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AI Overviews Now Appear on 88% of Buying Searches

A new Semrush study finds AI Overviews on 88% of commercial searches. What the data means for your business, and 6 steps to take this week.

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Google search page where an AI Overview answer covers most of the results

In Semrush's tracking, a year ago Google showed an AI Overview on fewer than half of the searches people make right before they buy. Today it's almost nine in ten.

That's the headline from a new Semrush study published on October 21, 2026. Searches like "best CRM for small business," "Brand A vs Brand B," and "[product] reviews" now usually start with an AI answer, not a list of links. If your business relies on Google for customers, this changes where you need to show up.

Here's what the data says, and, just as important, what it doesn't.

The short answer

  • What's new: AI Overviews now appear on 88% of commercial keywords in Semrush's study, up from 45.75% a year earlier. Weighted by search volume, it's 97%.
  • Where it's highest: "Best X for Y" searches (96%) and review searches (about 89%).
  • What hasn't changed: Google organic search still sends far more visitors and sales than AI chatbots. In one 100-site study, Google drove 96.5% of conversions.
  • What to do: Keep doing SEO, but write pages that AI can quote. Clear answers, real reviews, and mentions on trusted sites are now what get you seen first.

What the new AI Overviews data shows

Semrush's study (published October 21, 2026) tracked a fixed set of 400 commercial keywords in banking, ecommerce, and software, on US desktop, every month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Semrush).

  • Overall: AI Overviews appeared on 45.75% of the keywords in September 2025 and 88% in August 2026.
  • Weighted by search volume: 97.08%. The keywords still without an AI Overview make up less than 3% of searches.
  • "Best X for Y" searches: 96.12%, the highest of any type.
  • Review searches: from 30.14% to about 89%, the biggest jump.
  • Brand vs. brand comparisons: from 63.41% to over 86%.
  • "Alternatives" searches: up 34 points to over 82%.
  • By industry: banking, ecommerce, and software all landed between 85% and 91%.

Other trackers agree on the direction. On October 26, Search Engine Roundtable rounded up data showing AI Overviews on over 80% of Google searches, up from about 50% in mid-2025 (source). The numbers vary by tool and query type. SE Ranking measured 82.5% of US brand searches, while seoClarity's slightly older data showed about 62%, ranging from 55% to 84% by industry.

Keep the limits in mind. Semrush's study measures whether an AI Overview appears, not how many people click. It covers 400 keywords in three industries, on desktop only. Semrush also sells tools for tracking AI visibility.

And rankings are moving too. SEOs reported unconfirmed spikes in Google ranking volatility on October 24 and again on October 27 (source). Google hasn't announced an update, so don't make big site changes based on a few days of data.

What it means for business owners

1. The searches that decide a sale are now AI-first

"Best X for Y," reviews, comparisons, and alternatives are the searches people run when they're choosing who to buy from. Those are exactly the ones where AI Overviews are now close to universal. The customer often reads Google's summary of the options before they see a single website.

2. Google is still where the customers come from

This is the part the headlines skip. AI Overviews are everywhere, but Google organic search still delivers most of the traffic and sales. Marie Haynes analyzed 12 months of Google Analytics data from 100 websites. ChatGPT sessions were just 0.62% of the volume Google organic sent, and Google drove 96.5% of conversions, even though ChatGPT visitors converted at a higher rate. Another analysis by SEO Works found organic search sent 39 times more traffic than AI assistants (source). These are small samples, but the pattern is clear: SEO isn't dead. It's changing shape.

3. Being quoted in the AI answer is the new "page one"

AI Overviews pull from pages that already rank and from sources Google trusts. If your page answers the question clearly, it can be cited and linked inside the overview. If it doesn't, a competitor's page, or a review site's, gets that spot.

4. Your reviews are now part of the sales pitch

Review searches had the biggest jump, from 30% to about 89%. When someone searches "[your business] reviews," Google increasingly summarizes what people say about you. A steady flow of honest reviews on Google and trusted industry sites now shapes the first answer customers read.

5. Don't panic about traffic swings

Rank trackers are noisier than usual, and Google rankings were unusually volatile in late October. Judge your marketing by calls, leads, and sales over several weeks, not by one tool's daily chart.

What to do this week

  1. Search your own money keywords. Google the 10 searches you most want customers to find you for, such as "best [service] in [city]" or "[your service] cost." Note whether an AI Overview appears, who it cites, and whether you're in it.
  2. Answer the buying questions on your site. Create or improve pages for pricing, "best option for [type of customer]," comparisons with common alternatives, and FAQs. Put a clear, one- or two-sentence answer at the top of each, then the detail.
  3. Make your reviews work harder. Ask every happy customer for a Google review, and build your profile on the review sites your industry uses. Reply to every review.
  4. Get mentioned where AI looks. Industry directories, local news, partner websites, and trusted roundups all feed AI answers. Muck Rack's May 2026 study found earned media made up 84% of the links AI tools cite.
  5. Keep your Google Business Profile complete. For local searches, the map results and your profile are still front and center, often right next to the AI Overview. Our local SEO checklist covers the basics.
  6. Measure outcomes. Track calls, form fills, and sales by channel. If organic traffic dips but leads hold steady, AI Overviews may be answering easy questions while serious buyers still click through.

Our GEO 101 guide goes deeper on getting cited in Google AI Mode and ChatGPT.

FAQ: AI Overviews and your business

How many Google searches show AI Overviews?

It depends on the query type and the tool measuring it. Semrush found AI Overviews on 88% of 400 tracked commercial keywords in August 2026, or 97% weighted by search volume. Other trackers report AI Overviews on over 80% of Google searches overall.

Do AI Overviews reduce clicks to websites?

They can, especially for simple questions Google answers directly. But Google organic search still sends far more traffic than AI chatbots. In one study of 100 websites, Google drove 96.5% of conversions.

How do I get my business into Google AI Overviews?

Rank well for the search, answer the question clearly near the top of your page, show real expertise, and earn reviews and mentions on trusted websites. AI Overviews tend to cite pages that are already strong in regular search.

Is SEO still worth it with AI Overviews?

Yes. AI Overviews draw on pages that rank in Google, and organic search still delivers most website traffic and sales. What's changed is the goal: rank and be the source the AI quotes.

Which searches show AI Overviews most often?

In Semrush's commercial study, "best X for Y" searches had the highest rate at 96%, followed by review searches at about 89% and brand comparisons at over 86%.

Was there a Google update in October 2026?

Google's September 2026 spam update finished on October 8. SEOs also reported unconfirmed ranking volatility on October 24 and 27, 2026, but Google hasn't announced an update for those dates.

Find out if AI Overviews mention your business

No fluff. Just fuel. We'll check your most valuable searches, show you where AI Overviews quote your competitors instead of you, and build the pages, reviews, and mentions that change that. It's all part of our SEO & AI search services, and for local businesses, our Local SEO and Google Maps service.

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Obrofy Team

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