If your business depends on Google traffic, this number deserves your attention.
AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of Google results, now show up on more than 80% of Google searches, according to Search Engine Roundtable. That’s up from around 50% in June last year and roughly 15% the year before that.
What the data says
The figure comes from recent data published by three SEO platforms: Semrush, SE Ranking and seoClarity. Semrush has published a detailed breakdown by industry and query type, and its Semrush Sensor tool now tracks the trend live.
SE Ranking’s latest data looked specifically at branded searches in the US and found AI Overviews on 82.5% of them. Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable suggests the rate may be even higher for many non-branded queries.
The numbers do vary by source and sector. About a month ago, seoClarity’s Mark Traphagen said the company was seeing AI Overviews on more than 62% of queries, ranging from 55% to 84% depending on the industry.
Google wants an answer for everything
This trend has been building. Search Engine Roundtable recently reported that Google was showing AI Overviews for lots of brand searches, and even for fake or incorrect queries. Schwartz sees that as part of Google’s plan to always have an answer for whatever you type.
“This is no surprise to any of us in the industry,” he wrote, “but man, Google is really going all in on AI Overviews.”
The knock-on effect
When an AI summary sits above the blue links on most searches, fewer people may scroll down and click. Being cited inside the overview is becoming as important as ranking in the traditional results.
Why it matters
Search is shifting from ‘ten blue links’ to ‘one AI answer’. For small businesses, that means writing pages that answer real questions clearly and directly, keeping your brand name, services, location and key facts easy to find, and maintaining a strong Google Business Profile. Track whether your brand appears inside AI Overviews, not just where you rank, and treat clear, trustworthy content as your best SEO investment.
Sources: Search Engine Roundtable. Written by the xRapid Media LLP team.