A recent study by Rich Sanger and Laurence O'Toole found that Google's AI Overviews show a 46.3% overlap with top search results. 

The study analyzed 2,358 queries and 21.1% (2,358 queries) generated AI summaries with each including an average of 8.9 clickable links.

Previously, a January 2024 study by Authoritas highlighted a lower correlation rate, with only 4.5% of AI Overviews links matching top organic results. In March, it saw a 20.1% increase in generative URLs, averaging 10.75 links, while by August, it increased to 42.2% with 9.52 links. 

The new findings show a significant increase, indicating that Google's AI Overviews are closely aligned with traditional search outcomes. 

Result for the most frequently linked sites

Among the most frequent URLs linked to AI summaries, YouTube leads with 6.47% of the links. This figure includes 3.88% from the main YouTube website and 2.59% from its mobile version. Wikipedia follows closely with 3.76%, while sites like Southern Living had 1.53% of links.

Result when query types are combined

The data showed that 67.3% of links in AI Overviews appeared in traditional search results across direct, related, and reformulated queries. 

The study also found that when combining related queries with direct match queries, 60.4% of the top search results included links from both types of queries.