How AGEMBRAND Achieved #1 in AIO overviews on Google

How AGEMBRAND Achieved #1 in AIO overviews on Google

AI Overviews (Google’s “answer boxes” that summarize content pulled from multiple sites) are becoming a major gatekeeper in what users see first. To show up there — or to be cited in them — you need more than just good content. Press (coverage in credible media outlets) plays a crucial role. Here’s how and why, backed by recent research.


Why Press / Reputable Media Matter in AI Overviews

  1. Trust & Authority Bias
    AI systems and Google’s generative summary tools tend to favor well-known, credible sources. As one study put it, major news outlets like the BBC, The New York Times, and CNN dominate citations in AI Overviews. Search Engine Journal
    When these outlets publish something, your brand associated with them immediately gets perceived as more credible. This credibility can lead to your content being chosen as a source.

  2. More Likely to Get Cited When Pressed
    A SearchEngineLand study (“How to Get Cited by AI: SEO insights from 8,000 AI citations”) shows that AI tools look for domains with strong, authoritative presence when choosing what to cite. Having press mentions or articles helps build that presence. Search Engine Land

  3. Increased Visibility for Zero-Click Queries
    AI Overviews reduce the need for users to click through — often the summary is “good enough.” But users do see the citations and mentions. Being in press gives you a chance to be visible even when clicks drop. Pew Research Center+2Digital Content Next+2

  4. Press Enables Stronger Backlink & Authoritativeness Signals
    Traditional SEO still matters: links, content quality, domain age, etc. Press coverage typically yields backlinks, mentions, and traffic. These signals help search engines and AI systems assess your content’s reliability. Research from SE Ranking notes that major media presence correlates with more frequent appearances in AI Overviews. SE Ranking

  5. Better Ranking in High-Trust Topics
    Topics in health, law, science, people & society are increasingly triggering AI Overviews. These are “high trust” areas. Press outlets are generally perceived as more accurate for those topics. When you have press, you’re more likely to be treated as reliable in those categories. Semrush+1

In Summary - What Press Does For You That Pure SEO Alone Does Not

  • Adds third-party validation: Someone outside of your brand vouches for you.

  • Broadens your content’s reach: Audiences you couldn’t reach via your own channels see you.

  • Shapes reputation: Press often frames you as an expert or authority, which helps with brand trust.

  • Generates more high-quality backlinks and references, which feed into the AI models’ data sources.

At AGEMBRAND we activated these tactics using well established news and magazine publications with high domain ratings: such as the Associated Press and Market Watch and we are now seeing our brand showing up first in Google's AIO search results.  

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