Why would AI Overviews cite a competitor instead of my page?

AI systems favor content where the heading closely matches how people actually phrase their question — a vague or clever H1 gives less to match against.

Should my H1 be clever or literal?

Literal and specific outperforms clever for AI citation — a heading matching the real search phrase beats one that sounds polished but vague.

How do I check if my H1 matches real search intent?

Compare your H1's wording directly to how someone would actually type or ask the question, not how your team internally describes the topic.

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AEO & GEO

AI Overviews Citing a Competitor? Check Your H1

AI systems favor content where the heading matches how people actually phrase the question — a vague or clever H1 ("Our Approach to Modern Solutions") gives the system less to directly match against a real query than a plain, specific one does.

The fix:

check whether your page's H1 actually contains the real question or phrase people search for. Plain and specific beats clever every time for this — "How much does X cost" outperforms "Understanding X pricing" for AI extraction, even if the second sounds more polished.

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