Google’s AI Overviews are tuning out technical SEO and tuning in to brand chatter.
Let’s not sugarcoat it; backlinks aren’t what they used to be. Google’s AI Overviews, the new gatekeepers of search visibility, are giving more weight to how often your brand gets mentioned than how many sites link to you.
A new study from Ahrefs, which crunched data from 75,000 brands, found that branded web mentions are now the strongest predictor of whether your name shows up in an AI Overview. Not backlinks, not domain rating, not even paid traffic. Just… being talked about. The correlation score for branded mentions came in at 0.664. Compare that to backlinks at 0.218, and it’s not even close. Even branded ad traffic and domain authority lagged behind.
And here’s the kicker; 26 percent of brands with solid SEO foundations didn’t show up in AI Overviews at all. Not once.
So what’s going on? Google’s AI isn’t crawling in the traditional sense anymore. It’s listening. It’s scanning the open web, picking up on context, tone, and frequency. It’s looking for relevance, not just structure. Which means that if your brand isn’t being mentioned, naturally, organically, and in the right places, you might as well be invisible.
Content Production Is the New SEO
Now, you could panic. Or, you could look at what’s actually working. Which brings us to the second piece of this puzzle; content production.
According to another Ahrefs report, a whopping 87 percent of marketers are now using AI to crank out content. Not exactly shocking. What’s more interesting is how they’re using it. Yes, AI cuts costs — by 4.7 times, apparently — and speeds things up. But only 14 percent of marketers think AI-only content is better than what humans can do. So we’re not handing over the keys just yet.
Instead, marketers are using AI like a very fast intern who doesn’t sleep. It writes drafts, surfaces keywords, localizes copy, automates the dull stuff. But the final polish, the voice, the strategy — that’s still human. Or at least, it should be.
You’re not just generating content. You’re building reputation.
Why Branded Mentions Beat Backlinks
Because here’s the thing; if Google’s AI is rewarding branded mentions, then the content that gets quoted, cited, or shared matters more than ever. You can’t fake that. You can’t just pump out 300 blog posts a month and expect the algorithm to care. The brands winning visibility are the ones whose content gets talked about. Referenced. Linked to, sure, but more importantly, mentioned in context.
So yes, AI can help you scale. But if you’re not saying anything worth repeating, you’re just adding to the noise.
Short-Form Video and the Visibility Loop
Meanwhile, short-form video continues to dominate the ROI leaderboard. HubSpot’s latest content trends report pegs it as the most effective format for 2025. No surprise there. It’s snackable, shareable, and
algorithm-friendly. But it also ties directly back to the SEO shift. Video content that gets referenced elsewhere, whether in articles, social posts, or other videos, feeds into that same web of branded mentions.
Ad Formats That Reinforce Organic Visibility
And while we’re talking HubSpot, their new digital ad guide is worth skimming. It breaks down where ad dollars are going in 2025, and which formats are pulling their weight. Spoiler: static display ads are still around, but they’re not exactly thriving. Interactive formats and native placements are getting more love, especially those that can be embedded or referenced in editorial content. Again, the theme here is relevance.
AI Overviews Still Favor Organic
One last note on AI Overviews; despite Google’s recent expansion of the feature, actual ad placements in these panels are still rare. That means organic brand presence, not paid, is still the main way in. For now.
So if you’re trying to build visibility in 2024 and beyond, here’s the rough formula: be useful, be quotable, and be everywhere. Backlinks might still matter, but they’re no longer the currency. Visibility is. And visibility comes from being part of the
conversation. From being relevant — not just optimized.
That’s it for today, folks.
Catch you in the next post.
Until then, keep building.
– Perfect Sites Blog