Google AI Overviews in Lebanon: when they appear and how to be in them
Updated October 8, 2026 · 3 min read
Google now answers some searches with an AI Overview: an AI-written summary at the top of the page, with links to its sources. It's the first thing people see. But does it show up for the searches your customers make in Lebanon? We ran live searches to find out.
What we tested
In October 2026 we ran nine live Google searches, located in Lebanon, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, in English, Arabic and French. Five were short “best X in [place]” searches; four were full questions. It's a small sample, so read it as a snapshot, not a rule, but the pattern was clear.
Finding 1: “best X in Beirut” shows the map, not an AI Overview
For short local searches such as “best restaurants in Beirut”, “أفضل مطعم في بيروت”, “meilleur restaurant à Beyrouth”, “best dentist in Dubai” or “best digital marketing agency in Lebanon”, Google showed no AI Overview. It showed the map with three places (the “local pack”) and the regular results.
For these searches, the map is the AI-era shop window. The three places in it come from Google Business Profiles, ranked on how relevant, close and well reviewed they are.
Finding 2: questions can get an AI Overview
Two of the four questions got an AI Overview, both searched from Lebanon, one in English and one in French:
- “what is the best area to eat in Beirut”: an AI Overview organised by neighbourhood (Mar Mikhael & Gemmayzeh first), citing 23 sources including TripAdvisor and food blogs.
- “quelle est la meilleure agence de marketing au Liban”: an AI Overview in French that listed agencies by speciality, citing directories (Sortlist), another business directory and Facebook pages.
The two questions searched from Dubai and Riyadh (“which clinic is best for teeth whitening in Dubai”, “what is the best coffee shop in Riyadh”) still got the map. Notice what the AI Overviews relied on: review sites, directories, blogs and social pages, not only the businesses' own websites.
What this means for your business
You need to cover both kinds of searches:
- For short “best X near me” searches: your Google Business Profile does the work. Complete every field, choose the exact category, add real photos, keep hours right, and ask happy customers for reviews that say what they bought and where.
- For questions: be on the pages Google quotes. Get listed in the directories of your field, make sure review sites have your current details, and give local bloggers and media a reason to mention you.
- For both: a website Google can read, with what you do, where, and your contact details in plain text, plus a short FAQ that answers the questions your customers actually ask.
Write your FAQ in the languages your customers search in. In our tests Google answered French questions with a French AI Overview built from French-language sources.
How to check your own searches
AI Overviews depend on the exact words, the language, the location and the day. Search the way your customers do, from where they are, and note whether an AI Overview appears and who it names. Because Google personalises results, ask a few people to try too, or use a tool that searches from a neutral location.
AI assistants work the same way: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity also read the web before recommending anyone. BeenPicked asks them your customers' questions and shows who gets named, so you can see where you stand and what to fix first.