How to track AI Overviews with Semrush

Aug 28, 2026 07:40 PM - 4 days ago 1

AI Overviews now look prominently successful Google’s hunt results for over 50% of queries successful Semrush Sensor. Tracking what that does to your postulation and SEO capacity requires a system. 

Since Google Search Console rolls AI Overview clicks and impressions into your wide capacity data, there's nary easy measurement to propulsion that information out. Semrush changes that.

It tracks AI Overviews successful 5 cardinal areas. 

You’ll see: 

  1. Where AI Overviews look for keywords you already rank for
  2. Which AI Overview keywords you're missing
  3. How often Google mentions aliases cites your marque successful AI Overviews, surgery retired by topic
  4. How your AI Overview visibility stacks up against competitors 
  5. Whether your visibility is improving aliases declining time to day

Step 1: Assess AI Overviews’ effect connected your hunt visibility

To measure AI Overviews' effect connected your hunt visibility, commencement by identifying really often they look for keywords your tract already ranks for.

This establishes your existent AI Overview exposure: the information of your integrated keyword footprint wherever an AI-generated reply could impact what searchers spot and click.

Open Organic Rankings and participate your domain.

organic rankings commencement page

Go to the “Positions” tab. Then click the “SERP Features” drop-down and prime “SERP Features connected SERP > AI Overview.”

filtered semrush study to way ai overviews

The study will show each the keywords your domain ranks for wherever an AI Overview besides appears connected the results page.

In this case, canva.com ranks for a full of 863K keywords (as of August 2026) that characteristic an AI Overview successful Google’s results. 

keywords pinch an AI overview connected the SERP

This doesn’t mean your tract is featured successful those AI Overviews. It conscionable shows you really galore AI Overviews look for searches wherever you already person immoderate integrated rankings.

To spot the number of searches wherever your tract is featured successful AI Overviews, click the “SERP Features” drop-down and prime “Domain ranks”>“AI Overview.”

Checking really galore SEO keywords you rank for that person AI overviews

From present we tin spot that canva.com ranks wrong 156.3K AI Overviews. There’s besides an action to select specifically for “Domain doesn’t rank” >“AI Overviews.”

Use these filters to identify:

  • Queries wherever you rank prominently but aren’t cited successful the AI-generated response
  • High-volume keywords you rank for wherever an AI Overview whitethorn impact your integrated clicks
  • Your commercialized keyword rankings wherever losing visibility could person a greater business impact
  • Pages associated pinch aggregate AI Overview-triggering keywords

You tin select the array by metrics specified arsenic hunt volume, traffic, and position to place the keywords that matter astir to your business. For those keywords, prevention them truthful you tin way regular AI Overview visibility pinch Position Tracking.

Export this database to a record aliases nonstop a action of keywords straight to Position Tracking aliases Keyword Strategy Builder to prevention the database wrong Semrush. 

Step 2: Find further keywords that trigger AI Overviews successful your market

To find further keywords that trigger AI Overviews successful your market, grow your investigation beyond the keywords your tract already ranks for. Those keywords are caller visibility opportunities for your brand.

Identify related keywords pinch AI Overviews utilizing the Keyword Magic Tool

Open the Keyword Magic Tool and participate a wide seed word related to your business.

Click “Advanced filters,” unfastened the “SERP Features” drop-down, and prime “AI Overview.” Then, click “Apply.”

filtered Keyword Magic Tool study for AI overviews

The study will show related keywords that presently trigger AI Overviews, on pinch metrics specified as:

  • Search volume
  • Search intent
  • Keyword difficulty
  • SERP features

Focus connected keywords that are highly applicable to your business, lucifer your audience’s commercialized intent, and person a realistic trouble level for your site.

Note: Our investigation shows that AI Overviews are expanding into commercialized searches.

To inspect a consequence much closely, click the SERP icon beside the keyword. 

SERP icon

You’ll spot a snapshot of the hunt results, including the pages presently cited successful the AI Overview.

sample SERP snapshot pinch an AI overview

Review those pages to understand:

  • Which domains Google cites
  • What types of contented gain visibility
  • Which parts of the query the AI Overview addresses
  • Whether your existing contented offers a much useful aliases differentiated answer

Add the astir promising keywords to a list. 

Find AI Overviews featuring UGC sites for illustration Reddit, YouTube, aliases LinkedIn

To find AI Overview opportunities connected platforms for illustration Reddit, YouTube, and LinkedIn, commencement by querying each platform’s keyword rankings, past select for AI Overviews.

For example, unfastened “Organic Rankings” and participate “reddit.com.” Then, select for “Domain ranks” > “AI Overview.”

This shows you the keywords for which that level appears successful an AI Overview. 

Add a keyword select for your topic, specified arsenic “graphic design,” to constrictive the results.

filtering reddit.com's keyword rankings to find AI overviews

In this example, Reddit appears successful AI Overviews for 1.7K keywords containing “graphic design.”

This attack is worthy exploring becauseSemrush research has recovered Reddit and Quora among the most-cited domains successful Google’s AI Overviews, pinch platforms for illustration LinkedIn and YouTube besides appearing prominently.

Review these keywords to find topics and questions you could reside pinch useful, applicable contented connected that platform. Repeat the process pinch quora.com, youtube.com, aliases linkedin.com to uncover further opportunities.

Publishing connected a level Google already cites for a taxable whitethorn springiness your marque different way into an AI Overview — moreover erstwhile your ain website isn’t ranking yet.

But debar being overly promotional. Reddit and different online communities are famously skeptical of marketing.

Instead, attraction connected societal listening and contributing genuinely useful answers, discussions, aliases videos that fresh the level and thief its audience.

Explore the AI Overview keywords related to schematic creation for Reddit, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Step 3: Measure your wide AI Overview visibility

To measurement your AI Overview visibility, launchVisibility Overview from the AI Visibility Toolkit.

Enter your domain and click “Get started.

Semrush AI visibility commencement page

At the apical of the report, click the “All AI platforms” drop-down and prime “AI Overview.” 

filtering AI visibility for AI overviews

Take statement of 4 baseline AI visibility metrics:

  • AI visibility score: A people retired of 100 that summarizes your brand’s beingness successful AI Overviews. It helps you measure the wide spot of your visibility and benchmark it complete time.
  • Mentions: The number of AI Overviews successful Semrush’s AI Visibility database that mention your brand. This shows really often Google recognizes and includes your marque successful the AI-generated summary, moreover erstwhile it doesn’t nexus to your site.
  • Citations: The number of AI Overviews that mention your domain arsenic a source. This is the brand-level position of what you filtered for successful measurement 1.
  • Cited pages: The number of individual pages from your tract cited crossed those AI Overview responses. This shows the breadth of your citation footprint and whether your AI Overview citations are dispersed crossed your tract aliases concentrated connected a fewer pages.

Next, scroll down to the “Topics & Sources” section.

The “Your Performing Topics” tab indicates topics and prompts wherever your marque already appears. 

Look for topics pinch precocious visibility aliases AI hunt measurement to understand wherever your marque has the strongest presence.

reviewing topics wherever a marque has AI overview visibility

Then, unfastened “Cited Pages” to place the URLs Google uses arsenic sources. This reveals:

  • Pages earning citations crossed aggregate topics
  • Content formats Google cites astir often
  • High-value pages that person fewer aliases nary citations
  • Whether your visibility depends connected only a mini number of URLs
img-semblog

Together, these reports springiness you a wide benchmark of your existent AI Overview coverage. 

Step 4: See wherever competitors outperform you successful AI Overviews

Comparing your AI Overview visibility pinch competitors helps you spot who leads your market, wherever they outperform you, and which topics, prompts, and contented types connection the champion opportunities to adjacent the gap.

Benchmark competitors crossed AI Overviews

Start by entering a competitor’s domain into Visibility Overview.

img-semblog

Select “AI Overview” from the level drop-down. Then, grounds the aforesaid metrics you collected for your site:

  • AI Visibility
  • Mentions
  • Citations
  • Cited pages

Repeat this process for a fewer nonstop competitors.

This comparison shows which brands person the strongest wide beingness successful your market. 

You whitethorn find that a competitor earns much marque mentions, has a larger citation footprint, aliases depends connected less pages to make its visibility.

Scroll to “Topics & Sources” and unfastened “Cited Pages” to spot which competitor URLs Google references astir often.

figma apical AI overview cited pages

Look for patterns successful the pages earning citations. 

For example, your competitor whitethorn beryllium gaining AI Overview citations done solution pages, assets libraries, comparison articles, original research, merchandise documentation, aliases elaborate how-to guides. Review this database to understand really their contented impacts their visibility crossed AI Overviews. 

Find missing and anemic topics

For a nonstop side-by-side comparison, open Competitor Research wrong the AI Visibility Toolkit.

Enter your domain and up to 4 competitor domains. Then, click “Run Competitor Analysis.” 

competitor investigation study commencement page

Select “AI Overview” from the level drop-down.

filtering the study for ai overviews

Scroll to the “Topics & Prompts” array and usage these filters:

  • Missing: Topics aliases prompts wherever competitors look but your marque doesn’t
  • Weak: Topics aliases prompts wherever competitors person greater visibility than your brand
table pinch missing and anemic topics

Use the AI Volume select to prioritize topics pinch greater estimated demand. 

But don’t dainty each competitory spread arsenic an opportunity. Focus connected topics that are applicable to your products, expertise, and audience.

Expand a taxable to spot its individual prompts. 

For each one, review:

  • Which competitors are mentioned
  • Which domains and pages are cited
  • Whether your marque is wholly absent aliases simply mentioned little often
  • How the AI Overview frames the topic
  • Whether you already person contented that could reside the query

This tells you whether you request to amended an existing page, create caller content, aliases fortify your brand’s beingness connected the sources Google already trusts.

Step 5: Set up regular AI Overview search pinch Position Tracking

To group up regular AI Overview tracking, adhd your privilege keywords to a Position Tracking campaign.

The instrumentality updates each day, truthful you tin spot erstwhile AI Overviews appear, whether your domain is cited, and really that visibility changes correct away.

Start a caller Position Tracking run aliases unfastened an existing one.

Select Google arsenic your hunt engine, take your target location and device, and adhd the privilege keywords you identified successful the erstwhile steps.

position search group up window

Consider tagging keywords by topic, chimney stage, aliases priority. This makes it easier to place wherever your visibility is improving and wherever gaps remain.

Once your run is ready, unfastened the “Overview” tab and click the “SERP Features” drop-down.

Select “[Domain] ranks” >“AI Overview.” 

filtering position search for AI overviews

This filters the study to keywords that trigger an AI Overview and see your domain arsenic a cited source.

Use the inclination floor plan to show changes successful metrics specified arsenic visibility, Share of Voice, and estimated postulation crossed your tracked keyword set.

Then, scroll to the “Rankings Overview” array to way your regular AI Overview visibility crossed each keyword. 

reviewing regular AI overview positions

You tin see:

  • Which keywords presently mention your domain successful the AI Overview
  • Which page from your tract is cited
  • Whether your visibility has changed complete the group clip period

Click the SERP icon beside a keyword to inspect the AI Overview and the different sources Google presently cites.

You tin besides select for “[Domain] doesn’t rank”> “AI Overview.”

reviewing wherever your domain does not rank successful the AI overviews

This shows tracked keywords that trigger AI Overviews but don’t mention your content. 

table pinch keywords wherever the tracked domain is missing from AI overviews

Use this database to place pages that whitethorn request updating aliases applicable topics wherever you still request content.

For a elemental measurement framework, way 2 rates:

  • AI Overview trigger rate: The percent of your tracked keywords that make an AI Overview
  • AI Overview citation rate: The percent of those AI Overview-triggering keywords that mention your domain

Review the run astatine slightest play to place meaningful changes without reacting to regular fluctuations.

Signs of advancement include:

  • New citations for privilege keywords
  • A higher citation complaint crossed your tracked set
  • More topics wherever your domain appears consistently
  • Fewer high-value keywords wherever competitors are cited and you aren’t

This turns AI Overview search into an ongoing workflow alternatively than a bid of manual searches.

Strategic actions to return from AI Overview tracking 

Identifying keywords that trigger AI Overviews is valuable, but it’s really you respond that makes the difference. 

So, it’s champion to prioritize the correct opportunities. Like:

  • Keywords pinch business value: Check hunt intent, postulation estimations, and costs per click (CPC) to place high-value position connected to your products aliases services that make AI Overviews
  • Queries wherever you already rank organically: If your page ranks wrong the apical 10 integrated results but isn’t cited successful the AI Overview, updating it whitethorn beryllium a faster opportunity than targeting a caller keyword from scratch
  • Gaps pinch anemic competition: Look for AI Overviews that mention outdated, generic, aliases little charismatic contented wherever you tin connection amended information
  • Existing mentions and citations: Strengthen pages already earning visibility and grow their sum of intimately related questions

For much optimization tactics, spot our guideline onhow to rank successful Google’s AI Overviews.

Tracking AI Overviews successful 5 easy steps 

To make AI Overview search portion of your regular SEO workflow, usage Semrush to:

  1. Assess your existent exposure. Use the AI Overview select successful Organic Rankings to find keywords your tract already ranks for wherever an AI Overview appears.
  2. Find further keyword opportunities. Use Keyword Magic Tool to observe applicable AI Overview-triggering searches you don’t presently target aliases rank for.
  3. Measure your marque visibility. Use Visibility Overview to way your AI visibility score, marque mentions, citations, cited pages, and strongest topics.
  4. Find competitory gaps. Compare your visibility against competitors and usage Competitor Research to place missing aliases anemic topics.
  5. Track citations complete time. Add your privilege keywords to Position Tracking and show AI Overview trigger rate, citation rate, gains, and losses.

Together, these steps show wherever AI Overviews impact your existing hunt visibility, wherever your marque appears, and which opportunities merit attention.

Review your wide visibility regularly and cheque your Position Tracking run astatine slightest weekly. This gives you a repeatable measurement to measurement advancement without manually searching each target keyword.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Can Google Search Console way AI Overviews?

Yes, but pinch immoderate limitations.

Google Search Console added a generative AI performance study successful July 2026 that shows really galore impressions your pages get from Google’s generative AI features (like AI Overviews and AI Mode). The study is still rolling out, truthful not each properties person entree yet.

The study lets you spot which pages person generative AI impressions and break that information down by date, country, and device. But it combines AI Overview and AI Mode impressions, truthful you can’t isolate AI Overview capacity specifically.

Google besides counts clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode successful the regular Search capacity report. But those clicks are included pinch different Web hunt activity alternatively than surgery retired by generative AI feature.

This intends you tin measurement your wide generative AI visibility successful Search Console, but you can’t get overmuch granular detail. You can’t isolate AI Overview clicks, spot which circumstantial hunt position trigger AI Overviews, aliases way erstwhile your marque sanction is mentioned successful immoderate AI generated text.

Google explains what’s included successful its Generative AI capacity study documentation.

How often should I cheque my AI Overview visibility? 

Check your privilege keyword run astatine slightest weekly. This is predominant capable to place meaningful citation gains aliases losses without overreacting to normal regular fluctuations.

Review your broader visibility, competitor benchmarks, and topic-level gaps monthly. You whitethorn want to cheque much often aft publishing aliases substantially updating contented targeting an important AI Overview.

Because Position Tracking updates daily, you don’t request to manually hunt each keyword each time.

What’s the quality betwixt an AI Overview mention and a citation?  

An AI Overview mention occurs erstwhile Google names your marque successful the generated response. An AI Overview citation occurs erstwhile Google links to a page from your domain arsenic a root for the response.

A marque tin beryllium mentioned without receiving a link. And a page tin beryllium cited without the consequence explicitly naming the brand.

Track some metrics to understand whether Google recognizes your brand, relies connected your content, aliases both.

How do I way AI Overview citations complete time?

Add your privilege keywords to a Position Tracking run and select for “[Domain] ranks” > “AI Overview.”

Position Tracking updates daily, truthful you tin spot which keywords mention your domain, which pages gain those citations, and whether your visibility changes complete time.

Track your AI Overview citation complaint (the percent of AI Overview-triggering keywords that mention your domain) to measurement whether your citation sum is improving.

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