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Google5 min read · By the New Map team · 27 October 2026

How do brands get into Google AI Overviews and AI Mode?

More branded searches now show an AI Overview: US desktop, July to 29 September 2026
More branded searches now show an AI Overview: US desktop, July to 29 September 2026Slope chart, More branded searches now show an AI Overview: US desktop, July to 29 September 2026: Branded-keyword results pages with an AI Overview rose from 61.3% (July 2026) to 82.91% (29 September 2026). Up from 61.3% of branded-keyword results pages in July 2026 to 82.91% on 29 September 2026.Up from 61.3% of branded-keyword resultspages in July 2026 to 82.91% on 29September 2026.July 202629 September 202661.3%82.91%Branded-keyword results pages with an AI Overview
Source: Ahrefs, October 2026, 2 October 2026

Brands get into Google AI Overviews and AI Mode mainly through what other sources say about them, in places those surfaces favour, rather than through page tweaks, according to October 2026 studies. First, list the third-party pages, videos and forum threads that already describe your brand, and fix the gaps there.

Do AI Overviews already show up when someone checks my brand?

Yes, and the rate rose fast. Ahrefs1 found AI Overviews on 82.91% of US desktop branded-keyword results pages as of 29 September 2026, up from 61.3% in July (Ahrefs, October 2026). In a smaller check of 100 brand-name queries, 63 triggered an AI Overview by 30 September against five on 1 July, and 48 of those 63 sat in position one (Ahrefs, October 2026).

So the first question is what the summary says about you, not whether one appears. Zero-click searches reached 68.01% of US Google searches in early 2026, up from 60.45% in 2024 (SparkToro and Similarweb data, via Kevin Indig2, 3, October 2026). For many buyers the summary is the whole visit. The chart shows the branded rise Ahrefs measured.

More branded searches now show an AI Overview: US desktop, July to 29 September 2026
More branded searches now show an AI Overview: US desktop, July to 29 September 2026Slope chart, More branded searches now show an AI Overview: US desktop, July to 29 September 2026: Branded-keyword results pages with an AI Overview rose from 61.3% (July 2026) to 82.91% (29 September 2026). Up from 61.3% of branded-keyword results pages in July 2026 to 82.91% on 29 September 2026.Up from 61.3% of branded-keyword resultspages in July 2026 to 82.91% on 29September 2026.July 202629 September 202661.3%82.91%Branded-keyword results pages with an AI Overview
Source: Ahrefs, October 2026, 2 October 2026

Which sources do Google's AI surfaces pull from?

They lean on forums, video and reference sites more than other engines do. Forums and video made up 25% of citations in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, against under 3% on other engines, mostly Reddit and YouTube (Otterly4, 5, October 2026, 617,985 citations analysed). Reddit's share of citations rose 16% in AI Overviews and 24% in AI Mode from July to September, while ChatGPT's fell 94% (Otterly, October 2026, seven engines).

Ahrefs checked 57 source lists in branded AI Overviews. Wikipedia accounted for 71.9% of the external citations there, YouTube 38.6% and LinkedIn 22.8% (Ahrefs, October 2026, 57 source lists). Each figure is a share on its own, so they do not add to 100% (Ahrefs, October 2026). Just one competitor-owned domain showed up in those 57 lists (Ahrefs, October 2026).

Off-site signals also track visibility. YouTube mentions and branded web mentions correlated 0.7 with AI Overview visibility, against 0.3 for Domain Rating (Ahrefs study, via Kevin Indig, October 2026). That is a correlation, and a strong brand may drive both. The diagram shows the chain these studies imply.

From off-site mentions to a named brand
From off-site mentions to a named brandDiagram, From off-site mentions to a named brand: Mentions off your site, then Retrieved by the engine, then Cited in the summary, then Named as a recommendation. Being cited in the summary does not guarantee being named as a recommendation.Being cited in the summary does notguarantee being named as arecommendation.not guaranteedMentions off your siteWikipedia, YouTube, LinkedIn, forumsRetrieved by the engineCited in the summaryNamed as a recommendation
Source: New Map synthesis of Ahrefs and Otterly studies, October 2026, 18 October 2026

How do I improve my brand's visibility in Google AI Mode?

Work on being retrieved first, then on how the page reads. Studies of ChatGPT show the pattern, and Google's surfaces were not tested in them. Across repeated runs, candidates retrieved more often were also cited more often (Jiang et al.6, arXiv, October 2026, four ChatGPT Web settings). Where a page came back in the engine's own search explained 32% of which pages from one site were cited, and all page features together 2.8% (Chen and Koudas, preprint, October 2026, 158,099 answers).

Steps that follow from this:

  1. Find the questions buyers ask and check which pages and videos come back for them.
  2. Earn or correct presence on the sources already cited: reference pages, YouTube, LinkedIn, relevant forum threads.
  3. Write pages whose title and best paragraph match the question, with a clear price and a current date.
  4. Keep schema as hygiene only: 1,885 pages that added it gained nothing against matched controls, and AI Overviews moved -4.6% (Ahrefs, May 2026).
  5. Have a person fact-check any AI-drafted copy. Google's updated guidance calls this critical, and it released four spam updates in 2026 against one in all of 2025 (Lily Ray7, October 2026, reporting Google's statements).

AI Mode is also changing shape. Google said in November 2025 that generative UI, where the model writes the whole page per query, was live in AI Mode for US AI Pro and Ultra subscribers (iPullRank8, October 2026, citing Google).

Does being cited mean the brand gets recommended?

No. In Ahrefs' sample of 58 AI Overviews with visible text, 2 named competitors (Ahrefs, October 2026). Our read is that summaries rarely source from rivals; the sample is small. Yet 69% of self-promotional listicles cited in AI Overviews belonged to brands the answer did not recommend (Lily Ray, June 2026, 100 queries).

Third-party lists carry more weight. Brand-published listicles were 35.6% of all listicle citations (Otterly, October 2026, 519,140 classified citations), so owned pages get cited, but a citation alone is not a recommendation.

The payoff is influence more than clicks. Users clicked a link inside a Google AI summary in 1% of visits (Pew, March 2025, 900 adults). After AI recommended Capital One, direct visits rose and search visits ran about 15% lower (SparkToro and Similarweb, via Kevin Indig, October 2026).

Can one plan cover Google and every other engine?

No. Of citations seen across ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews, 91% appeared in only one of them (Kevin Indig, October 2026), so presence has to be planned surface by surface.

New Map's measurement9 shows the gap. We asked 68 discovery questions about AI visibility tools once each on Gemini, ChatGPT and Perplexity (204 answers, week of 12 October; AI Overviews and AI Mode were not covered). Gemini cited 8.3 sources per answer, ChatGPT 4 and Perplexity 0.3. reddit.com appeared in 23 of 204 answers (11.3%) and wikipedia.org in none. Gemini is a different surface from AI Overviews and AI Mode, so read this as a sign that engines differ, not as a Google result. One week is a reading, not a trend. Method: how New Map measures.

For the ChatGPT side of the plan, see how to get your brand recommended by ChatGPT.

Gemini cites more sources per answer than ChatGPT or Perplexity
Gemini cites more sources per answer than ChatGPT or PerplexityBar chart, Gemini cites more sources per answer than ChatGPT or Perplexity: the highest is Gemini at 8.3; the 3 values range from 0.3 to 8.3. Across 204 answers on 68 questions: Gemini 8.3 sources per answer, Perplexity 0.3.Across 204 answers on 68 questions:Gemini 8.3 sources per answer, Perplexity0.3.Gemini8.3ChatGPT4Perplexity0.3
Source: New Map measurement, 18 October 2026 · How we measure

What to do

  1. Search your brand name in Google and read the AI Overview line by line. Note which sources it cites and which claims are wrong, then correct each claim at the page where it originates.
  2. Audit YouTube, LinkedIn and Wikipedia for your brand, the sources cited most in branded AI Overviews (Ahrefs, October 2026). Fill the gaps with accurate, specific content, and join forum threads only where you can contribute honestly.
  3. Track Google's surfaces apart from ChatGPT and Perplexity, because engines cite different sources (see above). For per-engine tracking, see plans and pricing.

Frequently asked

Does schema markup get a brand into AI Overviews?

No measured uplift so far. In May 2026 Ahrefs found that 1,885 pages adding schema gained nothing against matched controls, and AI Overviews moved -4.6%. Treat schema as machine-readability hygiene, not a way to win citations.

Which sources matter most in branded AI Overviews?

Reference and video sources lead. Ahrefs, October 2026, found Wikipedia in 71.9% of external citations in branded AI Overviews, YouTube in 38.6% and LinkedIn in 22.8%, across 57 source lists. Each is a separate share (Ahrefs, October 2026).

Is Reddit worth pursuing for Google's AI surfaces?

It is engine-specific. Reddit's citation share rose 16% in AI Overviews and 24% in AI Mode from July to September 2026, while ChatGPT's fell 94% (Otterly, October 2026). Only join threads where you can add real value.

Sources

  1. Ahrefs, AI Overviews Currently Appear for 83% of Branded Searches, ahrefs.com, 2 October 2026
  2. Kevin Indig, Shopping is part of the product, growth-memo.com, 12 October 2026
  3. Kevin Indig, How to plan 2027 when traffic is down and AI won't attribute, growth-memo.com, 5 October 2026
  4. Otterly, What AI Engines Actually Cite: 617,985 Citations Analyzed, otterly.ai, 14 October 2026
  5. Otterly, Reddit GEO in 2026: What Gets You Banned, What Still Works, and What ChatGPT Changed, otterly.ai, 1 October 2026
  6. Jiang et al. (arXiv), Understanding ChatGPT Citations: Evidence from Production Web Search Across Model Generations, arxiv.org, 11 October 2026
  7. Lily Ray, Prediction: the next massive Google update is around the corner, lilyraynyc.substack.com, 4 October 2026
  8. iPullRank (Mike King), How Do We Move Forward if the SERP Is Generative?, ipullrank.com, 15 October 2026
  9. New Map measurement, How we measure, 18 October 2026

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