Your brand search results now carry an AI answer. Who is writing it?

In September, Google AI Overviews moved onto brand-name searches at speed. DemandSphere’s daily tracking shows an AI Overview on 26% of tracked branded keywords on 1 September and on 90% by 27 September. The search that once belonged to your own website now carries an answer assembled from other sources, and your buyers read it first.

What the data shows, and where it stops

DemandSphere’s DemandMetrics platform checks AI Overview presence once a day across all markets and devices. The series stayed below 60% until 26 September, reached its high of 90.48% on 27 September and stood at 82.06% on 29 September, as reported by Search Engine Journal on 1 October.

Two limits apply. DemandSphere counts an AI Overview as present regardless of whether the brand itself is cited in it, and it keeps its keyword count and its definition of a branded keyword private. Treat the figures as a strong directional signal.

Placement matters as much as presence. A separate Ahrefs panel of 100 brands found that 48 of 63 AI Overviews sat in position one, above the brand’s own result.

Why this belongs on the leadership agenda

Brand search is a high-intent channel. People who type your name are close to a decision, and the first thing they now see is an editorial layer built from review sites, forums, news coverage and older pages. Your marketing team may control few of those sources.

Paid media is heading to the same place. Blue Thirst’s October round-up reports that OpenAI is testing sponsored agents in ChatGPT, that selected US advertisers can extend Amazon Ads campaigns into ChatGPT, and that Google has a Business Agent beta alongside eligible YouTube ads. Several of these programmes run in the US only or leave the region unstated, so UK availability needs checking.

The IAB’s 2026 outlook study of more than 200 US brand and agency decision-makers lists brand visibility among advertiser priorities as consumers use AI to discover and evaluate brands. Reputation, search and paid media now meet in the same answer box.

Three questions for your leadership team

What do the engines say about us today?

Ask Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini the questions your buyers ask, starting with your brand name. Record the answers word for word. The four AI assistants often differ from one another, so a single check understates the picture.

Which sources feed those answers?

Each answer draws on identifiable pages. Trace them. An outdated pricing page, a thin review profile or a forum thread from 2022 can shape the story more than your own homepage does.

Who owns the answer inside the business?

Brand, SEO, PR and communications each hold part of this. Name one owner, give that person a monthly review, and set a route for corrections.

A 90-day plan

1. Weeks 1 to 2: run the five-engine audit across your brand name, your category and your top five competitors.
2. Weeks 3 to 6: strengthen the sources behind weak or incorrect answers. Update your own pages first, then the third-party profiles that AI systems cite.
3. Weeks 7 to 10: publish clear, factual pages for the questions buyers ask, with specific data, named authors and structured markup.
4. Weeks 11 to 13: track the answers monthly across all five engines and report changes to your leadership team.

Envigo’s DualRank framework tracks brand visibility across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini in one system, which gives a team one view of both rankings and AI answers.

Our view

Brand teams already treat press coverage as something to monitor, source and improve through better material. AI answers deserve the same discipline. The brands that act this quarter will have a measured baseline when AI answers become a standard line in the marketing report.

Frequently asked questions

Do AI Overviews appear on branded searches?

DemandSphere’s tracking found AI Overviews on 90.48% of tracked branded keywords on 27 September 2026, up from 26.12% on 1 September. The company counts an Overview as present regardless of whether the brand is cited.

Can a brand control what AI says about it?

A brand influences an AI answer indirectly, by improving the accuracy, clarity and authority of the pages those systems draw on.

How often should we check AI answers?

Monthly suits most brands, with an extra check after major product, pricing or leadership news.

Which AI engines should we track?

Track Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini, since answers differ between them.