The hidden link between AI Overview and AI Max

I still remember the day when Google first rolled out AI Overview.

Everyone was mocking it for how inaccurate the answers were.

But in just a few months, it has improved dramatically.

Today, AI Overview is often the first thing people see… and sometimes the only thing they engage with.

Gradually, AI Overview has grown beyond just another search feature.

It’s reshaping how people search entirely.

One of the biggest shifts is how it’s training users to ask longer, more specific questions.

Take this query:

“vegan protein powder with no artificial sweeteners and low sugar”

In the past, a query like this would usually return irrelevant results.

But now, AI Overview will deliver the perfect result for that.

And people are catching on to that difference…

They've quickly learned that clearer questions lead to better answers. So searches are getting longer and more detailed.

For ecommerce brands, this shift opens up a massive opportunity.

The reason?

Longer search queries usually signal higher buying intent, which translates into higher conversion rates.

Just take a look at the graph below from NP Digital.

Conversion rates rise as keyword length increases.

At six words, conversion rates hit 1.94%. That’s over 11 times higher than single-word searches.

Long-tail keywords like these have always pulled in high-quality traffic.

But in the past, their low volume limited their value.

Not anymore.

AI Overview is steering users away from short, vague searches and toward clear, specific questions.

As more people make this switch, long-tail keywords are starting to pull more traffic.

And highly specific, high-converting searches are getting way more common.

This shift might also explain why AI Max has been performing so well.

It’s designed to match your ads with relevant searches that aren’t explicitly in your keyword list.

And a lot of those matches come from long-tail queries.

That creates an interesting dynamic where…

1. AI Overview is creating more long-tail, high-intent queries from users

2. AI Max is built to capture them

All things considered, I see this as a positive trend for ecommerce brands advertising on Google.

And if you haven’t tried AI Max yet, now is the time to start testing.

Users are shifting away from traditional “ keyword” searches…

And Google is moving in the same direction—away from manual keyword targeting and toward AI-driven targeting.

Which means they’ll only double down on these features going forward.

It’s not a matter of if they’ll push harder on this.

The question is how fast you’ll adapt to it.

Jackson

Founder and CEO of Echelonn

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