Featured Snippet
The direct-answer box at the top of a Google SERP. The origin of AEO and the precursor to AI Overviews.
What is a Featured Snippet?
A Featured Snippet is the direct-answer box Google displays above the standard list of search results, also known as "Position Zero." Introduced around 2014, it let users get an answer without leaving the search results page — and effectively kicked off the concept now called AEO (Answer Engine Optimization).
Today's generative answer cards such as AI Overviews are an evolution of the featured snippet. The big change: instead of pulling the answer from one page, they synthesize multiple sources.
Snippet formats
Featured Snippets come in a few standard formats, each with its own page-structure requirement.
| Format | Look | Page structure required |
|---|---|---|
| Paragraph | Definition or summary block | H2 + 50–150 char Answer-First Paragraph |
| List | Ordered or unordered list | H2 + explicit <ol> / <ul> |
| Table | Comparison or numeric table | H2 + markdown or HTML table |
| Video | YouTube clip | YouTube-hosted with accurate chapter markers |
The page structures that earn featured snippets overlap directly with the six signals AEO analysis tools score — meaning featured-snippet know-how carries forward straight into the AEO and GEO era.
Relationship to AEO
A Featured Snippet targets a SERP box; AEO targets direct in-answer citation inside answer engines. The page structure both demand — question-style headings, direct-answer paragraphs, FAQPage schema, inline sources — is nearly identical. Sites with strong featured-snippet share generally start AEO diagnostics from a stronger baseline.
FAQ
Q. Are Featured Snippets being absorbed into AI Overviews?
Partially. Since AI Overviews launched, Google sometimes shows AI Overviews instead of a Featured Snippet for certain query types, but they also coexist or appear separately on others. Featured Snippets are not gone.
Q. Does winning a Featured Snippet hurt CTR?
It depends on intent. For definitional and short-answer queries, users may stop reading and CTR drops. For procedural or multi-part queries, the box raises curiosity and CTR can rise instead.