IS IT GAME OVER FOR SEO IN 2025?
How Google’s AI Overviews Are Rewriting the Rules for Business Visibility Online
Ranking high on searches done by people looking for a specific product or service has long been a predictable way for a business to ‘meet’ their customers and show them what’s on offer and why they should be chosen. Most business owners will be familiar with the marketing techniques used to achieve success with this matchmaking process. But is this now all changing? Will businesses need to find different ways to meet these customers in the future?
This shift follows a significant Google Search update in 2025 that’s reshaping how customers find businesses. How do we all prepare for the changes? This post aims to provide clarity for business owners in the United Kingdom.
What Are Google’s AI Overviews?
Google’s AI Overviews in the UK are changing the game for websites and business visibility online. Google first introduced this search results update (previously referred to as SGE) to the search experience in the UK in August 2024, and it is now being rolled out more widely.
You may have seen that you now get detailed answers to some of your search queries directly on the search results page. And that these answers can be lengthy, thereby significantly reducing the space available for websites to rank high and attract traffic. If the answer satisfies your needs, then there is no need for you to take any further action.
Both SEO specialists and senior marketers are monitoring the implications for businesses and websites in general, as well as whether the tactics deployed in the past will remain an effective part of the overall marketing mix for a company in the future.
For now, searches for information are most affected, with 88% of searches triggering AI overviews. Specific high-trust sectors seem to be impacted more than others, according to a recent AI Overviews Study conducted by Semrush:
“Science (+22.27%), Health (+20.33%), People & Society (+18.83%), and Law & Government (+15.18%) are the industries experiencing the largest share growth of AI Overviews - indicating a rapid shift in how users get answers in these high-trust, information-dense categories."
Here is what an AI overview triggered result page looks like:
Example: AI overview result page
Why Should Business Owners Care about AI Overviews?
As you can see from the AI overview example above, the new AI overview feature is taking up significant space that previously would be filled by information from websites.
Certain sectors and businesses have seen a drop in clicks and traffic, and this could significantly impact a business’s ability to maintain the volume of new potential customers it attracts and, ultimately, its revenue.
Will you need to find different ways to reach customers online?
Most likely, yes, but for smaller companies, these changes also present opportunities.
As SEO specialist and small business owner, Suzy Stanton of Wish Freelance Writing puts it:
“What’s important for small businesses more than ever is standing out; the personal touch is still the best way to do that so share the human behind the brand. Create content that goes beyond the keywords. Make sure it adds value and resonates with your readers but that also lets them get to know you and helps them learn to trust you and your business which is something only you can do.”
Well-written and structured content will still matter, but so will having a broader online footprint through building a brand presence beyond search. Using social channels, and if you’re a local business, strengthening your local SEO strategy in 2025 will be important.
It is an area that is evolving rapidly and worth keeping an eye on; when time and budget are available, it is also worthwhile to prepare for.
Do you have questions about how to evolve your online visibility strategy for 2025? I'd like to help - please drop me (Mariann Fairley) an email.
