# Google AI Overview API and tracker > Google has no official API for AI Overviews. aivisibilityskill returns them as JSON for any query in 240 countries and territories: whether an AI Overview appeared, its text, every cited link in order, the brands it names, and the raw result as proof. Put your queries on a daily or weekly schedule and it becomes an AI Overview tracker. It costs $0.011 to $0.025 an answer. Canonical page: https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/google-ai-overviews. Updated November 5, 2026 by Ahmed Gagan, founder of aivisibilityskill. - Asks: Google Search: the AI Overview above the results - Returns: The answer, brands in order, every citation, facts and the raw response - Countries: 240 countries and territories, 100+ languages - Price per answer: $0.011 (batch) to $0.025 (live); half for a reused answer - Speed: Live answers usually in under a minute - Try it: Free sandbox keys and 500 free credits, no card Get a free sandbox key: https://app.aivisibilityskill.com/login?next=%2Fkeys. API reference: https://api.aivisibilityskill.com/docs. OpenAPI 3.1: https://api.aivisibilityskill.com/openapi.json. ## Request and response ```bash curl https://api.aivisibilityskill.com/v1/checks \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIV_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "questions": ["best CRM for early-stage startups"], "engines": ["ai_overviews"], "locale": "en-US", "mode": "live", "wait": 60 }' ``` Response, shortened (real values from October 29, 2026): ```json { "status": "succeeded", "credits": { "quoted": 25, "charged": 25 }, "answers": [ { "engine": "ai_overviews", "surface": "serp", "question": "best CRM for early-stage startups", "locale": "en-US", "has_ai_answer": true, "brands": [ { "name": "HubSpot", "rank": 1, "recommended": true, "sentiment": "positive", "quote": "Best for inbound growth and all-in-one operations" }, { "name": "Pipedrive", "rank": 2, "recommended": true, "sentiment": "positive", "quote": "Best for visual pipeline management and pure sales focus" } ], "facts": [ { "brand": "Pipedrive", "type": "price", "value": "$14 per user per month", "price": { "amount": 14, "currency": "USD", "period": "month", "per_user": true } } ], "citations": [ { "position": 1, "domain": "ringy.com", "source_type": "brand_owned" }, { "position": 4, "domain": "youtube.com", "source_type": "youtube" } ], "receipt": { "sha256": "…", "url": "…/receipt" } } ] } ``` ## What the AI Overview API returns Each result tells you first whether Google showed an AI Overview at all, then what it said: the text, the brands it named in order, and every link it cited, already read. What each answer includes: | Field | What it holds | | --- | --- | | `has_ai_answer` | false when the engine showed no AI answer (for example, no AI Overview for that query). | | `text` | The full answer, as markdown. | | `brands[].name, rank` | Every brand the answer names, in order of first mention (rank 1 = named first). | | `brands[].recommended, sentiment, quote` | Whether it recommends the brand, the tone (positive, neutral, negative) and the exact words. | | `citations[].position, url, domain, title` | Every source the answer cites, in the order it cites them. | | `citations[].source_type` | What kind of site each source is: brand_owned, review_site, media, reddit, youtube, wikipedia, forum, social, blog_platform, marketplace, gov_edu or other. | | `facts[]` | Claims about each brand (price, plan, free tier, platform, feature) with the quote they came from; prices parsed into amount, currency and period. | | `model, locale, collected_at` | The model the engine reported, the country and language asked from, and when. | | `receipt.sha256, receipt.url` | The engine's raw response, stored as returned, and its SHA-256 hash. | ## When Google shows no AI Overview Google doesn't show an AI Overview for every query, and whether it does changes by country and over time. When there isn't one, the answer says so with `has_ai_answer: false`. That's a result in its own right: tracked over weeks, it tells you which of your queries have an AI Overview in which countries, and when one appears or disappears. ## One question, three different answers We asked “best CRM for early-stage startups” on each engine from the US on the same morning. Each card is what the API returned: how the answer opens, the brands it named in order, and the first sites it cited. Real answers to "best CRM for early-stage startups" (en-US), collected October 29, 2026, as the API read them: - ChatGPT: opens "My recommendation: start with Attio if you're building a tech startup, or HubSpot if you want a free, all-purpose sales and marketing platform." Names, in order: Attio, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, Close. Cites 10 sources, starting with hackceleration.com, softwarecompare.net, stackbytrade.com. - Google AI Overview: opens "The best CRM for early-stage startups depends on your growth model, budget, and sales process." Names, in order: HubSpot, Pipedrive, Attio, Ringy, Zoho CRM, Salesforce (as one to avoid). Cites 6 sources, starting with ringy.com, bestpage.ai, digitalocean.com. - Google AI Mode: opens "Choosing a CRM for an early-stage startup depends heavily on your workflow … and how fast you plan to scale." Names, in order: Attio, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Close, Streak, Folk. Cites 3 sources, starting with attio.com, eway-crm.com, hubspot.com. Where each answer ranks each brand (1 = named first; – = not named): | Brand | ChatGPT | Google AI Overview | Google AI Mode | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Attio | **1** | 3 | **1** | | HubSpot | 2 | **1** | 2 | | Pipedrive | 3 | 2 | 3 | | Zoho CRM | 4 | 5 | – | | Close | 5 | – | 4 | | Ringy | – | 4 | – | | Salesforce | – | 6 (to avoid) | – | | Streak | – | – | 5 | | Folk | – | – | 6 | All three name Attio, HubSpot and Pipedrive, but not in the same order, and after those three the lists split. They barely share sources either: ChatGPT and the AI Overview cite no site in common, and AI Mode shares only attio.com and hubspot.com with ChatGPT. Watching one surface tells you little about the others. ## Build an AI Overview tracker An AI Overview tracker asks the same queries on a schedule and records what changed. With the API it's four steps: 1. **Create a project** with the brand, its competitors and the queries to watch (`POST /v1/projects`). 2. **Set a schedule**, daily or weekly, for AI Overviews alone or alongside ChatGPT and AI Mode. 3. **Read the results**: how often the brand is named, competitor share, the sites Google cites and the history (`visibility`, `competitors`, `sources`, `history`). 4. **Get a webhook** when each run is done, instead of polling. Building a tracker for many clients? Tag each project with your customer id, read usage per customer, and send large runs as one [batch](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api#feat-title) of up to 20,000 answers. ## What AI Overviews cite Google's AI Overviews lean on video and forums far more than ChatGPT does. In our study of 2,381 answers to 300 software buyer questions, AI Overviews cited YouTube in 85% of their answers and Reddit in 48%, with about 8 sources per answer, and 64% of the cited pages were roundups, comparisons or reviews. Every cited link comes back with a source type, so shares like these come straight out of the data. [Read the study](https://aivisibilityskill.com/guides/what-ai-engines-cite). ## AI Overview API vs a SERP API A SERP API returns Google's results page: the blue links, ads and other features, with the AI Overview as raw HTML or text. This API returns the AI part, read: the brands named, their order and tone, and every cited link with its source type. Keep your SERP API for rankings; use this for what Google's AI says. SERP API vs AI Overview API: | | SERP API | aivisibilityskill | | --- | --- | --- | | Blue-link rankings | Yes | No | | AI Overview text and links | Raw | Read into brands, order, tone and source types | | Google AI Mode | Sometimes, raw | Yes, read the same way | | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek | No | Yes, in the same call | | Proof | Varies | Raw result with its SHA-256 hash | ## AI Overviews vs AI Mode An AI Overview is the short summary Google puts above the results for some queries. AI Mode is a separate, conversational search where Google answers at length. They often name different brands and cite different sites for the same question, as the example above shows, so trackers usually watch both. See the [Google AI Mode API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/google-ai-mode). ## Call the Google AI Overview API from TypeScript or Python ```ts import { Aiv } from "@aivisibilityskill/sdk"; const aiv = new Aiv({ apiKey: process.env.AIV_KEY! }); const job = await aiv.checks.create({ questions: ["best CRM for early-stage startups"], engines: ["ai_overviews"], locale: "en-US", }); const done = await aiv.jobs.wait(job.id); for (const answer of done.answers ?? []) { console.log(answer.brands?.map((b) => `${b.rank}. ${b.name}`)); console.log(answer.citations?.map((c) => c.domain)); } ``` ```python import os from aivisibilityskill import Aiv aiv = Aiv(api_key=os.environ["AIV_KEY"]) job = aiv.checks.create( ["best CRM for early-stage startups"], engines=["ai_overviews"], locale="en-US", ) done = aiv.jobs.wait(job["id"]) for answer in done["answers"]: print([(b["rank"], b["name"]) for b in answer["brands"]]) print([c["domain"] for c in answer["citations"]]) ``` ## Google AI Overview API pricing You pay per answer, in credits. Pick the speed per request. A dollar buys 1,000 credits on a pack; monthly and volume plans include more. An answer reused from a recent identical one (`max_age_hours`) costs half, and an answer that fails costs nothing. Google AI Overviews answer prices: | Speed | Ready | Credits | Pay as you go | Business and Enterprise plans | Reused answer | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Batch | Within a few hours | 11 | $0.011 | $0.0069 | 6 credits | | Standard | Within minutes | 15 | $0.015 | $0.0094 | 8 credits | | Live | Usually under a minute | 25 | $0.025 | $0.0156 | 13 credits | Every account gets the same API and every engine, starting with 500 free credits and no card. Volume plans start at $500 a month for 750,000 credits, with invoicing and a [99.5% uptime commitment](https://aivisibilityskill.com/sla): [see volume plans](https://aivisibilityskill.com/volume). ## Countries and languages Ask Google AI Overviews from 240 countries and territories, in the buyer's language, with a locale like `en-US`, `de-DE`, `pt-BR` or `ja-JP`. ChatGPT covers 192. `GET /v1/locales` lists every supported pair for free, and a pair that isn't supported is refused before anything is charged. ## Questions ### Is there an official Google AI Overview API? No. Google doesn't offer an API for AI Overviews. aivisibilityskill returns them as JSON for any query in 240 countries and territories, with the text, every cited link and the brands named. ### Does it return the links an AI Overview cites? Yes. Every cited link comes back in order, with its domain, title and a source type such as review_site, media, reddit, youtube or brand_owned. ### What happens when Google shows no AI Overview? The answer says has_ai_answer: false. Tracked over time, that tells you which queries have an AI Overview in which countries, and when one appears or disappears. ### Can I use it as an AI Overview tracker? Yes. Put your queries in a project with a daily or weekly schedule. The API returns how often a brand is named, competitor share, the sites Google cites and the history, and a webhook tells you when each run is done. ### How is it different from a SERP API? A SERP API returns the results page, with the AI Overview raw. This returns what the AI Overview says, already read into brands, their order and tone, and typed sources, plus AI Mode and six other AI engines in the same call. ### Which countries does it cover? 240 countries and territories, in over 100 languages. Ask with a locale like en-US, de-DE or pt-BR; GET /v1/locales lists them all, and a pair that isn't supported is refused before anything is charged. ### How much does it cost? 11 credits for a batch answer, 15 for standard and 25 for live: $0.011 to $0.025 at pay-as-you-go rates, about $0.007 to $0.017 on volume plans, and half for a reused recent answer. ## Related - [ChatGPT API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/chatgpt): The ChatGPT app's answer as JSON: brands in order, every citation and the raw response. - [Google AI Mode API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/google-ai-mode): AI Mode answers and sources as JSON, and how AI Mode differs from AI Overviews and Gemini. - [Gemini API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/gemini): The Gemini app's answer as JSON, and how Gemini differs from ChatGPT and AI Mode. - [Perplexity API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/perplexity): Perplexity's Sonar answers and citations as JSON, read into brands and source types. - [Claude API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/claude): Claude's web search answers as JSON: which brands Claude recommends, and why. - [Grok API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/grok): Grok's answers as JSON, with search across the web and X, read into brands. - [DeepSeek API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api/deepseek): DeepSeek's answers as JSON, grounded in DeepSeek's web search, read into brands. - [AI visibility API](https://aivisibilityskill.com/api): All 8 engines in one call, with builder features and every endpoint. - [What AI engines cite](https://aivisibilityskill.com/guides/what-ai-engines-cite): 24,258 citations from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI, analyzed.