Featured Snippet
A featured snippet is a short answer Google extracts from a ranking page and displays at the top of search results, and the skill of winning one transfers directly to AI citation.
Also known as: position zero
A featured snippet is Google quoting your page at the top. Sometimes called "position zero," it's a concise answer Google lifts directly from a ranking page and displays above the normal results — a paragraph, list, or table that answers the query on the spot.
Featured snippets are the clearest pre-AI proof that extraction wins. Google chooses them by finding the cleanest, most directly-stated answer to a question — exactly the extractability skill AEO is built on. Content structured to win snippets (a crisp answer right under a question-shaped heading) is the same content that gets pulled into AI Overviews and cited by answer engines. The mechanism generalized; the craft carried over.
Example. A page that answers "how do I unclog a drain" with a tight numbered list right under that heading can win the featured snippet — and the very same structure makes it a prime candidate for an AI Overview citation.
Relevant pillar
Related terms
- Answer BoxAn answer box is a search result that displays a direct answer to a query at the top of the page, an early form of the zero-click answer that AI Overviews have since expanded.
- People Also AskPeople Also Ask is a Google feature showing related follow-up questions users search, and it is a free, direct window into the real questions your content should answer.
- Google AI OverviewsGoogle AI Overviews are AI-generated answer summaries shown at the top of Google search results, with links to cited sources, that often answer the query without a click.