Understanding it
The format flips the classic result: the answer first, the source second. It mostly appears for precise questions, definitions, steps or comparisons.
Pages that get it answer clearly and early, with a short paragraph, a list or a table. It is the same logic as being picked up by Google’s AI Overviews or by assistants.
A site can refuse the snippet with the nosnippet rule or the data-nosnippet attribute, at the cost of less visible results.
A concrete example
Illustrative example: a timeline question
A firm publishes a page about how long a procedure takes, but the answer only comes in the fifth paragraph. A competitor answering in the first sentence holds the snippet.
The firm adds a two-sentence answer under the title, then the details. The page becomes eligible for the snippet on that question.
The common mistake
Chasing the snippet at the page’s expense
A page chopped into three-line answers to please Google loses what makes it useful. Answer first, then expand: the short answer attracts, the detail convinces.