Search engines
Featured Snippet
A featured snippet is the boxed answer Google shows at the top of some results, quoting a passage from a page along with a link to it. Google selects the passage automatically from pages already ranking on the first page for that query; there is no markup that requests one. Snippets appear most often on question-shaped searches with a clear, brief answer.
The passages that get selected share a shape. They answer the question in the first sentence, run roughly forty to sixty words, and do not depend on the surrounding text to make sense. Definition questions tend to produce paragraph snippets, process questions produce numbered lists, and comparisons produce tables.
Because selection is drawn from pages already ranking on page one, earning a snippet is a two-step job: rank first, then format the answer so it is the easiest passage to lift.
The same writing shape that wins snippets is what AI assistants quote, so this work pays into both surfaces at once.
Why it matters
A featured snippet puts a page above every ordinary result, including results that outrank it.
Related terms
Last reviewed 2026-09-04. All Saige glossary terms.