AI Overviews appear for 88% of commercial keywords, up from 45.75%
Semrush tracked 400 commercial‑intent keywords across banking, software and ecommerce from September 2025 to August 2026. By measuring whether Google’s AI Overviews showed up for each query, the study found keyword‑weighted coverage rose to 88% in August 2026, up from 45.75% a year earlier. Every modifier group – alternatives, brand‑vs‑brand, best X for Y, pricing and reviews – now triggers an…
Key points
- AI Overview coverage rose to 88% of 400 commercial keywords by August 2026, up from 45.75% in September 2025.
- Review‑type queries now trigger an AI Overview about 90% of the time, a 59‑point increase.
- Ecommerce queries saw coverage rise from 32.62% to 85.11% between September 2025 and August 2026.
The biggest jumps were in review queries, which went from less than a third of searches to about 90%, a 59‑point increase, and in ecommerce queries, which climbed from 32.62% to 85.11%. “Best X for Y” searches reached the highest coverage at 96.12%. Volume‑weighted coverage hit 97.08%, meaning the most‑searched commercial queries are almost always answered by an AI Overview before organic results.
For SEO and content teams, the shift means Google’s AI summary now makes the first impression on most commercial searches. Brands need to track AI Overview citations, keep comparison and pricing pages up‑to‑date, and earn mentions on the sites Google pulls into its summaries.
The story so far
9 episodes →- AI Overviews appear for 88% of commercial keywords, up from 45.75%this story
AI Overviews have nearly doubled across five commercial search modifiers
Semrush Blog · 21 October 2026.png)
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This text was published by Semrush Blog and written by Luke Harsel. It is reproduced here with attribution so you can read it in full; the rights remain with the publisher. Read it at the source ↗
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