Optimising for Australian mobile search in 2026 increasingly relies on Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), which uses AI to provide more conversational and visually rich results, and prioritises websites structured for helpful, concise answers to user queries. SGE functions by analysing web content to identify information directly answering a search, then presenting it in an AI-powered ‘snapshot’ at the top of mobile search results.
As of December 2025, SGE is still in experimental phases globally, including Australia, but its core mechanisms are becoming clearer. Google’s RankBrain system, continually refined, assesses content relevance and user satisfaction signals. In 2026, SGE will likely expand its use of structured data – specifically schema markup – to better understand content meaning. This allows Google to extract key facts and present them in carousels, lists, or direct answers. Google Business Profile data is also heavily integrated, with SGE now including more local business information directly in snapshots. Google has confirmed that in 2027, SGE will incorporate more multimodal search capabilities, understanding images and voice queries alongside text. Australian businesses should note that Google’s data privacy policies and ACCC scrutiny continue to influence SGE’s rollout and data usage.
Essentially, SGE works by leveraging AI to understand content, extract key information, and present it directly to users in a concise, visually engaging format, prioritising structured data and local relevance.
