Updated on 21 September 2026 · Methodology and dated data below
Astrak is a French SEO and GEO agency that helps companies get cited in Google’s AI Overviews (called Aperçus IA in France), in AI Mode and in ChatGPT. As an AI Overview agency, our job is to measure, query by query, whether your brand appears in these generated answers, which sources Google cites instead of you, and what to change on your site and elsewhere to become one of those sources.
We work with B2B and mid-market companies, industrial groups, professional firms and SaaS vendors. If you are looking for a Google AI Overviews SEO agency in France with a GEO practice, this page sets out exactly what we measure, how, and what we have already observed since AI Overviews launched in France in 2026.
AI Overviews, Aperçus IA and AI Mode: what changed in France
AI Overviews are the Gemini-generated answers displayed above Google’s results. In France, Google calls them Aperçus IA. Each answer relies on a handful of pages cited as links: being one of them means being visible before the first organic result.AI Mode goes further: it is a fully conversational search tab where users ask follow-up questions without ever returning to a list of links.
Google launched AI Overviews and AI Mode in France on 22 July 2026, on mobile and desktop, with a gradual rollout (Google had given French news publishers a deadline of 23 September 2026 at the latest). In other words, no agency has more than two months of French data. What sets a serious provider apart today is not a track record but a dated, repeatable measurement protocol.
The first benchmarks published by Ahrefs show what is at stake: roughly 1 keyword in 5 triggers an AI Overview, the click-through rate of the top result drops by 58 % when an AI Overview is shown, and only 38 % of cited pages rank in the organic top 10. That last figure matters most: citations are not reserved for sites already ranking first, they can be earned.
Sources: Google France, 22/07/2026 ; Ahrefs, what triggers AI Overviews (updated 31/05/2026), drop in clicks (04/02/2026), citations and the top 10 (02/03/2026).
This work extends that of our GEO Agency, which covers every generative engine. Here we focus on what is specific to Google.
Our AI Overviews measurement protocol
The protocol is the same for every client, and it starts before any recommendation: without a dated baseline, no progress can be proven.
A panel of 20 to 30 business queries
The queries your prospects actually type: informational questions, solution comparisons and decision-stage searches (“best provider for…”). They form the baseline for all measurement.
Tests across five surfaces
Each query is checked in AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini at a fixed frequency (daily or weekly depending on panel size), using a dedicated tracking tool plus manual checks.
A citation log
For each answer: is the brand mentioned, in what position, with which source link, in what context (recommendation, comparison, plain citation) and with what sentiment. The sources cited instead of yours are listed: they are your targets.
AI traffic tracking in GA4
A dedicated channel group isolates visits coming from AI assistants and the conversions they drive. This tracking is not retroactive: it has to be in place from day one.
AI Overview KPIs
Average position tells you nothing about your presence in a generated answer. We track seven indicators, reported alongside your SEO.
Mentions
Number of answers (AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT…) that name your brand.
Citation Rate
Share of panel answers in which your site appears as a linked source.
AI share of voice
Your mentions compared with those of your direct competitors, on the same panel.
Cited sources
The pages, yours and third parties’, that Google relies on to answer questions about your market.
Sentiment
The tone associated with your brand: positive, neutral or negative.
AI Traffic
GA4 sessions coming from AI assistants and Google, tracked month by month.
Assisted conversions
Contact and quote requests whose journey includes an AI answer.
How to get cited in AI Overviews
A solid SEO foundation
Google draws AI Overview sources from its own index. A page that is poorly crawled, slow or cannibalised by another one will not be cited, however well written it is.
Citable content
A direct answer in the first paragraph, clear definitions, sourced and dated figures, lists and tables the model can reuse. We explain the method in becoming a source for LLMs.
Schema.org structured data
Organization, Service, Article, FAQ: structured data removes any ambiguity about who you are and what you offer.
Presence in third-party sources
Rankings, comparisons, specialist directories and trade media: AI Overviews often cite these pages rather than the brand’s own site. Being featured there, with the right arguments, is a workstream in its own right.
Your Google Business Profile
For any query with a local angle, AI Mode and AI Overviews also draw on the business listing: categories, services, reviews.
Consistency across engines
The same levers work for ChatGPT SEO and Perplexity. We run them together so you do not end up with parallel workstreams.
Measured results: what we have observed since 22 July 2026
We apply this protocol to our own site before selling it. Here are the dated readings, with their source and their limits.
No. 1 source in the AI Overview
1 → 9 clicksOur Parasite SEO page is the first source cited in the AI Overview for this query in France. Over the same period, its clicks went from 1 to 9 and its click-through rate from 0.30% to 2.45%, while its organic position stayed put (8th to 9th).
Sources: Ahrefs, reading of 26/08/2026; Search Console, 24/05–21/07 vs 22/07–18/09/2026. Small volumes, to be read as a signal.
Cited in 4 answers out of 7
4 / 7For “best SEO agency to generate quote requests in manufacturing” (asked in French), Astrak is cited in 4 of the 7 AI Mode answers recorded between 15 and 21 September 2026, in first position on 18 September, with astrak.agency as the linked source.
Source: Qwairy, daily reading, AI Mode France.
More impressions, fewer clicks
+66% / −24%Comparing the eight weeks before and after 22 July, the site’s impressions rose from 436,000 to 725,000, clicks fell from 1,371 to 1,047, and click-through rate dropped from 0.31% to 0.14%. That is the expected pattern when a generated answer sits between the result and the click.
Source: Search Console. Caveat: our site was also redesigned on 27/07/2026, so the effect is not isolated.
No. 1 vehicle wrecker cited by ChatGPT
+72 %Sessions from AI assistants grew from 218 to 374 a month between February and June 2026, and organic clicks were multiplied by 2.4. Measured in ChatGPT and in Google clicks, not in AI Overviews, which had not yet launched in France.
Source: the client’s GA4 and Search Console. Read the case study.
Other published GEO results, measured in clicks: Epargnoo +38% in 2 months, Homelike Home +96% in 6 months, Centrale Autocar +155% in 12 months. Our clients’ AI Overviews readings will be published here over the coming months, dated, as soon as the observation period is long enough.
AI Overview agency pricing
AI Overviews tracking is not sold separately: it is part of our SEO and GEO retainer, because the levers are the same. The budget mainly depends on the size of the query panel, the number of markets and the volume of content to produce. Of the eight agencies in our ranking of AI Overview agencies, only three display a price.
What you can check about Astrak
A published protocol
Query panel, surfaces tested, citation log and GA4 tracking: everything is described on this page.
A displayed price
From €900 a month, with an average budget of €2,000 a month.
Dated case studies
Every figure comes with its time period and its measurement tool.
Third-party recognition
4.9/5 from 50+ verified Trustfolio reviews, CESEO and QASEO certifications, Ahrefs Ambassador.
To compare with other providers, see our ranking of the best AI Overview agencies and our top GEO agencies.
AI Overview agency FAQ
What is an AI Overview agency?
An AI Overview agency works on a brand’s visibility in Google’s generated answers: AI Overviews (Aperçus IA in France) and AI Mode. It measures the brand’s presence on a query panel, identifies the sources Google cites, and works on the site and on third-party sources so that the brand becomes one of them.
What is the difference between AI Overviews, Aperçus IA and AI Mode?
AI Overviews and Aperçus IA are the same thing: the English and French names of the generated summary at the top of Google’s results. AI Mode is a separate conversational search tab, where the answer replaces the list of links.
Can you measure your presence in AI Overviews?
Yes, but not in Search Console, which does not separate clicks coming from AI Overviews. You need to record answers on a fixed query panel at a regular frequency, with a tracking tool and manual checks, then cross-reference with traffic in GA4.
How long does it take to be cited in an AI Overview?
For a page that already ranks well, a few weeks can be enough after a citation-oriented rewrite. On a topic where the brand has neither a dedicated page nor a presence in third-party sources, expect three to six months. Since AI Overviews have only existed in France since July 2026, these timeframes are observations, not guarantees.
Should you give up on traditional SEO?
No. Google picks AI Overview sources from its index: no SEO foundation, no citation. GEO and AI Overviews work add to SEO, they do not replace it.
How much does an AI Overview agency cost?
At Astrak, retainers start at €900 a month and our clients invest €2,000 a month on average. AI Overviews tracking is included in the SEO and GEO retainer.
Find out where you stand in AI Overviews
We check your business queries in AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT together, and show you which sources Google cites instead of you.
Request a free diagnostic