2. Branded and local queries

1. Commercial and transactional queries

Certain search intents are relatively safe from AI Overviews. Consider these four different intents:

We’ve already seen how frequently AI Overviews appear in informational searches. But as you can see, the other three categories of search intent — commercial, transactional, and navigational — have significantly lower AI Overview rates.

Brand navigation searches have the lowest rate, which makes sense given that those queries are aimed at finding info about specific businesses or websites. Commercial keywords are passable, while transactional terms offer an opportunity to avoid competition with AI Overviews by prioritizing bottom-of-funnel content addressing your services and pricing.

2. Branded and local queries

Certain B2B keyword modifiers can reduce the chances of AI Overviews appearing. In particular, using branded and/or local modifiers can be somewhat effective. Branded modifiers are those that include your brand name (or other trademarked terms), while local modifiers include the name of your local city/state/area or feature phrases like “near me.”

Here’s a look at the data:

Admittedly, when it comes to B2B searches, branded keywords don’t help all that much, coming in at only 0.4% below the average AI Overview rate of 30.1%. Adding local modifiers is somewhat more effective, bringing it down to 24.2%. But both of those numbers are well below their baseline counterparts, which get as low as 6.4% when brand and local modifiers are used together.

Even so, the impact is still measurable, and it may also vary from industry to industry. So, at the very least, it’s worth targeting some branded and local terms to see if it proves effective for your business.

What do AI Overviews in B2B searches mean for SEO?

Many B2B businesses, seeing how prevalent AI Overviews have grown, have already leapt to the assumption that traditional SEO is dead. But that’s simply not true. The data shows that while some searches are heavily dominated by AI Overviews, others are (at least for now) relatively free of them.

For B2B searches, AI Overviews most commonly appear in long-tail, informational queries (e.g., “which federal tax forms do businesses have to file”). Shorter, transactional, and local queries (e.g., “houston caterers”) are a lot safer, though.

That means if you’re targeting the right searches, you can continue to benefit from the same B2B SEO practices that you were using prior to the launch of AI Overviews in 2024. Moreover, even in searches where AI Overviews do appear, there are still ways to adapt to them and continue to boost your search visibility. With a strategy like OmniSEO™, you can adapt for AI and traditional search at the same time.

All that to say, SEO isn’t going anywhere. At most, it’s simply evolving. But evolved or not, it remains a valuable — nay, essential — strategy for reaching your target audience online.

How should your business adapt to B2B AI Overviews?

There are several ways your B2B company can adapt to AI Overviews. Here are some tips you can follow:

• Strengthen your E-E-A-T signals
• Focus on local and branded terms
• Create more visual content
• Offer tools and downloadable resources on your site

Together, these tactics will help you 1) rank in searches without AI Overviews and 2) get cited by AI Overviews in searches where they do appear. That will enable you to continue boosting your search visibility for the long term.

Optimize for B2B AI Overviews with OmniSEO®

Given the growing role of AI Overviews in B2B search results, it’s more important than ever for businesses like yours to upgrade your SEO strategy in response. One of the most effective ways to do that is with OmniSEO®, a strategy that involves optimizing for AI responses and traditional search results together (along with social media, forums, and more).

If you want help putting OmniSEO® into action, consider partnering with WebFX. We offer top-of-the-line OmniSEO® services backed by 29 years of experience with digital marketing. We’ve been helping clients optimize for AI search for as long as it’s been around, and we’d love to do the same for you.

Interested in partnering with us? Just give us a call at 888-601-5359 or contact us online today!