Query fan-out: Google AI Overviews issue multiple sub-queries; pages get cited across queries they never targeted

Quote (Google primary): "AI Overviews and AI Mode may use a 'query fan-out' technique — issuing multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources."

Source: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features

Confidence: Verified (primary).

Implication: A page that comprehensively answers a topic (and its adjacent sub-questions) gets cited across many sub-queries it never directly targeted. A narrow single-keyword page does not. The discipline shifts from "keyword targeting" to "topic coverage" — favoring depth, taxonomies, and cross-linked reference content over thin single-keyword landing pages.