Featured Snippets
Featured Snippets are highlighted search results appearing above organic results on Google, showing a direct answer extracted from a web page. They are the precursor to AI Overviews.
Types of Featured Snippets
- Paragraph — A text block directly answering a question (most common type)
- List — Ordered or unordered lists extracted from page content
- Table — Data tables pulled from HTML tables on the source page
Relationship to Answer Capsules
The same content format that wins Featured Snippets — concise, definitive, front-loaded answers — also maximizes AI citation probability. This is why Answer Capsules work for both traditional and AI search: the extraction logic is similar.
Declining with AI Overviews
As Google expands AI Overviews, Featured Snippets appear less frequently. AI Overviews often replace the Featured Snippet position with a more comprehensive, multi-source answer. However, the content signals that win Featured Snippets remain relevant for AI Overview inclusion.
Related Terms
- Answer Capsules — Content format optimized for snippet extraction
- AI Overviews — The AI-powered successor to Featured Snippets
- Zero-Click Search — Searches answered without a click-through
- Extraction Pressure — The Pressure SEO pillar for content extraction