Translated Sites Get 327% More Visibility in AI Overviews

The introduction of Google’s AI Overviews has fundamentally altered how websites gain visibility, with a recent study revealing that translated websites can achieve up to 327% more visibility in these AI-generated summaries. This dramatic increase highlights a critical shift: international SEO is no longer optional but essential for success in AI-driven search environments. Websites offering content in multiple languages are significantly more likely to be cited by AI systems, regardless of the language a user searches in.

The very nature of search is undergoing a transformation. Large language models now act as intermediaries, curating information and citing sources directly within their responses. This new dynamic introduces a considerable risk for single-language websites. If your content isn’t available in the searcher’s language, the AI might simply ignore it. An even worse outcome is the AI directing users to a Google Translate proxy page. This proxy translates your content for the user, but you lose all control over the translation quality and, more importantly, you receive no direct traffic benefits from that visit.

To understand the tangible impact of translation, a comprehensive study was conducted. The research focused on Spanish-language websites operating in both the Spanish and Mexican markets. The investigation was split into two distinct phases. The first phase analyzed 153 high-traffic websites that existed only in Spanish, with no English translation available. The second phase involved a comparison group of 83 sites from the same regions that offered both Spanish and English versions. This approach allowed for a direct performance comparison between translated and untranslated content. In total, the study analyzed over 1.3 million citations generated from tens of thousands of user queries.

The findings were stark. Websites without translations suffered an enormous drop in visibility for searches conducted in languages they did not support. Even if these sites performed exceptionally well in their native language, they became virtually invisible in other languages. For instance, a sample of 98 untranslated Spanish websites received 17,094 citations for Spanish queries but only 2,810 for the same searches in English, a visibility gap of 431%. A similar pattern emerged with Mexican sites, showing 213% fewer citations for English searches. Even ChatGPT, while displaying a more balanced approach, still showed a preference for translated content.

The contrast with translated websites was dramatic. Sites that offered an English version alongside Spanish saw a massive reduction in the visibility gap. For Spanish sites with translations, the difference in citations between Spanish and English queries was only 22%. The overall result was that translated sites achieved 327% more visibility than their untranslated counterparts and earned 24% more total citations per query. On ChatGPT, the language bias nearly disappeared for translated sites, which received almost equal citations in both languages.

The clear next step for any business is to translate its website to capture this global visibility in AI search results. Translation doesn’t just add visibility; it multiplies it. The study confirmed that translated sites perform better across every metric, receiving more citations per prompt. Translation resulted in a 33% increase in English citations and a 16% increase in Spanish citations per query. This suggests that the act of translation itself acts as a powerful signal of authority and reliability to AI systems, boosting performance across all languages on a site.

In the age of AI search, translation has become a direct visibility signal. Traditional international SEO tactics like hreflang tags remain important, but the game has changed. AI engines prioritize content that directly matches the query’s language. Having multilingual content builds authority by attracting engagement from diverse markets, improves perceived reliability, and ensures you retain traffic instead of losing it to a translation proxy. Most importantly, it broadens your semantic reach, giving AI systems more content to train on and cite from. The principle is simple: if your content isn’t in the language of the question, it will almost certainly be absent from the AI’s answer.

The business impact is real and measurable. Consider the case of a major Spanish book retailer that sells English-language books globally but did not have an English version of its website. When English-speaking users searched for relevant books, the site appeared 64% less often in AI Overviews and ChatGPT. In over a third of the instances where it did appear, the link sent users to a Google Translate proxy page instead of the retailer’s own domain. Despite having the exact product users wanted, the business lost immense visibility, potential traffic, and sales.

The broader implications are undeniable. AI search is redefining SEO, and translation is now a core growth strategy. Ranking is no longer just about securing the top position; it’s about being cited and surfaced by algorithms trained on a multilingual web. The findings point toward a future where translation is integral to both SEO and AI strategy, not an afterthought. With AI Overviews active in many languages and ChatGPT using real-time web data, multilingual visibility has become an equity issue. Sites optimized for a single language risk complete invisibility in the global marketplace.

The final takeaway is clear: untranslated sites are largely invisible in AI search. As AI continues to shape how search engines interpret relevance, translation transcends mere accessibility. It is the fundamental mechanism through which your brand gets recognized by both algorithms and a global audience.

(Source: Search Engine Journal)