Google Overview: Threat or ally for the direct hotel channel?

AI arrived and changed everything. Or almost everything. What's clearly made a significant impact (also) is the way we search for information online. Not long ago, our first option for gathering information of any kind (including information related to choosing a destination, accommodation, and/or experiences to complete our stay) was to go to our trusted browser and ask the search engine (mainly Google). But is that still the case?

The quick and easy answer is no. Regardless of the greater or lesser degree of AI penetration depending on age, geographic location, or level of digital maturity, the truth is that, today, this process is changing rapidly, driven by this technology that is on everyone's lips. Solutions such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat), or Perplexity already offer us structured responses, contextual summaries, comparisons, reviews, and complete itineraries without having to navigate through multiple links, but without depriving us of those links, lest we want to consult the original source.


What used to take hours is now resolved in seconds. This trend, which tends to shorten the path between question and answer, has evidently not gone unnoticed by Google and is beginning to consolidate within the search engine's technological ecosystem. What, are users abandoning traditional search engines in favor of conversations with AI? Well, Google is taking the best of this new way of gathering information from the traditional search engine .
Google Overview is the American giant's direct response to this new paradigm. A new feature that could mark a new turning point in hotel online positioning. If you haven't heard of it, or if you're not sure how it could affect your property, spoiler alert: it's not as alarming as it may seem, but it is a very significant development that we shouldn't lose sight of.

What is Google Overview?

Google Overview is a new AI- powered feature that displays automatically generated summaries in search results. Instead of simply displaying blue links, Google now directly answers certain user questions immediately by compiling key content from different sources.

It's as if Google itself were reading the best articles on a topic for you and giving you a clear and direct summary , helping you save time and make decisions faster.

What impact is this having on hotels?

In the initial analyses we conducted, we identified, a priori, bright spots and dark spots. We put these in quotation marks because even indicators that are initially perceived as negative don't necessarily have to be so in the end. Below are the initial conclusions we drew:

• Increased impressions
• Decline in clicks

Should we view the drop in clicks as a negative? Not necessarily, because as long as it doesn't affect conversions—and we don't know for sure that this is the case at the moment—it shouldn't be interpreted as a critical signal. In fact:

• The hotel brand gains visibility (free branding) even when the user doesn't click.
• The user is more and better informed before clicking, which translates into higher-quality traffic and, presumably, an increased conversion rate.

Who does it affect the most?

The impact of Google Overview on the direct online channel of hotel properties varies depending on the type of content . In other words, the more informational the content on the official website, the more likely it is that the user will find the answer directly in the summary provided by Google Overview:

• If your website receives 100% or primarily brand traffic (users who already search for your hotel directly), the effect of Google Overview is very limited and the website will barely be affected.
• If you generate a lot of informational content (such as blogs or travel guides), you may notice a 10-15% drop in clicks, as the user is likely getting the answer directly from Google Overview.

The more generic and informative your content is, the greater the risk that Google will summarize it and “answer it for you.”

Can we measure traffic from Google Overview?

Google Search Console has not yet incorporated this segmentation, so it is not yet possible to measure traffic coming from Google Overview , although according to press releases published by various media outlets, everything indicates that it will do so soon.

In the meantime, we must make do with the estimates provided by tools like SEMrush or SimilarWeb, always keeping in mind that these are approximate and therefore not 100% reliable. As of today, there is no official way to tell whether a click comes from Google Overview or a traditional search result.

Conclusions: How can we adapt?

The first step is to accept that this new feature is here to stay. That said, we must continue doing what we know works, but without losing sight of the emergence of features like Google Overview:

• Technical and content SEO remain fundamentally unchanged : 95% of best practices remain valid.
• Useful, well-structured content aligned with search intent remains key , whether for traditional search or Google Overview or other AI assistants like ChatGPT.
• It is advisable to focus on transactional and branded content, which tends to generate clicks and reservations .
• And, above all, don't obsess over clicks. It's time to evaluate other equally important KPIs: visibility, brand awareness, and conversions .