Featured snippet
Definition
A featured snippet is a highlighted box at the top of Google's results that shows an extract from a web page, as a paragraph, list or table, with a link to the source. Google chooses the page and the extract automatically.
A page that puts a direct answer in plain text straight under a clear heading, often phrased as the question, gives Google something easy to extract, and a list or table suits steps and comparisons. There is no markup that requests a snippet and no way to buy one. The box quotes your wording out of context, so the answer has to be correct and complete on its own, and it has to stay current.
It differs from an AI Overview, which is a summary written by a model from several sources, and from People Also Ask, which lists related questions. A snippet can raise visibility and cut visits at the same time, because the searcher may already have what they need. Snippet controls such as nosnippet limit what Google shows, but Google names snippet eligibility as one of the two conditions for its AI features, so opting out carries a second cost.
Judge a snippet by what follows it. Track the query in Search Console before and after, looking at clicks, impressions and click-through rate. Winning the box on a question nobody buys from is a hollow result. Winning it on a question asked just before a purchase is worth the edit.
Definitions are free.So is the cost review.
A short call, then a written review inside 72 hours: what your marketing costs, what it produces, and what is worth fixing first.