Search Generative Experience (SGE) was Google's first AI-generated answer feature, launched as a Labs experiment in May 2023 and rolled out globally over the following 18 months. In May 2024, Google rebranded SGE to AI Overviews (AIO) to match the more user-friendly framing.
The two terms describe the same product family. Older AEO/SEO content from 2023-2024 references SGE; current content references AI Overviews. The underlying technology (Gemini-powered answer composition over Google's search index) remains the same. Optimization tactics that worked for SGE in 2024 still work for AIO in 2026.
For practical purposes, treat SGE and AIO as synonyms. Any AEO investment targeting "SGE optimization" applies identically to AIO. The Knowledge Graph entity grounding, FAQPage schema preference, and dateModified recency weighting all carried over without breaking changes.