Semrush reported on October 21, 2026 that Google displayed AI-written Overviews for 88% of 400 tracked US commercial keywords in August 2026. The shift means the first snippet shoppers see is often a Google-generated summary, not the brand’s own page. Marketers must adjust to this AI-first SERP layout.
What happened
Semrush, now an Adobe company, released a 12-month study tracking 400 US commercial keywords across banking, software and ecommerce. By August 2026 Google showed an AI Overview for 88% of those keywords, up from 45.75% in September 2025. When weighted by search volume the coverage reached 97.08%. Every modifier group, alternatives, brand-vs-brand, best-X-for-Y, pricing, and reviews, ended the period above 80%, with reviews at 89.04% and best-X-for-Y at 96.12%.
Why it matters
The Overviews appear above the traditional organic results for shopping-style queries such as “X vs Y”, “best X for Y” and “X review”. Those queries are made when shoppers are close to purchase, and the AI summary often pulls quotes from third-party sites, videos and review pages rather than the brand’s own content. As a result, the first information a buyer reads may be a Google-curated synthesis that does not directly promote the brand’s messaging. The study notes the gap between industries has narrowed, with software at 91%, banking at 89% and ecommerce at 85% coverage, indicating the trend is across the board.
What this means for marketers
Marketers must adapt SEO tactics to the new AI-first SERP layout. Traditional page-rank optimization remains important, but gaining visibility inside the AI Overview becomes critical. Strategies include:
- Structuring content for easy extraction: use clear headings, bullet points, and concise answers to common comparison questions.
- Securing citations: earn backlinks and mentions from reputable review sites and video creators, as Google’s summaries pull from those sources.
- Optimizing schema: implement FAQ, Review and Product schema to increase the chance of being quoted in the AI snippet.
- Monitoring AI Overview presence: use tools that detect when a brand’s keyword triggers an Overview and adjust content accordingly.
- Using ADFLU’s autonomous SEO service to ensure brand pages are structured for AI extraction and to maintain visibility in both traditional results and AI Overviews.
"AI Overviews appear in those search results nearly 90% of the time." Semrush study
The bottom line
Google’s AI Overviews now dominate the majority of commercial search results, reshaping the first point of contact for potential customers. Brands that ignore the AI layer risk losing prime real-estate to aggregated summaries. Updating content for AI readability, earning high-quality citations, and employing AI-aware SEO tactics are essential steps to stay visible and capture traffic in this new search landscape.
Sources
- 1.ppc.land