Because Google builds them differently. In Ahrefs' study of US searches, the two cited the same URLs only 13.7% of the time, even when their answers agreed. Your best bet for both is one set of pages that gives the quick answer first, then covers the follow-up questions in depth.
AI Overviews and AI Mode cite different pages because Google builds them differently: its own documentation says the two may use different models and techniques, so the responses and links they show will vary. An Ahrefs study of hundreds of thousands of US searches found that for the same query they cited the same URLs only 13.7% of the time, even though their answers meant much the same thing.
That matters more now than it did a year ago. Since January 2026, a follow-up question asked from an AI Overview on mobile continues in AI Mode, and in May Google said the same flow was live on desktop too. A buyer can meet both sets of citations in a single search session, so being in one and missing from the other can mean losing them halfway through their research.
- of cited URLs shared by AI Mode and AI Overviews for the same query
- 13.7%
- of cited URLs shared by AI Mode and AI Overviews for the same query
- average semantic similarity between the two answers
- 86%
- average semantic similarity between the two answers
- how much longer AI Mode answers ran than AI Overviews
- 4x
- how much longer AI Mode answers ran than AI Overviews
- of AI Overview citations ranked in the top 10 for the original query (Ahrefs, March 2026)
- 38%
- of AI Overview citations ranked in the top 10 for the original query (Ahrefs, March 2026)
01
What the overlap study actually measured
Ahrefs, an SEO software company, compared AI Mode and AI Overview responses for the same US queries, using data from September 2025 and 540,000 query pairs for the citation analysis. Only 13.7% of cited URLs appeared in both. Even among the top three citations, the overlap was just 16.3%.
The answers themselves were close. Average semantic similarity was 86%, and in roughly nine pairs out of ten the two systems agreed on the substance. They said much the same things while pointing to different evidence.
Two caveats matter. Each query was captured once, and the study notes that 45% of AI Overview citations change between generations, so the pool of shared sources over a month may be larger than one snapshot shows. The data also predates the January 2026 change that linked the two surfaces. Treat 14% as a strong signal, not a constant.
02
Why two Google surfaces pick different sources
Google describes them as tools for different jobs. AI Overviews help people get the gist of a question quickly and act as a jumping-off point to links. AI Mode is aimed at questions that need deeper exploration, reasoning or complex comparisons, and it carries a conversation across follow-ups.
Both may use what Google calls query fan-out: issuing several related searches across subtopics and data sources, then choosing supporting pages from those results. Google has also given them different default models: Gemini 3 for AI Overviews in January 2026, and Gemini 3.5 Flash for AI Mode in May. Different sub-queries and different models can easily lead to different pages being picked.
AI Mode and AI Overviews may use different models and techniques, so the set of responses and links they show will vary.
03
What each one tends to cite
The Ahrefs data shows the two leaning on different kinds of source. The pattern is more useful than any single number, because it tells you what kind of page each surface reaches for.
| Pattern | AI Overviews | AI Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Answer length | Short | About 4x longer |
| Brands or people named per answer | 1.3 on average | 3.3 on average |
| Answers naming no brand or person | 59.41% | 34.66% |
| Answers with no citations | 11% | 3% |
| Sources leaned on more | Videos, homepages and main category pages | Wikipedia, Quora, health sites, Facebook |
One more finding is worth knowing. Ahrefs found that 61% of the time, AI Mode included every brand or person the Overview had named, then added more. A business named in an Overview is more often than not named in AI Mode too, but often alongside competitors the Overview left out.
04
Two myths to drop
Myth one: Overviews only want short pages. In a separate Ahrefs study of more than 174,000 pages cited in AI Overviews, just over half had fewer than 1,000 words, but 16% had more than 2,000. Word count also made almost no difference to where a page appeared in the list of citations. We found no comparable length study for AI Mode, although Ahrefs suggests its longer answers favour well-sourced reference content such as Wikipedia. On both surfaces, the safer bet is a page where the answer is easy to find and lift out.
Myth two: rank first and the citations follow. In data Ahrefs published in March 2026, only about 38% of AI Overview citations ranked in the top 10 for the original query, down from about 76% in its July 2025 study, though Ahrefs had also improved how it collects citations in between. The rest ranked between 11 and 100 or outside the top 100 altogether, some appearing only in search features rather than the regular results. Ahrefs links the shift to the extra searches that fan-out runs. Ranking still helps, because both surfaces draw on Google's index, but it no longer settles who gets cited.
05
One site, two layers
The structure that serves both is a hub and spoke. Short, answer-first pages target the specific questions buyers ask, and each links to a deeper guide covering the follow-ups AI Mode is likely to fan out into: costs, process, timelines, comparisons and local conditions.
Take a hypothetical interior design studio in Kochi. A page headed 'How much does a 2BHK interior cost in Kochi?' opens with a straight answer and the factors that move the price. It links to a fuller guide on materials, timelines, payment stages and what to check in a contract. The Overview gets a clean answer to quote, and AI Mode gets the depth to cite on the third follow-up.
Because AI Mode names more businesses, mentions elsewhere matter too. In Ahrefs' study of 75,000 brands, mentions of a brand across the web correlated strongly with visibility in AI Mode, while backlinks showed only a weak relationship. That is a correlation, not proof, but it points the same way as common sense: be the business that directories, comparisons and local media already name.
06
What to do this month
- Confirm eligibility. Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to show a snippet to appear as a supporting link. Check robots.txt, your CDN settings and any nosnippet tags.
- Put the answer first. Open each key page with a two or three sentence answer under a question heading, then go deep below it.
- Cover the follow-ups. Write down the next three questions a buyer asks after the first one, and answer them on the same page or one click away.
- Add video where it genuinely helps. YouTube was the most cited domain in AI Overviews in Ahrefs' data as of March 2026, so a short walkthrough on a key page gives you a second route in.
- Keep structured data honest. Mark up only what is visible on the page. In a May 2026 Ahrefs test, adding schema made no clear difference to AI citations, so treat it as hygiene rather than a lever.
- Track both surfaces separately in your monthly answer share check, because winning one tells you little about the other.
For the basics behind all of this, start with what Answer Engine Optimization is, or ask us for a free audit of your key pages.
Sources
Facts checked against the sources below and current as of 30 July 2026. Several figures come from Ahrefs, an SEO software company that publishes its own research.