Google’s AI Overviews are no longer confined to simple informational queries. New research confirms they’re aggressively expanding into commercial-intent search territory — the exact queries our clients rely on for revenue. Simultaneously, Google has launched a new open standard for structuring knowledge for AI agents, and ecommerce brands face a fundamentally different optimisation challenge. Here’s what we’re tracking and how we’re responding across our client accounts right now.

Key Takeaways

• AI Overviews are appearing on commercial and transactional SERPs at an increasing rate, directly threatening paid and organic click-through rates.
• PPC strategy must be rebuilt around AI-disrupted SERPs, not legacy keyword targeting alone.
• Ecommerce stores need dedicated LLM optimisation to maintain visibility in AI-driven shopping experiences.
• Google’s new Open Knowledge Format creates a structured data standard specifically designed for AI agents to consume.
• Enterprise-scale SEO tooling decisions now hinge on whether your team can monitor AI visibility at speed.

AI Overviews Are Eating Commercial Search Real Estate

The data is stark. According to a new study on AI Overviews expanding across commercial intent search, Google is pushing AI-generated answers into SERPs that carry real advertising value. These aren’t just “what is” queries anymore. Product comparisons, service evaluations, and buying-stage searches now trigger AI Overviews that can satisfy user intent before a single organic or paid listing gets a click.

For our clients, this means we’re auditing every high-value keyword cluster for AI Overview presence. If an Overview appears, we assess whether our client’s content is being cited within it — and if not, we restructure content to earn that citation. Passivity here costs money.

PPC Strategy Needs a Full Rebuild for AI-Era SERPs

Running paid campaigns without accounting for AI Overviews is burning budget. When an AI Overview answers a commercial query above the fold, ad click-through rates drop. Our paid media team is now cross-referencing AI Overview data with campaign keyword lists before launch.

We’re following a tighter pre-launch framework, aligning with the eight critical PPC strategy decisions outlined by Semrush. The key shift: bid strategies, ad copy, and landing page design all need to account for reduced SERP real estate. We’re pushing clients toward longer-tail, higher-specificity keywords where AI Overviews are less prevalent — for now.

Ecommerce Stores Must Optimise for LLMs, Not Just Google’s Index

AI-powered shopping is arriving faster than most ecommerce teams realise. LLMs are beginning to recommend products, compare prices, and guide purchase decisions directly. If your product data isn’t structured for machine consumption, you’re invisible in this channel.

Our ecommerce clients are already benefiting from the tactics covered in Semrush’s guide to optimising online stores for LLMs and agentic commerce. We’re prioritising clean product schema, detailed specification markup, and authoritative product descriptions that LLMs can parse and cite. This isn’t theoretical — it’s a live ranking factor in AI Search results today.

Google’s Open Knowledge Format Sets the Rules for AI Agents

Google has released the Open Knowledge Format (OKF), a new standard designed to make structured knowledge consumable by AI agents. This is a direct signal about where search is heading. As detailed in the report on Google’s Open Knowledge Format launch, marketers who adopt this standard early will have a structural advantage when AI agents become primary intermediaries between brands and customers.

We’re already reviewing OKF documentation and testing implementation across pilot client sites. Structured data has always mattered. OKF raises the stakes considerably.

Choosing the Right SEO Tooling at Scale

Monitoring AI visibility requires tooling that can keep pace. For agencies and in-house teams managing large portfolios, the choice between standard and enterprise platforms is no longer cosmetic. We’ve been evaluating this exact decision using Semrush’s comparison of their standard and enterprise platforms. The enterprise tier offers the reporting depth, API access, and multi-project management that AI-era SEO demands at scale.

For our larger clients, enterprise-grade tooling isn’t optional. The volume of SERP changes driven by AI Overviews alone requires automated tracking that standard plans can’t deliver efficiently.

The commercial search landscape is shifting under our feet. AI Overviews, LLM-driven shopping, and new structured data standards like OKF are rewriting the rules simultaneously. We’re treating this as an operational priority across every client engagement — adjusting content strategies, paid campaigns, technical SEO, and tooling choices in real time. Brands that wait for clarity will find their competitors have already moved.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are AI Overviews in Google search and how do they affect website traffic?

AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries Google displays at the top of search results, answering queries directly on the SERP. They reduce click-through rates to organic and paid listings by satisfying user intent before users scroll to traditional results.

How do web designers optimise ecommerce sites for AI search engines?

We implement detailed product schema markup, write comprehensive specification-rich descriptions, and structure data so LLMs can parse and cite it accurately. This ensures products surface in AI-generated shopping recommendations and comparison results.

Why does PPC strategy need to change because of AI Overviews?

AI Overviews push paid ads further down the page and answer commercial queries before users reach ad placements. PPC campaigns must now target longer-tail keywords and adjust bidding strategies to account for reduced visibility on AI-disrupted SERPs.

What is Google’s Open Knowledge Format and why should marketers care?

Open Knowledge Format is a new Google standard that structures knowledge specifically for AI agents to consume. Marketers who adopt it early will have their content more reliably surfaced when AI agents mediate search, shopping, and information retrieval.