--- title: "AI Overviews on big-brand searches: why three counts differ" url: https://seomadman.com/news/ai-overviews-big-brand-searches-ahrefs section: news language: en published: 2026-10-09T00:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-10-09T00:00:00.000Z author: Adam Hafez topics: ["AI search", "SERP features"] --- # AI Overviews on big-brand searches: why three counts differ ## The short answer Ahrefs found AI Overviews on 63 of 100 global brand names searched in Google's US results on 30 September, up from 5 of 98 usable results on 1 July. Search Engine Journal reports that other counts, 93 of 100 and 82.06% of branded keywords, use different samples, and none of them measures clicks. ## Key takeaways - Ahrefs checked Google's US results for the exact names of 100 brands weekly and found AI Overviews on 63 of them on 30 September, against 5 of 98 usable results on 1 July. - The 83% in Ahrefs' headline comes from a separate crawl of 232.8 million US desktop results, where branded keywords showed an AI Overview on 82.91% of results on 29 September. - Chris Long's 93 of 100 and DemandSphere's 90.48% on 27 September use other samples, and Search Engine Journal notes the brand list and keyword count are not published. - Ahrefs does not report clicks on brand-name queries or how often the brand's own site is cited in the answer. - Brand teams can check their own name by hand, dated, and read Search Console's branded filter as a trend line, because neither shows why a number moved. Ahrefs published [AI Overviews Currently Appear for 83% of Branded Searches](https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-on-branded-searches/) on 2 October 2026. Search Engine Journal's Matt G. Southern then set it beside two other counts in [AI Overviews Have Spread To Most Big-Brand Searches](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ai-overviews-big-brand-searches/). We read the full Ahrefs post and Southern's article. Chris Long's LinkedIn post and DemandSphere's data are described here only as Southern reports them. ## What did Ahrefs find on 100 names? Ahrefs searched Google's US results for the exact names of 100 brands from Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2025, at 14 weekly checkpoints from July to September. It says the panel covers bare names, "bluehost" for example, and not every search that contains a brand. On 1 July, 5 of 98 usable results had an AI Overview. By 30 September, 63 of the 100 did. Ahrefs says the appearance "vastly increased" at the start of September, and Southern reads the chart as 13 results on 26 August and 42 on 9 September. Of the 63, 48 sat in position one (76.2%), with an average position of 1.49. Southern notes the post does not define position, so it is unclear whether the brand's own listing moved down the page. For AI Overviews collected from 16 to 29 September, Ahrefs had source lists for 57. Wikipedia was cited in 41 (71.9%), YouTube in 22 (38.6%) and LinkedIn in 13 (22.8%). Only one verified competitor-owned site appeared across those lists. Southern adds that a cited YouTube or LinkedIn page may be managed by the brand, and the post does not say how many are. ## Why do the counts differ? Southern lines up four numbers, and each comes from a different sample: - **Ahrefs, 100-brand panel:** 63 of 100 on 30 September, one US panel of exact names. - **Ahrefs, broader crawl:** 82.91% of US desktop results for branded keywords on 29 September, the source of the 83% headline. - **Chris Long:** 93 of 100 enterprise brands on 30 September from a SerpApi scrape, as quoted by Southern. He did not publish the list. - **DemandSphere:** AI Overviews on 26.12% of branded keywords on 1 September, 90.48% on 27 September and 82.06% on 29 September, across "all markets, all devices". It counts an AI Overview as present whether or not the brand is cited, and was below 60% before 26 September. Separately, Ahrefs' monthly averages for branded keywords rose from 61.3% in July to 65.1% in August and 73.3% in September, a 12-point gain against 4.8 points for non-branded keywords, which averaged 78.3% in September. That narrows the branded gap from 12.2 points in July to 5 in September. Southern notes that neither vendor explains how it classifies a keyword as branded, DemandSphere gives no keyword count, and Ahrefs gives crawl counts without distinct keywords. Each crawl is a results page the company collected, not a search by a real user. ## What do the counts not measure? Southern is explicit about three gaps. Ahrefs does not report clicks on these queries or how often the brand's website is cited in the answers. A change in branded clicks alone does not show whether brand demand moved or an AI Overview was involved. And late September is not a confirmed rollout date, so the figures describe what the vendors saw, not a change Google announced. Ahrefs also says there is no guarantee the situation will last. Its earlier study found a 58% lower click-through rate for the top page when an AI Overview is present, but the new post gives no click figure for brand names. ## What can a brand team check? Southern's suggestions are manual. Search your exact company name and review the AI Overview and the pages it cites, then repeat on other days, since each search is a snapshot. A dated screenshot gives you something to compare against later. For numbers, he points to the branded queries filter in [Search Console](/topics/search-console), which uses Google's own, AI-assisted definition of branded, which Mueller said in March could not be customised to match a vendor's list. The generative AI performance report has no query dimension, so it cannot isolate brand-name searches. In Google Analytics 4, visits from these panels count as Organic Search. For the wider picture, see our report on [how often AI Overviews appear](/reports/ai-overviews-serp-prevalence-2026) and the earlier [AI Overview links push](/news/ai-overview-links-push-ai-mode). ## Frequently asked questions ### How many big-brand searches show an AI Overview? It depends on the sample. Ahrefs counted 63 of 100 exact brand names on 30 September in Google's US results. Chris Long reported 93 of 100 on the same day, using a different list. Neither list is the whole web. ### Where does Ahrefs' 83% come from? From a broader crawl, not the 100-brand panel. Ahrefs says AI Overviews appeared in 82.91% of US desktop results for branded keywords on 29 September, out of 232.8 million crawls analysed from July to September. ### Does Ahrefs show clicks on brand searches? No. Search Engine Journal notes the study reports neither clicks on these queries nor how often the brand's own website is cited. It measures how often the panel appears, where, and which outside sites it links to. ### How can I check my own brand name? Search your exact name on Google and save a dated screenshot of the result, per Search Engine Journal. Repeat it on other days and compare. Search Console's branded filter shows clicks over time but not the cause. ## Sources 1. [AI Overviews Currently Appear for 83% of Branded Searches](https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-on-branded-searches/) - Ahrefs (primary) 2. [AI Overviews Have Spread To Most Big-Brand Searches](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ai-overviews-big-brand-searches/) - Search Engine Journal