As we enter the holiday season, October data reveals significant changes and stabilization across industries in AI Insights (AIO). October’s critical insights reveal growth in some sectors, stability in others, and strategic shifts in content types and sources. These insights offer actionable strategies for marketers to optimize AIOs during this critical time.
YouTube Quotes in AI Previews: September to October
YouTube AI Overviews citations increased in September 400-450% higher than the August baseline, when YouTube citations were first tracked. The level then stabilized in October at a level of approximately 110% to 115% above the August baseline. This makes it seem like this level of YouTube AIO quotes may represent a new standard.
The types of video content that Google AIO tended to cite were:
- How to do it
- In-depth reviews
- Product comparisons
The BrightEdge report observed that YouTube AIO citations in November remained stable:
Current status (November): Stabilized at around 115-120% with minimal daily variation (±3%).
The next few months will show how happy users are with YouTube quotes. Presumably Google tested YouTube Citations before rolling them out, so expectations of a sea change must be kept in check as the volatility of YouTube AIO Citations was low, indicating that Google may have found the sweet spot for this type of quotes. So don’t expect this level of YouTube citations to drop even if anything is possible.
This trend highlights the continued importance of the YouTube video channel as a means to expand the reach and continued evolution of purely text-based content. If you’re embedding video on web pages, it’s important to use Video Schema.org structured data.
Massive Growth in Travel Industry AIO Citations
AIO travel quotes jumped 700% from September to October. This may reflect Google’s reliance on AI to make travel recommendations.
BrightEdge offered this advice:
“To get AIO visibility, travel brands need to optimize content around seasonal travel, local events and specific activities. Many keywords that are part of this wave start with “Things to do,” which then triggers an unordered list.
Localized and activity-specific travel queries
Google AIO shows citations for more localized, specific, long-tail travel-related queries, which may mean that AI Overviews handles more local travel-type queries, as opposed to large destination queries that go down to the neighborhood level .
BrightEdge suggested the following tips for optimizing travel AIO topics:
“This trend highlights an opportunity for travel brands to capture AIO visibility by creating content that matches users’ more refined search intents.
- Optimizing queries related to local events, neighborhood attractions, and seasonal activities can improve relevance as AIOs continue to focus on detailed, location-specific travel information.
- For example, content targeting searches like “best winter activities in New England” or “small town vacation events” is likely to resonate well with users looking for unique travel experiences .
BrightEdge explained:
“Initially, travel AIOs were dominated by broad, general queries focused on top travel destinations. However, as the month progressed, there was an increase in more localized, activity-specific and seasonal travel searches, reflecting a deeper level of user intent. By November, AIOs were increasingly focused on niche travel queries covering smaller cities, specific neighborhoods, and unique local activities.
Here are examples of travel query patterns that triggered AIO:
- Main attractions of
- Things to do at
- Family activities at
- Fall Festivals in
AIO stabilizes and matures
Another interesting insight from the BrightEdge data is that daily AIO citation growth has slowed to 1.3%, indicating that we are now entering a more stable phase.
BrightEdge offers this overview:
“We are now six months into the AIO era and seeing macroeconomic changes in AI insights that are getting smaller and smaller”
Another statistic that confirms that AIOs are here to stay is that AIO quote volatility has decreased by 42%, another sign of stability. This is good news because it means more predictability about which keyword phrases will trigger AIO citations.
BrightEdge Notes:
“AIO Appearance Stabilization allows brands to optimize their presence for a consistent presence, especially for persistent holiday keywords. This benefits campaigns where a constant presence of AIO can drive significant traffic and conversions. As AIOs become more stable, their planning and integration into strategies becomes easier. This is crucial information for marketers who want to integrate AI insights into their 2025 strategy.”
Educational subject performance
Educational topics were on a steady growth trajectory with a 5% increase in keywords that trigger AIO, accounting for 45-50% of keywords. Growth was seen in more complex educational queries such as:
- prerequisites for cybersecurity certification
- career options with a psychology degree
- comparison psyd vs doctorate
B2B queries saw modest growth of 2%, representing 45-50% of keywords and with less volatility in October than in September. AIO citations in healthcare were also stable with only a 1% change in October and with 73-75% of keywords triggering AIO citations.
Learn more about BrightEdge data here:
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