What Is a Featured Snippet?

A featured snippet is a short answer that Google promotes to the very top of the search results page, lifted directly from a single ranking page. Featured snippets appear in paragraph, list or table form and are sometimes called "position zero" because they sit above the first organic result. They have been part of Google Search since 2014 and remain a meaningful traffic source even in the era of AI Overviews.

Featured snippet formats

Format	Triggered by	Source pattern
Paragraph	Definition and "what is" queries	2–4 sentence answer in the first 50 words
Numbered list	Stepwise queries — "how to…"	An ordered list with concise steps
Bulleted list	Enumerable queries — "best…", "types of…"	An unordered list with parallel items
Table	Comparison queries — "X vs Y"	An HTML table with clear column headers
Video	"How to" queries with strong YouTube coverage	A YouTube video clip

Featured snippet vs. AI Overview

Dimension	Featured snippet	AI Overview
Sources	One page	Multiple pages
Generation	Extractive — passage lifted verbatim	Generative — Gemini synthesises a new paragraph
Click behaviour	Often satisfies the query in place	Often satisfies the query in place
How to win	Rank in the top 10 + structure for extractability	Be one of the cited sources behind the synthesis

The two surfaces coexist: AI Overviews appear on a meaningful share of queries but not all, and featured snippets remain on many of the queries where AIO does not trigger.

How to win a featured snippet

• Already rank in the top 10. Featured snippets are pulled from existing top-ranking results.
• Lead with the answer. The first 40–60 words of a section should answer the question directly, in the format Google is likely to use (paragraph, list or table).
• Use the question as a heading. Make the H2 or H3 mirror the user's query.
• Choose the right format. Stepwise content gets numbered lists; comparisons get tables; definitions get paragraphs.
• Keep formatting clean. Inline images, ads or wrappers in the answer block reduce the chance of selection.

Why featured snippets still matter in 2026

AI Overviews replaced featured snippets on some queries, but on many others — particularly fast-moving news, local, and certain commercial intents — the snippet remains. Brands that win snippets also tend to be over-represented in the cited sources of AI Overviews on the same topic, because the structural patterns reward the same content.

Frequently asked questions

Do featured snippets reduce clicks?

For pure informational queries, yes — many users get the answer without clicking. For comparison and decision queries, snippets often drive higher click-through rates because the user wants to validate the result.

Can I opt out of being a featured snippet?

Yes — use the data-nosnippet attribute on a page section, or the nosnippet meta tag at the page level.

Is "position zero" the same as a featured snippet?

Yes — they refer to the same surface.