Google AI Overviews in Poland: what they change in Google traffic

What are AI Overviews and how do they work?

AI Overviews are answer summaries generated by Google and shown directly on the results page. From the user's perspective, this means a shorter path to information – instead of clicking through several links, they get a summary and a list of the sources used to prepare the answer. For brands and publishers, the center of gravity therefore shifts from the ranking of results alone to presence in the AI answer and in the cited materials.

In practice, AI Overviews "move in" most strongly where user intent is informational – that is, where a definition, an instruction, a set of steps or a fact check is what counts. According to a 2025 Semrush study, in January 91.3% of queries that triggered an AI Overview were informational, although by October that share had fallen to 57.1%, because AIO increasingly appears for commercial queries too. If the content on your site answers questions like what, how, when and why, AIO can satisfy some of those needs at the results level, before a click happens.

It is also worth remembering that AIO's reach in results varies. According to the same Semrush study, in 2025 AI Overviews appeared for 6.49% of queries in January, 24.61% in July and 15.69% in November. This shows that Google is testing different exposure thresholds for AIO and does not switch them on with the same intensity for all queries.

How do AI Overviews affect organic traffic in Poland?

AI Overviews affect organic traffic in Poland through three mechanisms: shortening the path to an answer, moving part of the attention to the sources cited in AIO, and changing users' further behavior after the first search.

1) Fewer clicks where the answer is "right there" in the SERP – When an AI Overview appears for your query, some users may no longer click an organic result, because they get a sufficient answer in the summary. This is not theory – according to a 2025 Pew Research Center study (US), users who saw an AI summary clicked a traditional result in 8% of visits, and without a summary in 15%. In practice: if a large part of your traffic came from strictly informational queries, you will feel pressure on CTR and sessions.

2) What counts is whether your brand or content is cited – AIO relies on sources. If your content is cited, you have a chance to capture part of the traffic from the sources section of the AI Overview. If not, you lose even when you ranked high in classic results. A new question for strategy appears: not only "what position are we in," but "are we mentioned at all and which materials does AI use."

3) Users often run another search – Not every session ends at the AI summary. Even if AIO satisfied their curiosity, a user may still go deeper with a second query, often more specific or commercial. This is room to capture the "next step" intent with suitably prepared content and information architecture.

What does this mean for the Polish market? – The strongest shake-ups are visible for informational queries. That is where CTR falls and some sessions "stay" in the SERP. That is also where the game is about whether the brand and its content end up among the cited sources. For more specific and transactional queries, the room to maneuver remains larger – especially if you can build a bridge from an informational query to the next, commercial or navigational one.

Varying AIO saturation in results – Large swings in AIO's reach from month to month suggest that the exposure of this feature may depend on query type, tests and context. In plain terms: expect waves in the data and do not draw conclusions from a single week.

Tactical conclusions for organic traffic in Poland – If you build traffic from top‑of‑funnel content, expect pressure on CTR. Optimize the fragments AI can cite – definitions, "in short" paragraphs, checklists, answers to questions. – Measure whether the brand is mentioned in AIO and which sources AI cites. This is becoming as important as classic ranking. – Design the "second step" with users in mind who run another search – use internal linking and logical content paths to move from an informational answer to commercial needs.

Which industries gain and which lose from AI Overviews?

Given that AIO appears mainly for informational queries, you can sort the impact by dominant user intent rather than by industry names.

Gaining in a short window of opportunity: – Content ecosystems that know how to get cited. If your articles, guides, glossaries and FAQ sections provide concise, verifiable and neutral answers, you have a better chance that AI will bring you up as a source. This applies to fields where users look for definitions, steps to take or verification of information. – Sites that have built paths from an informational answer to a more specific need. Since some users run another search, "doorway" content for the second query can generate value – especially when it dispels doubts and enables action.

Losing, naturally: – Portals that based their traffic mainly on simple encyclopedic answers or short definitions, without unique added value. AI can summarize these pieces of knowledge effectively in the SERP, and the number of clicks on results – as the Pew Research Center study shows – falls clearly where an AI summary appears. – Publishers whose content is not cited. If you do not provide clear, reference-quality answers or do not build a reputation in the sources AI draws from, it will be harder to maintain the current scale of visits from informational queries.

Neutral or resilient areas: – Queries closer to a decision or containing a specific element (for example a preference, a constraint, a context). Since informational queries dominate in AIO, in more nuanced scenarios the user will still more often need a click – as long as they find a clear path to content that goes deeper into the topic.

In short: it is not about the industry label but about the proportion of intents in your keyword portfolio. Where information wins, AIO can "hold" the user in the SERP. Where the user is looking for further action, you have room to catch them at the next step.

How do you adapt your SEO strategy to AI Overviews?

Below is an adaptation plan that orders the work from content strategy to measuring results – with an emphasis on increasing the chance of being cited and capturing the user's "second step."

1) Audit intent and divide phrases into roles – Mark which phrases are strictly informational and which are transitional or commercial. Base this on real user questions and structure clusters so that each page has a clear purpose. The predominance of informational queries in AIO suggests refining especially the content that answers how, what and why questions – but with a view to redirecting to the next steps.

2) Format content for citability in AIO – Add short "in short" paragraphs at the top – 3–4 sentences that definitively answer the question. – Use step lists and checklists wherever the process can be written out. – In FAQ sections, answer unambiguously, one paragraph per question. – Keep terminology consistent between headings and body – AI more easily "recognizes" the match between question and answer.

3) Build the authority of a source AI likes to draw from – Develop reference content: definitions, guides, glossaries that others like to link to and cite. – Update materials to avoid discrepancies in content – consistency increases the chance of being cited. – Label authors and use a clear structure of sources and references to make verification easier.

4) Design the "second query" path – In informational content, suggest a logical next step: a related question, a deeper guide, a comparison of solutions. – Build internal linking so that moving to a more specific or commercial intent feels natural – this matches the behavior of users who run another search.

5) Measure brand visibility in AI answers and watch the cited sources – Monitoring should answer these questions: is the brand mentioned, who does AI recommend alongside you, which sources does it draw on and what has changed since the last measurement. Regularity matters, because AIO's reach varies.

6) React to CTR drops on informational content – Where an AIO section appears often, plan in‑SERP micro‑conversions: optimized titles and descriptions, visible unique values, elements that encourage a click even though the "first answer" is already in the SERP. – In reporting, separate phrases affected by AIO from the rest – CTR on results with an AI summary is a different baseline than for phrases without AIO.

7) Update your topic policy – Prioritize topics where you can deliver a unique perspective, your own data, examples and action frameworks – elements that are harder for a general model to synthesize.

What tools can help monitor visibility in AI Overviews?

Since the measure of success becomes not only position but also the brand's presence in AI answers and the list of cited sources, you need two layers of tools: search engine data and dedicated AIO monitoring.

Layer 1 – search engine data – Google Search Console to monitor CTR, impressions and clicks for groups of queries. Separate clusters covered by AIO from the rest and watch the trends.

Layer 2 – monitoring of AI answers – Attent is a tool for monitoring brand visibility in AI answers. Every week it asks your clients' questions in four engines: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI (AI Overviews), showing whether the brand was mentioned in the answer, who AI recommends alongside it, which sources AI draws its knowledge from and what is worth changing. Features include a brand AI visibility score, share of voice against competitors, blind spots (questions where AI mentions competitors and not the brand), sources cited by AI, change alerts, a PDF report for the board, a content generator and an integration with Google Search Console. Attent is used by 78 companies.

– Operational insights worth watching regardless of the tool you use: • the percentage of questions in which the brand is mentioned vs. left out, • a list of brands co-occurring in answers, • recurring sources cited by AI, • blind spots – questions from your category where AI points to competitors, • week-over-week change signals.

Monitoring visibility in AI answers is becoming as important as classic Google ranking. AI Overviews may reduce CTR for informational questions, but they also create new entry points – through cited sources and follow-up searches. Without constant measurement, you will not see whether your brand takes part in this conversation at all.

If you want a structured review of your exposure in AIO and other engines, consider regular measurement on a weekly cycle and a review of the trend report. To get started with Attent, all you need is a domain, a brand name and a list of competitors – you can book a call about monitoring at getattent.com.

Summary and conclusions

– AI Overviews change how clicks are distributed – according to Pew Research Center, with an AI summary users click a traditional result in 8% of visits versus 15% without one. – Informational queries dominate – according to Semrush, in January 2025 they made up 91.3% of queries with AIO, so the biggest impact is on top‑of‑funnel content. – AIO's reach varies – according to Semrush, in 2025 it ranged from 6.49% to 24.61% of queries. You need constant monitoring, not a one-off audit. – Take advantage of the fact that some users run another search – design content to capture the "second step" of intent. – Measure visibility in AI answers and cited sources. Optimize content for citability, transparency and consistency. – Build AIO reporting into your SEO routine and separate the analysis of phrases covered by AIO from the rest – they have a different CTR reality and different content priorities.

For Polish companies this means one thing: organic traffic can still be won, but the rules of the game have shifted toward AI answers and cited sources. Focus on being mentioned, keep content in a form that is easy to cite and build a path to follow-up queries. This is the practical answer to the question "how do Google AI Overviews affect organic traffic in Poland?" – they reduce simple clicks but open new entry points for those who measure them and put them to use.

Sources

1. Pew Research Center – Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results, 2025
2. Semrush – AI Overviews Study, 2025