AI Overviews optimization is the work of structuring content so it's more likely to be selected and cited when Google generates an AI-powered answer summary at the top of search results. Since AI Overviews synthesize passages from top-ranking organic content, the starting requirement is the same as regular SEO: your content needs to already be ranking reasonably well.
From there, what specifically helps: clear, scannable structure that's easy to extract cleanly, direct answers presented early rather than buried under introductory content, current and accurate information, and genuine authority signals that make your content a credible, citable source.