Christine Skopec

AI Overviews are impacting more than informational search. In our six-month analysis of over 600,000 keywords across 10 industries, AI Overviews grew an average of 71% across search engine results pages (SERPs) with commercial intent. At the same time, the trend of AI Overviews appearing on SERPs with Google Ads continues to grow.

Most AI visibility strategies treat ChatGPT as a single system. The data shows that it might not be wise. When ChatGPT operates in high-reasoning mode, it cites a different set of brands, surfaces different source types, and behaves differently than when it’s in minimal reasoning mode. Kevin Indig calls this gap between what shows in one model versus another “reasoning lift.” To investigate it, we partnered with Kevin and analyzed data from the Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit.

Consumers are increasingly using AI to research products, compare options, and evaluate brands. Which means answers from platforms like ChatGPT and AI Overviews are shaping brand perception. These AI answers can influence how buyers think about your company before they ever visit your website. AI sentiment analysis helps marketers understand how AI platforms describe their brand, which narratives those systems reinforce, and where inaccurate or negative perceptions may affect business results.