Recently, people noticed that Google’s AI Overviews are not linking to websites that were affected by the Helpful Content Update (HCU). This happens even when users ask specifically about those sites. Surprisingly, these sites might still rank well in regular Google search results but are missing from the AI Overviews.
How AI Overviews Work
AI Overviews provide quick information based on what users search for. These overviews are influenced by Google’s main updates, including the Helpful Content Update. This update aims to improve the quality of content in search results.
What Experts Are Saying
some pointed out that when you search for “Who is [XYZ site]” (where you replace “[XYZ site]” with the name of an affected site), the AI Overview often does not include a link to that site. Instead, it shows links to other websites that talk about it. This is strange because the affected site might be at the top of regular search results but still doesn’t appear in the AI Overview.
some wonders if there is a filter blocking HCU sites from showing up in the AI Overviews. She invites anyone with examples of sites that do get linked to share what they find.
they looked at several sites that were impacted by the Helpful Content Update, including some that had improved a little after the August core update. He noticed that most of these sites were still not appearing in their own AI Overviews, which is puzzling.
Why This Is Important
The absence of links to these sites in AI Overviews could hurt their traffic. Studies show that about 70% of online experiences start with a search engine. If Google’s AI does not link to certain sites, those sites could miss out on important visitors and visibility.
This situation raises questions about how Google treats content affected by the Helpful Content Update. Are there hidden rules or filters that keep these sites from being seen?
