How to Get Your Brand Cited in AI Overviews

The Zero-Click Reality

More than 60% of Google searches now end without a single click. With the rollout of AI Overviews and “AI Mode,” Google is answering user queries directly on the results page using content pulled from third-party sources it deems credible. Google has also introduced real-time voice search in AI Mode, allowing users to speak naturally and receive continuously updating answers as they talk without refreshing or retyping. This shift raises the bar for brands: content must now be structured, credible, and cited well enough to be surfaced instantly in dynamic, spoken AI interactions. In this new era of zero-click search, the real question is no longer, “Where do I rank?” but, “Is my brand being cited in the answer?”

And most businesses? They aren’t. Not because they don’t have expertise, but because they lack a strategic plan to feed the AI the right signals. That’s where Qantm Creative comes in.

The Consequences of Inaction

• If you’re not showing up in AI Overviews, you’re losing visibility to competitors who are.
• Your SEO traffic will plateau or decline even if your keyword rankings stay strong.
• Paid ads are no longer guaranteed top billing. AI Overviews often appear above them.
• Leads and conversions will drop as customers never reach your site to begin with.

Why PR + Digital = Visibility in AI Search

At Qantm, we’ve built an agency model that merges public relations and digital strategy to ensure clients can compete in AI-first search results. Google’s AI doesn’t just reward keyword-optimized pages anymore. It pulls from third-party mentions, expert citations, news coverage, reviews, and structured content. That means:

• You need PR to build authority and trust signals across the web.
• You need digital strategy to structure, optimize, and syndicate those signals so AI engines can find and use them.

Best Practices You Need to Be Doing (But Probably Aren’t)

Secure Authoritative Third-Party Mentions
What to do: Target digital PR placements in niche publications, trade blogs, and high-authority sites that speak to your industry.
Why it matters: AI Overviews favor sources that are widely cited and recognized. It’s not about volume. It’s about perceived expertise and credibility.

Use Structured Data & Semantic Markup
What to do: Implement schema for authorship, FAQs, reviews, and organizational details.
Why it matters: Structured data helps AI understand context, relationships, and credibility without needing to crawl 20 pages.

Publish Expert-Level Content with Citability in Mind
What to do: Create content that answers questions clearly and concisely, with citations and sources where appropriate.
Why it matters: AI favors content that mimics how it delivers answers – direct, factual, and backed by signals of authority.

Own Your Author Profiles
What to do: Make sure your internal experts have optimized bios across platforms like LinkedIn, your website, and guest posts.
Why it matters: AI evaluates the source of information, not just the page. Who said it is as important as what was said.

Create a Syndication and Link Velocity Plan
What to do: Don’t just post content and hope. Push it out through PR placements, newsletters, industry directories, and social channels.
Why it matters: Strategic velocity (not too fast but not too slow) and repetition help AI pick up patterns of trustworthiness faster.

Track AI Citations (Manually or with Tools)
What to do: Start screenshotting AI Overviews that reference your industry. Use tools like AlsoAsked, Perplexity, SEOClarity, Surfer SEO, or Nozzle to monitor AI Overview activity and citations.
Why it matters: If you’re not tracking, you’re not improving. And you can’t optimize what you can’t see.

Take Control of Your Visibility in AI-Driven Search

Most agencies offer SEO. Some offer PR. But very few have fully integrated teams who understand how to synchronize both specifically to influence AI Overviews. At Qantm, our digital and PR teams work side-by-side to build and execute strategies designed for this AI-first world.

We’re not just guessing what might work. We’re already helping clients:

• Earn top mentions in AI-generated answers.
• Restructure stale content for AI readability.
• Implement tracking frameworks for AI visibility.

It’s Not Too Late (Yet)

AI search is here, and it’s evolving fast. Businesses that move now will shape the signals AI picks up on for months (and years) to come. Those that wait will struggle to regain ground.

If you want your brand to be the answer in AI search, now’s the time to act. Contact us and let’s build your visibility plan before your competitors do.

Written by Lori Aitkenhead, Director of Digital and Social Media