AI overviews have reshaped the search landscape, especially in 2025, and their influence continues to grow in 2026.
This shift means search marketers’ content and ads can be pushed below AI-generated results, diminishing content and ads’ prominence in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Research from Adthena shows that Google’s AI Overviews have changed from detailed, long-form explanations to concise, keyword-driven summaries. Meanwhile, a joint study by SEMrush and Datos (reported by Fujisan Marketing) found that AI Overviews appeared in just over 13% of desktop searches in March 2025, marking a 102% increase compared to January of the same year.
For marketers, ad placement has never been more important. As AI Overviews increasingly dominate search results and push paid listings further down the page, visibility and click-through rates (CTR) can suffer, impacting both marketing performance and how consumers discover brands.
AI Overviews vs Traditional Featured Snippets
AI overviews are a feature in Google search that provides quick AI-generated answers for whatever is searched. It links multiple web sources and provides key information. This way, users can understand complex information quickly.
Unlike traditional search feature snippets, AI overviews tend to be longer and give out conversational summaries. With featured snippets, answers are singular from a direct link to a singular source page.
AI Overviews can save people time by giving them the information they need directly.
The Impact on Paid Search Ads
According to Search Engine Land, ad positions are lost approximately 25% of the time when AI Overviews appear. When ads aren’t visible, impressions decline and competition for attention increases. Simply put, if AI Overviews provide users with the information they’re looking for upfront, there’s little incentive to scroll down and click on a paid ad.
This shift is reinforced by findings from Search Engine Journal, which reported that 58.4% of Google searches in 2024 ended without a single click.
Across seven major industries – automotive, energy, financial services, gaming, healthcare, retail, and travel -one in four paid ads is impacted by AI Overviews. Travel, financial services, retail, and energy ads perform relatively better, appearing above AI Overviews in more than 75% of instances. However, the remaining 20–30% of lost exposure introduces higher costs and immediate volatility, directly putting return on investment (ROI) at risk.
Healthcare is among the most affected sectors, with ads appearing below AI Overviews roughly 64.6% of the time. Given the industry’s reliance on informational searches, Google’s AI prioritizes answers over Google Ads, effectively eliminating nearly two-thirds of available ad visibility. Gaming sits closer to an even split, with ad placement above or below AI Overviews occurring about 50% of the time.
Mobile Phone Searches
Many people search and scroll on their mobile phones. For Google paid search ads, visibility appears to be shrinking on mobile phones.
With the smaller screens, Google’s AI overviews take up a large chunk. Mobile impressions for top ads decreased by about 20% or more.
Automotive is the industry that seems to be hit the hardest. Nearly half the time, ads are pushed below the AI overviews. For healthcare and gaming, Google Ads are also below the AI overviews about half the time. Securing the top ad isn’t just about competition anymore; it is about survival.
Tips for Marketers on How to Beat AI Overviews
So, what can marketers do in response to all of this?
Start by prioritizing high-intent keywords. For example, a search like “soccer ball Vancouver” signals strong purchase intent, and campaigns should focus on these ready-to-buy queries. Conversions tend to come from branded terms, local searches, product categories, and comparison-based keywords. In cases like this, retailers that sell soccer balls should bid on sales-driven, high-intent search phrases to serve ads to prospects who are in the market to buy soccer balls.
Brand visibility also matters. Even if a user doesn’t click your ad immediately, repeated exposure to your company name can drive recall and influence future decisions. Make your brand front and centre in ad copy, and support it with strong sitelinks and callouts through dedicated brand campaigns.
It’s also best practice to separate mobile and desktop campaigns. While this approach requires more effort, it delivers better performance. Mobile ads, in particular, need to be concise, visually compelling, and designed to stand out for fast-scrolling users.
Finally, marketers should actively optimize for AI-driven search experiences. Your content may be used to generate AI Overviews, and when that happens, you want your brand to remain visible. AI Overviews often pull directly from brand-owned content, so pages should be well-structured, clean, and written in a clear, human voice. Keep the content simple and direct, designed both for AI interpretation and for real people consuming the information.
Paid search isn’t dying, it’s changing. Google AI Overviews are affecting ads, but it is up to you to adapt. Instead of complaining about how AI is ruining your ad views, it is time to think about new strategies that evolve with the ever-changing digital landscape.
