Local SEO
Do Google Reviews Show Up in AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are changing what a search results page looks like, and business owners want to know if their hard-earned reviews still count. Here's what's actually known, what's genuinely unclear, and what to do about it either way.
Updated 12 August 2026 · 6 min read
What AI Overviews actually are
AI Overviews are Google's AI-generated summaries that can appear above the traditional list of search results for some queries, pulling together information from multiple sources into a single written answer instead of a list of links. For a local search — "best plumber in Geelong" or "is [café] any good" — that summary can end up doing some of the work a searcher used to do themselves: skimming a few reviews and forming an impression.
This sits alongside the local map pack and your Google Business Profile listing, which still appear in their own right for most local searches. AI Overviews are an additional layer on top of the search results page, not a replacement for the existing local search features business owners already manage.
Where the answer's information comes from
Google has been clear that its AI-powered search features draw on the same underlying index and business information it already holds — including the details on your Google Business Profile and content available across the web, which for a local business includes your reviews. In practice, that means the same profile completeness, review activity and reply habits that already matter for a normal search listing are the same raw material an AI-generated summary would be working from.
There isn't a separate profile or a different set of information to manage specifically for AI Overviews. The inputs are the ones you already control: an accurate, complete Google Business Profile and a genuine, current set of reviews.
What's genuinely uncertain
Google hasn't published the specific mechanics of which reviews, how many, or which parts of your profile an AI-generated summary draws on for any given query, and it's reasonable to expect that to keep changing as the feature develops. Any claim that promises a specific technique to "get featured" in an AI Overview, or a guaranteed method to influence what it says about your business, is going beyond anything Google has actually confirmed.
It's also not yet clear how much weight, if any, is given to the content of your review replies specifically — as distinct from the reviews themselves — inside an AI-generated summary. Until Google says more, treat anything specific here as a reasonable guess rather than an established fact.
What to actually do about it
The practical answer is reassuring: there's no separate playbook to learn. The fundamentals that already build a strong local search presence — a complete, accurate profile, a steady flow of genuine reviews, and consistent replies — are the same fundamentals that put you in the best position for however AI-generated summaries end up using that information.
Chasing a specific AI Overview tactic instead of the basics is a poor trade. A thin, inconsistent Google Business Profile is a weak foundation for a traditional search listing and an AI-generated one alike; a well-run one is a strong foundation for both, without needing to treat them as separate projects.