It’s happening: Google is experimenting with a system that can automatically generate the snippet text you see under search results. 

In practical terms, this means the description a searcher sees might not be the meta description you painstakingly wrote for a page. Instead, Google’s AI (powered by its Gemini model) may either show a short AI-generated summary of your snippet, or replace your meta description entirely with one it generates.

Because this is still an experiment, the full implications are evolving. But if you’re a business owner relying on SEO for visibility, this development raises important questions and action items.

Why This Matters

The meta description snippet is a major driver of click‐through behavior, brand message, and viewer expectation. Historically, Google has displayed user-written meta description tags to give visitors an accurate idea of the overall content of a page. But if Google generates its own snippet text, your control over how your page appears in search results could diminish. 

Google’s AI may emphasize different aspects of your content than you intended, or worse, it might misrepresent the tone, focus, or value proposition of your pages. Even though this experiment is in the early stages, it’s a definite sign that search is shifting, and smart digital marketers will start getting out in front of this now rather than chasing the changes after the fact.

Four Ways You Can Prepare for AI Snippets

1. Focus on clear, structured, authoritative on-page content. If your meta description may be overridden, what matters increasingly is what the page itself says. Content written in plain, well-structured language reduces the chance that AI could misrepresent what your page is about.

Make sure your headings, sub-headings, internal links, and overall content hierarchy clearly articulate the page’s purpose. Use concise summaries, avoid jargon, and ensure the main points are unambiguous.

2. Strengthen schema and contextual signals. While snippet rewriting is relatively new, schema (structured data markup) remains one of the few clear signals you provide to Google about your page content. When Google’s AI scans your content, a clear schema may influence the summary it generates. Consider it a helping hand in guiding the internal extraction process.

3. Don’t abandon the meta description, but think of it differently. Even though experiments show that Google may ignore your tag, the official documentation still stresses best practices. In other words, write unique descriptions for each page, clearly summarising the content, but recognize this may become a mere signal rather than a guarantee of what appears in search.

4. Monitor search results, click-through, and snippet behavior. Because this change is still experimental, you’ll want to keep an eye on how your pages appear in SERPs. Look for changes in:

• The snippet text displayed (is it your meta description, or something different?)
• Voice and tone (is the AI version aligned with your branding?)
• Click‐through rates (Has CTR changed after new snippet behavior?)

If you detect adverse changes, you may need to revisit your on-page copy, internal linking, or schema.

Content that’s Built to Last

It’s understandable to feel somewhat helpless when it looks like sweeping changes will take control away from users. But keep in mind that AI snippets will reward pages that communicate clearly, follow solid structure, and embed strong contextual signals like schema.

By staying proactive through reviewing how your content is presented, monitoring CTR, and keeping your site’s internal signals sharp, you’ll always be ready for whatever snippet-generation model comes next. Think of this as part of the future of SEO: not just what you write for the page, but how the page communicates itself to algorithms.

If you want your business to thrive through the new generation of SEO, our team can help — contact us today for a free consultation.

COGO Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in strategic web design, SEO, lead generation, and digital marketing for service-based businesses. Based in Northern Virginia, we help clients in Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, and across the country grow their online presence and attract more qualified leads.