Google AI now writes 97% of People Also Ask answers, cutting a path to clicks
Google is answering nearly all People Also Ask questions with AI Overviews instead of pulling snippets from websites. For apartment marketers, that means FAQ pages built to win those boxes are losing an easy source of visibility and clicks.
What happened
People Also Ask, the expandable list of related questions that shows up on Google search results, is now almost entirely answered by Google's AI. Two separate studies caught the shift. AlsoAsked, run by Mark Williams-Cook, looked at 19.2 million English-language queries from 2026 and found that 97% of People Also Ask answers in the first week of September were AI Overviews, up from 86% in August. Allintitle, led by Saeed Khosravi, reported that starting in August 2026 the People Also Ask answers it tracks were 100% AI generated. About 14 months earlier, the share was around 12%. The findings were reported by Search Engine Roundtable on September 9, 2026.
These are measurements from independent search watchers, not an announcement from Google. Google has not confirmed the change or published its own numbers.
For context, People Also Ask boxes used to pull a short answer from one website and link to it. That link often sent real clicks to the chosen page. An AI Overview answer is written by Google's AI, usually with a few source links tucked beside it, and it tends to send fewer clicks even when a site is cited.
Why it matters for apartment marketers
Renters ask Google a lot of questions on the way to signing a lease. Things like "what is the average rent in Charlotte," "are pet fees refundable," "what documents do I need to apply for an apartment," and "what is a concession in apartments." Many property management companies and apartment review sites have built FAQ pages, neighborhood guides, and glossary posts specifically to win those People Also Ask slots. That path to free visibility is closing.
The practical effect is twofold. First, fewer renters will click through to your community site from a People Also Ask box, because Google is now showing a complete AI answer right on the results page. Second, the sources Google chooses to cite inside an AI Overview become more important than the old blue link under a question. Being cited there is now one of the only ways a brand gets credit for answering a renter's question.
This is also a reminder that the SERP, the search results page itself, is becoming the destination. If a prospect gets their answer without clicking, your community name, address, phone number, review stars, and the small set of links that do appear are doing more of the work than your deep content.
What to do this week
- Pull a report of your top landing pages from Google Search Console and look for FAQ, glossary, and "what is" style pages. If their impressions are steady but clicks are falling, that is likely People Also Ask drying up. Flag them for rework rather than deletion.
- Rewrite those pages so they offer something an AI answer cannot easily copy. Add specifics only you have, like real rent ranges at your community, current concessions, neighborhood commute times from your front door, pet policy details, and photos of actual floor plans.
- Check which sources Google is citing inside AI Overviews for your top renter questions in each market. Test queries like "apartments in [your submarket]" and common application and lease questions. If apartment listing sites, review sites, or local news are showing up and you are not, that is the gap to close.
- Keep your Google Business Profile tight. When clicks shrink from organic blue links and People Also Ask, Maps results and the local pack carry more of the load. Confirm hours, photos, categories, Q and A, and that reviews are being responded to.
- Make sure your community website pages state the basics in plain language near the top. Address, rent range, bed and bath counts, pet policy, and availability. AI Overviews pull from pages that answer the question directly and clearly.
What we do not know yet
Google has not confirmed the 97% figure or said whether this is a permanent product change, a test, or a rollout still in progress. The two studies measured English-language queries and may not reflect every type of question equally. We also do not have public data yet on how much click traffic has actually dropped for sites that previously won People Also Ask slots, so the revenue impact for apartment websites is still unclear. Expect more measurement from search industry researchers over the next few weeks.