AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of the SERP for many informational and commercial queries. They synthesize information from multiple sources and often include citations, links, images, and follow-up questions.

Key characteristics:

Featured Snippets extract a direct answer from a webpage and display it prominently above organic results.

Common formats:

Featured Snippets still drive high visibility but increasingly compete with AI Overviews.

PAA boxes show algorithmically generated follow-up questions related to the original query. Each expansion loads a snippet-style answer and often spawns additional questions.

Notes:

Top Stories is a news-focused SERP feature that surfaces recent, authoritative articles related to timely or newsworthy queries. It typically appears as a carousel and is most common for breaking news, trending topics, brands in the news, and major events.

Key characteristics:

Notes:

This feature presents key concepts or subtopics related to a query, usually in expandable cards. It’s commonly triggered by broad or complex informational searches.

Perspectives highlight content from forums, social platforms, creators, and first-hand experiences. This feature reflects Google’s increased emphasis on authenticity and experience-based content.

Sources often include:

This module surfaces threads from forums and community platforms, especially for troubleshooting, opinions, or product research queries.

Appearing at the bottom or mid-SERP, these suggestions help users refine or pivot their search intent.

A horizontal row of images that links to Google Images results. Image packs can appear almost anywhere in the SERP and often signal visual intent.

Video results (commonly from YouTube) include thumbnails, timestamps, and key moments. Short-form video carousels are increasingly common for how-to and explainer queries.

A vertical or carousel-style format optimized for short-form video content, often pulled from YouTube Shorts or similar platforms.

Carousels display scrollable cards containing images and links. They are used across multiple verticals, including entertainment, products, travel, and education.

The Local Pack displays a map and typically three nearby business listings for location-based queries.

Includes:

This feature dominates mobile SERPs.

Rich product cards showing images, pricing, ratings, and sellers. These can be paid, organic, or a mix depending on region and query type.

A product-focused module often shown for category-level searches, combining multiple sellers and product variations.

Paid search ads appear above and/or below organic results. On competitive queries, ads may occupy most of the visible viewport.

Expanded links shown under a main domain result, typically for branded or navigational queries. Sitelinks can occupy significant SERP space.

Knowledge Panels display structured entity information sourced from the Knowledge Graph, Wikipedia, Wikidata, and trusted partners.

Common for:

Star ratings can appear for products, recipes, software, and local businesses. They strongly influence CTR and trust.

A visual module highlighting attractions or activities near a specific location.

Rich recipe cards with images, ratings, cook time, and ingredients. Frequently appear for food-related queries.