What is actually known?
Assistants do not publish their full selection rules. The clearest official statement comes from Google. On 27 October 2026 its Search Central page on AI features said there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no need for new machine-readable files or special markup. The page must be indexed and eligible to show a snippet in ordinary search.
What is inferred from practice?
The following are observations and inference, not published rules. Treat them as hypotheses to test.
| Factor | Why it plausibly matters | Evidence level |
|---|---|---|
| Crawlable text | An assistant cannot quote what it cannot read. | Stated by Google for its features |
| A clear, standalone answer | Easy to extract and quote accurately. | Observed in practice, not published |
| Agreement across sources | Conflicting facts make an answer less safe to state. | Inference |
| Third-party mentions | Assistants often describe a company from pages it does not control. | Observed in practice, not published |
Why do answers vary?
The same question can produce different answers by assistant, mode, account history, location and day. That is why one screenshot is an anecdote. See how to measure it properly.
What does that mean for a company?
Make the basics solid, check your facts agree everywhere, and measure results as ranges. Do not trust a claim of a secret ranking factor.
Related answers
Assistants change often. Where a point is inference rather than a published rule, the page says so. Results vary and are never guaranteed.