AI Overviews are expanding across commercial intent search [Study]

Jul 02, 2026 11:22 PM - 1 week ago 11016

AI Overviews are impacting much than informational search.

In our six-month study of complete 600,000 keywords crossed 10 industries, AI Overviews grew an mean of 71% crossed hunt motor results pages (SERPs) pinch commercialized intent.

At the aforesaid time, the inclination of AI Overviews appearing connected SERPs pinch Google Ads continues to grow.

Google’s move to widen AI Overviews into a wider assortment of SERPs is disrupting not only informational searches, but besides searches pinch commercialized intent and advertizing value.

Key takeaways

Google Ads and AI Overviews now look together connected the aforesaid SERP astir 2x much often than they did a twelvemonth ago
The quality of AI Overviews for commercial-intent queries grew 71%
The quality of AI Overviews for transactional-intent queries decreased by 5%
Finance saw the largest maturation successful commercialized queries triggering AI Overviews of immoderate industry, up 231% successful six months
Keywords pinch an AI Overview had a higher mean costs per click (CPC) than keywords without AI Overviews crossed astir industries

Methodology

This study builds connected our erstwhile AI Overview research, which showed that AI Overviews were expanding quickly crossed informational hunt and progressively appearing alongside Google Ads.

For this caller analysis, we examined much than 600,000 keywords from the Semrush U.S. desktop database betwixt November 2025 and April 2026. We segmented those keywords by industry, search intent, and costs per click (CPC) to understand really AI Overview visibility varies crossed different types of searches.

From there, we measured:

The stock of keywords that triggered AI Overviews each month
How often AI Overviews coexisted pinch Google Ads connected SERPs
How AI Overview quality varied crossed industries, intent categories, and CPC ranges

Google Ads and AI Overviews progressively coexist

AI Overviews are appearing alongside Google Ads doubly arsenic often arsenic they were a twelvemonth ago.

Our earlier investigation recovered that SERPs containing some Google Ads and AI Overviews grew by 394% toward the extremity of 2025. There was a noticeable jump successful September that remained precocious passim the vacation shopping season, which is erstwhile commercialized hunt activity peaks for galore industries.

Although overlap betwixt AI Overviews and ads declined successful early 2026, the wide upward inclination remains.

What this means

Google isn’t limiting AI Overviews to low-intent informational searches. Ads and AI Overviews appearing together much often is simply a motion that Google sees worth successful AI Overviews showing up connected the aforesaid searches wherever advertisers salary for clicks.

AI Overviews are expanding crossed commercial-intent search

During the six-month study period, the stock of commercialized SERPs pinch an AI Overview grew 71%. Meanwhile, the mean stock of transactional SERPs pinch an AI Overview fell 5%.

Note: Commercial intent keywords correspond personification successful investigation mode, evaluating options, comparing products, aliases looking for deals. ("Peet's acold brew vs Starbucks acold brew," "Dunkin iced java flavors.") Transactional intent keywords awesome personification successful action mode, fresh to bargain aliases convert. ("Pickup motortruck for sale," "sandwich places adjacent maine that deliver.")

AI Overviews appeared acold much often for commercialized keywords than for transactional keywords crossed each manufacture successful our dataset. But the size of the spread betwixt these 2 types of keywords was different crossed industries.

It was peculiarly ample successful Internet & telecom, Finance, and Travel.

But successful Food & drink, the spread was really flipped, pinch AI Overviews connected 16% of transactional SERPs and 14% of commercialized SERPs.

Here’s what that inclination looked for illustration crossed the 10 industries:

Every manufacture saw growth, conscionable not astatine the aforesaid rate.

Finance saw the largest summation of commercial-intent AI Overviews (231.25%), followed by Computers & electronics (107.62%) and Games (76.66%).

What this means

Some industries person much commercial-intent AI Overviews than others. This could beryllium related to the varying magnitude of the investigation shape erstwhile making a determination aliases acquisition successful each category.

For example, Internet & telecom, Finance, and Travel impact high-value decisions pinch agelong investigation stages that tin return weeks aliases months. And these industries are seeing the astir maturation successful commercialized AI Overviews.

Because there’s a longer investigation stage, there’s much opportunity for an AI Overview to perchance condense the determination making process and thief the searcher move towards their decision.

But for purchaser journeys pinch quicker investigation stages (like Food & drink, wherever you mightiness investigation and prime a spot to eat wrong the aforesaid hour), there’s not arsenic overmuch room for an AI Overview.

In short, the longer the investigation stage, the higher the likelihood of AI Overviews to play a part.

AI Overviews stay little communal connected transactional searches

At the aforesaid time, transactional searches arsenic a full saw a alteration successful AI Overviews during the study period.

Most industries were comparatively level aliases declining. Of the apical 2 industries pinch the highest stock of transactional keywords pinch AI Overviews successful April 2026 (Internet & telecom and Food & drink), neither were connected a beardown upward trend.

The 2 exceptions were Computers & electronics (which had an 80.45% affirmative stock change) and News (with a 45.96% affirmative stock change).

What this means

In astir each industry, the inclination of AI Overviews appearing connected transactional hunt is going down. This is happening astatine the aforesaid clip we’re seeing an summation successful commercialized intent AI Overviews.

In the commercialized investigation phase, there’s much opportunity for an AI reply to summarize thing for personification successful the mediate of the decision-making process. But erstwhile the hunt is transactional, and the personification is fresh to make a acquisition aliases return action, there’s little chance of an AI Overview appearing.

AI Overviews often look for high-CPC keywords

When we segmented keywords into 4 tiers of CPC, we recovered that AI Overviews appeared astir often successful the astir costly tier successful astir each industry.

That intends galore of the queries wherever advertisers compete astir heavy for clicks are besides apt to show an AI Overview.

Across the astir costly keywords successful Jobs & education, complete 60% saw an AI Overview — much than immoderate different industry.

We besides compared the mean CPC of keywords that triggered AI Overviews pinch those that didn’t trigger AI Overviews.

In the industries pinch higher mean CPCs, the quality was much substantial.

Jobs & acquisition keywords pinch AI Overviews had an mean CPC of $5.02, compared to $1.51 for keywords without AI Overviews. Finance showed a akin pattern, pinch AI Overview keywords averaging $4.84 compared to $2.14 for keywords without AI Overviews.

But this move betwixt keywords pinch AI Overviews having a higher CPC wasn’t the aforesaid successful the industries pinch little wide CPC.

Keywords triggering AI Overviews really had a little mean CPC successful the Internet & telecom, Games, Hobbies & leisure, Food & drink, News, and Sports categories.

Games saw 1 of the highest increases successful commercialized searches triggering AI Overviews, but that maturation appears to beryllium concentrated successful lower-CPC queries alternatively than the highest-value keywords.

What this means

Hannah Pedri, Head of Paid Search & Social astatine Semrush, says the shape lines up pinch what her squad has been seeing.

Many of the keywords pinch the highest CPCs are besides the keywords progressively triggering AI Overviews. When the costs of visibility is already high, it becomes moreover much important to understand wherever Paid Search is adding value, wherever integrated visibility tin support your goals, and wherever you request both.

Hannah Pedri, Head of Paid Search & Social astatine Semrush

In industries for illustration Jobs & acquisition and Finance, hunt is portion of a analyzable and high-value decision, for illustration comparing universities aliases in installments cards.

For marketers successful these fields, getting visibility crossed the hunt position successful a precocious worth investigation shape intends uncovering a measurement to get cited successful AI Overviews, paying a precocious CPC for a paid placement, aliases both.

What the maturation of commercialized AI Overviews intends for trading leaders

AI Overviews are now showing up deeper into the purchaser journey, particularly for commercialized keywords.

Your marque could beryllium competing for attraction successful respective areas connected a azygous results page: successful the AI Overview, successful the AI Overview’s database of citations, successful the integrated results, and successful the paid placements wrong aliases astir the AI Overview.

This intends it will beryllium important to show the SERPs of your niche’s astir valuable keywords, and way the quality of ads and AI Overviews crossed them.

Google Ads still doesn't show america which paid queries trigger AI Overviews, truthful there's a existent visibility spread for Paid Search teams. Semrush's Organic Rankings information tin thief span portion of that spread by showing wherever AI Overviews are appearing, helping marketers amended understand really AI-generated results whitethorn beryllium impacting their broader hunt strategy.

Hannah Pedri, Head of Paid Search & Social astatine Semrush

Once you person that data, you tin amended scheme wherever to usage your paid fund and wherever to purpose for getting cited successful the AI Overviews.

To spot really AI Overviews are impacting commercial-intent position successful your niche, usage Semrush. Go to the Organic Rankings tool, click “Positions,” and use 2 filters:

Intent: Commercial
SERP Features connected SERP: AI Overview