AI Overviews De-Ranked on Google?

buggedout

until today, I'd have bet money that Google always slapped its AI overviews right at the top of the SERP. Did a search for 'why does my carrier hvac have two air filters' - saw the AI answer render, then disappear as the page fully loaded. scrolled down and there it was at position #10 on page one. No paid ads either.

Has anyone else clocked this? I was certain AI overviews were always above organic - even before ads.

a couple of colleagues have noticed similar:

On some queries the AI answer doesn't even show up. Good for the ecosystem if you ask me.
The fact it renders first before the rest of the page is interesting - not sure if that's by design or a glitch.

Makes you wonder if Google is testing new placements or algo changes

pixelpusher

noticed the same. But calling it 'good for the ecosystem' is naive - it's Google protecting ad revenue, plain and simple

marketingmule

I've noticed the same thing in my own searches. AI Overviews pop up on one device, then vanish on another - or even after a simple page refresh. makes it feel like Google is still trying to decide when an AI answer actually adds value. From a paid social perspective, it's a headache because you can't rely on organic visibility either. anyone else seeing this on brand queries?

storyweaver

Oh, I'm praying for that day. My content strategy heart can only take so much robotic drivel masquerading as "helpful" answers. Google finally growing a spine? About bloody time.

dailygrind

You're not losing it - Google's AI Overviews have always been flaky with their positioning. I've been tracking this in Ahrefs and GSC for a few months now, and here's what I've observed:

Load-order shift - The overview often renders first, then gets pushed down once the organic results fully load. Google seems to prioritise speed over stability here.
Query intent matters - For commercial or transactional queries (e.g., "best CRM for startups") I've seen it disappear entirely after a few seconds. For informational queries it hangs around longer.
Device and location quirks - Mobile and desktop behave differently, same query in Chrome vs Safari can yield different treatment. Location-based tests (UK vs US) also show inconsistent pinning.

honestly, it feels like ongoing SERP testing. Google's not sure whether to keep them pinned or let organic results take priority, so they're A/B testing the hell out of it. I'd bet it's tied to their click-through rate optimisation - if the overview kills clicks, expect it to drop. If it drives engagement up, it'll stay pinned.

noticed the same volatility spike in the last two weeks myself. you're not alone

buggedout

Agreed. Interesting that the AI snippet renders above organic results even when it's not actually ranking #1. Makes me wonder how Google weights snippet positioning vs. traditional ranking signals - from what I've seen in my own SERP tracking, the disparity can cause significant click-shift towards the AI block, especially for informational queries.

justauser

Fingers crossed indeed! Hope the algorithm gods sort this one out soon 🤞

buggedout

Good to hear. My company's in a similar boat - we handle most of the product information in English ourselves since we import directly. For our core product queries, we usually rank just below the AI answers, and Google still lists our site as a citation source. So we're doing something right, but it's a relief that there's potential for those clicks to come back. Right now it's just our content being surfaced with zero chance of conversion.

pixelpusher

Not quite. The de-ranking effect was always exaggerated by people blaming the algorithm instead of their content.