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 pattern of AI Overviews showing on SERPs with Google Adverts continues to develop.
Google’s transfer to increase AI Overviews into a greater diversity of SERPs is disrupting not solely informational searches, but in addition 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 yr 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 development in industrial queries triggering AI Overviews of any trade, up 231% in six months
- Key phrases with an AI Overview had the next common value per click on (CPC) than key phrases with out AI Overviews throughout most industries
Methodology
This examine builds on our earlier AI Overview research, which confirmed that AI Overviews have 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 trade, search intent, and price per click on (CPC) to know how AI Overview visibility varies throughout several types 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 assorted 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 have been a yr in the past.
Our earlier analysis discovered that SERPs containing each Google Adverts and AI Overviews grew by 394% towards the top of 2025. There was a noticeable bounce in September that remained excessive all through the vacation buying season, which is when industrial search exercise peaks for a lot of industries.
Though overlap between AI Overviews and adverts declined in early 2026, the final upward pattern 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 displaying up on the identical searches the place advertisers pay for clicks.
AI Overviews are increasing throughout commercial-intent search
Through the six-month examine 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%.
Word: Commercial intent keywords signify somebody in analysis mode, evaluating choices, evaluating merchandise, or searching 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 trade in our dataset. However the measurement of the hole between these two kinds of key phrases was totally different throughout industries.
It was notably giant in Web & telecom, Finance, and Journey.
However in Meals & drink, the hole was truly flipped, with AI Overviews on 16% of transactional SERPs and 14% of business SERPs.
Right here’s what that pattern seemed like throughout the 10 industries:
Each trade noticed development, simply not on the similar price.
Finance noticed the biggest improve 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 choice or buy in every class.
For instance, Web & telecom, Finance, and Journey contain high-value selections with lengthy analysis levels that may take weeks or months. And these industries are seeing essentially the most development 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 direction of their choice.
However for purchaser journeys with faster analysis levels (like Meals & drink, the place you would possibly analysis and decide a spot to eat throughout the similar hour), there’s not as a lot room for an AI Overview.
In brief, the longer the analysis stage, the upper the chance of AI Overviews to play a component.
AI Overviews stay much less frequent on transactional searches
On the similar time, transactional searches as an entire noticed a lower in AI Overviews in the course of the examine interval.
Most industries have been comparatively flat or declining. Of the highest two industries with the best share of transactional key phrases with AI Overviews in April 2026 (Web & telecom and Meals & drink), neither have been on a robust upward pattern.
The 2 exceptions have been Computer systems & electronics (which had an 80.45% optimistic share change) and Information (with a 45.96% optimistic share change).
What this implies
In practically each trade, the pattern 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 course 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
After we segmented key phrases into 4 tiers of CPC, we discovered that AI Overviews appeared most frequently in the most costly tier in practically each trade.
Meaning lots of the queries the place advertisers compete most closely for clicks are additionally more likely to present an AI Overview.
Throughout the most costly key phrases in Jobs & training, over 60% noticed an AI Overview — greater than another trade.
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 the next CPC wasn’t the identical within the industries with decrease total CPC.
Key phrases triggering AI Overviews truly 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 development seems to be concentrated in lower-CPC queries quite 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 staff has been seeing.
Lots of the key phrases with the 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 essential to know the place Paid Search is including worth, the place natural visibility can assist your objectives, 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 and marketing leaders
AI Overviews are actually displaying up deeper into the customer 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 record of citations, within the natural outcomes, and within the paid placements inside or across the AI Overview.
This implies it will likely be essential to observe the SERPs of your area of interest’s Most worthy key phrases, and observe the looks of adverts 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 may help bridge a part of that hole by displaying the place AI Overviews are showing, serving to entrepreneurs higher perceive how AI-generated outcomes could also be impacting their broader search technique.
After getting that information, you’ll be able to higher plan the place to make use of your paid price range and the place to intention 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 Organic Rankings device, click on “Positions,” and apply two filters:
- Intent: Industrial
- SERP Options on SERP: AI Overview
This can present you the pattern and full record of AI Overviews showing on industrial intent key phrases your web site ranks for.
