Google AI Overviews now appear in nearly half of search queries, reshaping visibility across nine industries.
Google’s AI Overviews are expanding quickly and reshaping how people experience search. New research from BrightEdge shows that AI-generated summaries now appear in nearly half of all search queries. While this marks a major shift, traditional organic search results still hold a slim majority.
The data reveals a search environment that is not fully replaced by AI, but clearly divided between conversational answers and classic search listings.
AI Overviews Grow 58% Year Over Year
Between February 2025 and February 2026, AI Overviews coverage increased by 58 percent. This growth shows that Google is steadily expanding the feature across different types of queries. Some industries saw dramatic changes. In education, AI Overviews appeared in just 18 percent of queries in May 2025. By December 2025, that number jumped to 83 percent. B2B technology followed a similar path, increasing from 36 percent to 82 percent of queries triggering AI results.
The restaurant industry experienced one of the sharpest jumps, growing from 10 percent of queries to 78 percent in just months. Healthcare was already heavily influenced by AI Overviews. In 2024, about 72 percent of healthcare queries triggered AI results. By December 2025, that rose to 88 percent, showing near-total dominance in that sector.
The 9 Industries Seeing the Biggest Expansion
BrightEdge identified nine industries where AI Overviews expanded most aggressively:
- Healthcare
- B2B Technology
- Education
- Insurance
- Entertainment
- Travel
- eCommerce
- Finance
- Restaurants
Healthcare remains the strongest category. The high adoption rate suggests that users may prefer conversational explanations when searching for medical information. Complex topics often benefit from summaries rather than scanning multiple websites.
Healthcare’s Unique Position in AI Search
Healthcare stands out in particular. AI Overviews appear in 88 percent of health-related queries. This aligns with broader trends in AI usage. Many users now rely on conversational AI systems to understand symptoms, treatments, and medical conditions.
Healthcare professionals are also adopting AI tools. A recent survey from the Brookings Institution found that 53 percent of healthcare professionals use AI in some capacity. The growing demand for AI-generated explanations suggests users appreciate simplified summaries for complex health topics.
Traditional Organic Search Still Holds a Slim Majority
Despite rapid expansion, classic search results still appear in 52 percent of queries. That means slightly more than half of searches continue to display traditional blue links without AI summaries.
Search is not fully transformed. Instead, it operates in two parallel modes:
- Queries that trigger AI-generated summaries
- Queries that show traditional ranked results
This split reflects a long-term evolution rather than a sudden replacement.
Google has been gradually shifting search formats for over two decades. Features like local packs, maps, shopping results, and featured snippets have already reduced the dominance of simple blue links. AI Overviews represent the next phase in that ongoing transformation.
AI Overviews Change Page Layout Dramatically
When AI Overviews appear, they significantly alter the structure of the search results page. According to the report, the average AI Overview block exceeds 1,200 pixels in height. By comparison, a standard desktop screen displays around 900 pixels before scrolling.
This means the AI-generated answer often pushes the first organic result entirely below the fold. Users must scroll before seeing traditional listings. The visual dominance of AI Overviews changes user behavior. Many users may find their answers within the summary without clicking through to a website. This shift has major implications for traffic, SEO strategies, and content visibility.
AI Overviews Do Not Mirror Organic Rankings
One of the most important findings in the report is that AI Overviews do not simply copy top-ranking pages. Only about 17 percent of sources cited in AI Overviews also rank in the top 10 organic search results.
This means:
- Ranking number one does not guarantee inclusion in AI citations
- Pages outside the top 10 can still appear in AI Overviews
AI Overviews rely on a system sometimes described as FastSearch and query fan-out. A single conversational query may trigger multiple smaller queries behind the scenes. Each of those retrieves top results, which are then combined into a summarized answer.
As a result, AI citations draw from indexed content across the web, not strictly from page-one winners. Overlap increases when looking at the top 100 organic results instead of just the top 10. However, the relationship between ranking and citation is connected but not identical. For content creators, this means optimizing solely for traditional rankings may no longer be enough.
Why Restaurants Saw Such Rapid Growth
One surprising area of growth is restaurants. AI Overviews now appear in 78 percent of restaurant-related queries, up from just 10 percent earlier. This raises interesting questions. Are users searching for menu explanations, recommendations, or comparisons? Are AI summaries filling gaps in restaurant content?
If AI Overviews are answering questions that restaurants or review platforms are not addressing clearly, it may signal a content opportunity. Businesses may need to provide clearer, more structured information to remain visible in AI-driven search results.
Search Is Becoming More Conversational
The broader trend is clear. Users are becoming more comfortable with conversational search experiences. Instead of browsing multiple links, many prefer direct answers. However, the data does not show a complete shift away from organic search. Instead, search results are divided almost evenly between AI summaries and traditional listings.
This suggests that different types of queries trigger different search modes. Navigational searches, brand queries, and local searches may still favor traditional formats. Informational or research-heavy queries are more likely to trigger AI Overviews.
Growth Continues Without Replacing Organic Search
AI Overviews are expanding steadily, but they have not eliminated traditional search results. Classic organic listings still represent a slim majority of queries. Yet in high-value sectors like B2B technology and healthcare, AI results are clearly dominating.
This indicates that the transformation is selective rather than universal. The search experience today is multifaceted. It blends conversational AI answers with traditional link-based exploration.
What This Means for Content Strategy
For marketers and SEO professionals, the takeaway is not that organic search is dead. Instead, visibility now requires understanding both systems. Since AI Overviews do not strictly mirror page-one rankings, content strategy may need to evolve.
Key considerations include:
- Creating content that answers specific questions clearly
- Structuring information in a way that AI systems can easily extract
- Maintaining strong overall organic performance
- Monitoring which queries trigger AI results
AI visibility is related to organic performance but not interchangeable with it.
A Search Landscape in Transition
Google’s AI Overviews are expanding across nine major industries and approaching half of all tracked queries. The feature now dominates healthcare and is rapidly growing in B2B, education, restaurants, and finance. At the same time, traditional organic search remains present in just over half of all searches.
The result is not a complete replacement but a divided search environment. AI Overviews are reshaping how users interact with search results. They are visually dominant, increasingly common, and changing how information is discovered. But classic search is still alive, even if it no longer fully controls the page. Search is evolving, not disappearing.
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