AI Overviews are impacting greater than informational search.
In our six-month evaluation of over 600,000 key phrases throughout 10 industries, AI Overviews grew a mean of 71% throughout search engine outcomes pages (SERPs) with industrial intent.
On the similar time, the development of AI Overviews showing on SERPs with Google Adverts continues to develop.
Google’s transfer to increase AI Overviews into a greater variety of SERPs is disrupting not solely informational searches, but additionally searches with industrial intent and promoting worth.
Key takeaways
- Google Adverts and AI Overviews now seem collectively on the identical SERP roughly 2x extra typically than they did a 12 months in the past
- The looks of AI Overviews for commercial-intent queries grew 71%
- The looks of AI Overviews for transactional-intent queries decreased by 5%
- Finance noticed the biggest progress in industrial queries triggering AI Overviews of any business, up 231% in six months
- Key phrases with an AI Overview had a better common price per click on (CPC) than key phrases with out AI Overviews throughout most industries
Methodology
This research builds on our earlier AI Overview analysis, which confirmed that AI Overviews had been increasing quickly throughout informational search and more and more showing alongside Google Adverts.
For this new evaluation, we examined greater than 600,000 key phrases from the Semrush U.S. desktop database between November 2025 and April 2026. We segmented these key phrases by business, search intent, and value per click on (CPC) to grasp how AI Overview visibility varies throughout various kinds of searches.
From there, we measured:
- The share of key phrases that triggered AI Overviews every month
- How typically AI Overviews coexisted with Google Adverts on SERPs
- How AI Overview look various throughout industries, intent classes, and CPC ranges
Google Adverts and AI Overviews more and more coexist
AI Overviews are showing alongside Google Adverts twice as typically as they had been a 12 months in the past.
Our earlier analysis discovered that SERPs containing each Google Adverts and AI Overviews grew by 394% towards the tip of 2025. There was a noticeable bounce in September that remained excessive all through the vacation procuring season, which is when industrial search exercise peaks for a lot of industries.
Though overlap between AI Overviews and advertisements declined in early 2026, the final upward development stays.
What this implies
Google isn’t limiting AI Overviews to low-intent informational searches. Adverts and AI Overviews showing collectively extra typically is an indication that Google sees worth in AI Overviews exhibiting up on the identical searches the place advertisers pay for clicks.
AI Overviews are increasing throughout commercial-intent search
Throughout the six-month research interval, the share of business SERPs with an AI Overview grew 71%. In the meantime, the common share of transactional SERPs with an AI Overview fell 5%.
Be aware: Business intent key phrases characterize somebody in analysis mode, evaluating choices, evaluating merchandise, or on the lookout for offers. (“Peet’s chilly brew vs Starbucks chilly brew,” “Dunkin iced espresso flavors.”) Transactional intent key phrases sign somebody in motion mode, prepared to purchase or convert. (“Pickup truck on the market,” “sandwich locations close to me that ship.”)
AI Overviews appeared way more typically for industrial key phrases than for transactional key phrases throughout each business in our dataset. However the measurement of the hole between these two forms of key phrases was totally different throughout industries.
It was notably massive in Web & telecom, Finance, and Journey.
However in Meals & drink, the hole was really flipped, with AI Overviews on 16% of transactional SERPs and 14% of business SERPs.
Right here’s what that development appeared like throughout the ten industries:
Each business noticed progress, simply not on the similar charge.
Finance noticed the biggest enhance of commercial-intent AI Overviews (231.25%), adopted by Computer systems & electronics (107.62%) and Video games (76.66%).
What this implies
Some industries have extra commercial-intent AI Overviews than others. This may very well be associated to the various size of the analysis stage when making a call or buy in every class.
For instance, Web & telecom, Finance, and Journey contain high-value choices with lengthy analysis levels that may take weeks or months. And these industries are seeing probably the most progress in industrial AI Overviews.
As a result of there’s an extended analysis stage, there’s extra alternative for an AI Overview to doubtlessly condense the choice making course of and assist the searcher transfer in the direction of their choice.
However for purchaser journeys with faster analysis levels (like Meals & drink, the place you would possibly analysis and choose a spot to eat throughout the similar hour), there’s not as a lot room for an AI Overview.
Briefly, the longer the analysis stage, the upper the chance of AI Overviews to play an element.
AI Overviews stay much less widespread on transactional searches
On the similar time, transactional searches as a complete noticed a lower in AI Overviews throughout the research interval.
Most industries had been comparatively flat or declining. Of the highest two industries with the very best share of transactional key phrases with AI Overviews in April 2026 (Web & telecom and Meals & drink), neither had been on a powerful upward development.
The 2 exceptions had been Computer systems & electronics (which had an 80.45% optimistic share change) and Information (with a forty five.96% optimistic share change).
What this implies
In almost each business, the development of AI Overviews showing on transactional search goes down. That is taking place on the similar time we’re seeing a rise in industrial intent AI Overviews.
Within the industrial analysis part, there’s extra alternative for an AI reply to summarize one thing for somebody in the midst of the decision-making course of. However when the search is transactional, and the individual is able to make a purchase order or take motion, there’s much less probability of an AI Overview showing.
AI Overviews typically seem for high-CPC key phrases
Once we segmented key phrases into 4 tiers of CPC, we discovered that AI Overviews appeared most frequently in the costliest tier in almost each business.
Which means lots of the queries the place advertisers compete most closely for clicks are additionally prone to present an AI Overview.
Throughout the costliest key phrases in Jobs & training, over 60% noticed an AI Overview — greater than every other business.
We additionally in contrast the common CPC of key phrases that triggered AI Overviews with those who didn’t set off AI Overviews.
Within the industries with larger common CPCs, the distinction was extra substantial.
Jobs & training key phrases with AI Overviews had a mean CPC of $5.02, in comparison with $1.51 for key phrases with out AI Overviews. Finance confirmed an identical sample, with AI Overview key phrases averaging $4.84 in comparison with $2.14 for key phrases with out AI Overviews.
However this dynamic between key phrases with AI Overviews having a better CPC wasn’t the identical within the industries with decrease general CPC.
Key phrases triggering AI Overviews really had a decrease common CPC within the Web & telecom, Video games, Hobbies & leisure, Meals & drink, Information, and Sports activities classes.
Video games noticed one of many highest will increase in industrial searches triggering AI Overviews, however that progress seems to be concentrated in lower-CPC queries somewhat than the highest-value key phrases.
What this implies
Hannah Pedri, Head of Paid Search & Social at Semrush, says the sample strains up with what her workforce has been seeing.
Lots of the key phrases with the very best CPCs are additionally the key phrases more and more triggering AI Overviews. When the price of visibility is already excessive, it turns into much more necessary to grasp the place Paid Search is including worth, the place natural visibility can assist your targets, and the place you want each.
In industries like Jobs & training and Finance, search is a part of a posh and high-value choice, like evaluating universities or bank cards.
For entrepreneurs in these fields, getting visibility throughout the search phrases in a excessive worth analysis stage means discovering a approach to get cited in AI Overviews, paying a excessive CPC for a paid placement, or each.
What the expansion of business AI Overviews means for advertising leaders
AI Overviews at the moment are exhibiting up deeper into the client journey, particularly for industrial key phrases.
Your model may very well be competing for consideration in a number of areas on a single outcomes web page: within the AI Overview, within the AI Overview’s listing of citations, within the natural outcomes, and within the paid placements inside or across the AI Overview.
This implies will probably be necessary to watch the SERPs of your area of interest’s Most worthy key phrases, and observe the looks of advertisements and AI Overviews throughout them.
Google Adverts nonetheless would not present us which paid queries set off AI Overviews, so there’s an actual visibility hole for Paid Search groups. Semrush’s Natural Rankings information can assist bridge a part of that hole by exhibiting the place AI Overviews are showing, serving to entrepreneurs higher perceive how AI-generated outcomes could also be impacting their broader search technique.
Upon getting that information, you may higher plan the place to make use of your paid finances and the place to purpose for getting cited within the AI Overviews.
To see how AI Overviews are impacting commercial-intent phrases in your area of interest, use Semrush. Go to the Natural Rankings instrument, click on “Positions,” and apply two filters:
- Intent: Business
- SERP Options on SERP: AI Overview
This may present you the development and full listing of AI Overviews showing on industrial intent key phrases your web site ranks for.
