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Ilyes Massoudi
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AI visibility

Google AI Overviews and AI Mode: what they change for Gulf websites

Ilyes Massoudi6 min read

The short answer

AI Overviews are the AI-generated paragraph Google shows above the normal results, with links to the sources it was built from; AI Mode is a full conversational tab that answers the same way. Both now appear on Arabic queries in the Gulf, mostly informational ones: how, what is the difference, how long. Their effect is that a page answering an informational question loses part of its clicks even while staying in first position, while commercial and local pages keep theirs. What makes your page a cited source is what makes it rank in the first place: a direct, specific answer in the first paragraph, and access for Google's ordinary crawler.

What you see on the results page now

Open Google from Riyadh or Doha and ask, in Arabic, what the difference between SEO and ads is. In many cases you will not see ten links first, but an AI-generated paragraph labelled as an AI Overview, small links beneath it to the sources it was built from, and then the normal results. That is AI Overviews.

Beside it sits the AI Mode tab: a full conversation inside Google that answers, follows up and suggests, in the same way. Both work on Arabic queries today across Gulf markets, though Arabic coverage is thinner than English and expanding gradually.

Which queries they appear on

From tracking Gulf queries in both languages, the pattern is clear:

  • They appear often on informational queries: how, what is, what is the difference between, how long, is it worth it.
  • They appear sometimes on comparative commercial queries: best, comparison, alternative.
  • They appear rarely on local and direct purchase queries: “dentist near me”, “price of X in Jeddah”. There the map box and the normal results remain.

That defines the effect on your site precisely: pages answering general informational questions are the ones whose economics change; commercial and local pages are barely touched.

What happens to clicks

An informational page in first position used to take a known share of clicks. With an overview above it, some searchers read the answer and do not click. The result I see in Gulf accounts: steady or higher impressions, fewer clicks, on informational queries specifically.

Do not respond by chasing the lost clicks. Respond with one question: which of my informational pages actually produced enquiries, and which were visits that left? The first deserve to become cited sources; the second were never serving you.

How to become a cited source rather than a replaced page

The conditions are the same ones that make a page rank, with emphasis on three:

The direct answer in the first paragraph. The overview is built from passages that answer the question specifically. A page that opens with an introduction about the importance of the topic is read after the page that opens with the answer.

Specificity and numbers. “The audit takes four business days and costs USD 249” is a sentence that gets quoted. “We offer professional services at competitive prices” is not.

Clear structure. Headings phrased as questions, short lists, tables for comparisons. Structured data helps Google understand the page type; details in the schema article.

And the condition nobody mentions: access. The overview is built by Google’s ordinary crawler, so if your text is drawn by JavaScript or blocked, you are outside it and outside search together.

What you cannot do

You cannot appear in search and stay out of the overview at the same time, because both depend on the same crawler. The Google-Extended token concerns training Gemini models and their use in other products, and changes nothing about your appearance in search or overviews. The only choice available is to be a good source, or not to be there.

How to measure the effect on your site

  1. In Search Console, open the Performance report filtered to your country and compare the last three months with the previous three on informational queries: impressions against clicks.
  2. Pick ten important queries and search them in a private window from your country. Record: did an overview appear? Is your name among the sources? Who else is?
  3. Repeat every three months with the same questions, because coverage changes month by month, especially in Arabic.

What the audit measures here

In the Digital Presence Audit your presence in AI Overviews is part of the AI-answer visibility measurement: written questions in Arabic and English, who appeared as a source and who was absent, compared with your three competitors, with the date. Then a specific recommendation on which pages to rewrite to be cited, and which to leave.

Common questions

Can I stop Google using my content in AI Overviews without losing rankings?
No. The overview is built by the same Googlebot that indexes your page, and blocking it removes you from search entirely. The Google-Extended token controls whether your content is used for Gemini models and apps, and has no effect on your appearance in search or in overviews.
How do I know whether my page is cited in AI Overviews?
Search Console counts impressions and clicks from appearances in overviews inside the normal Performance report, with no separate filter. The practical sign: steady or rising impressions with falling clicks on an informational query. The direct method: search the query in a private window from your country and see whether your name is among the sources.
So is informational SEO finished?
Not finished; its measure has changed. The article that used to bring clicks from a simple question now brings a mention in the answer and more trust from whoever does click. Review which informational pages actually served sales and which were visits without enquiries; the second kind is what loses, and that does not hurt you.

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