When someone searches for your business by name, Google may now answer with an AI summary before they ever see your listing or your website. New tracking data suggests that shift happened fast, and it changes what a customer sees about you first.
What the Data Shows
Ahrefs tracked the exact names of 100 large global brands on U.S. Google every week from July through September. AI Overviews appeared on just 5 of 98 on July 1, then on 63 of 100 by September 30. In Ahrefs' broader set of branded searches, the share with an AI Overview rose from 61.3% in July to 73.3% in September. A second tracker, DemandSphere, saw its daily share jump sharply in late September.
One caution: this study covered big global brands, not neighborhood businesses, so the exact numbers may not match what your name triggers. The direction is still worth paying attention to.
Why This Matters for Local Businesses
A branded search is usually your warmest traffic: someone who already knows you and is deciding whether to call. If an AI summary now sits above your listing, what it says about you matters as much as where you rank. The same data shows where those summaries pull from. Wikipedia, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook were among the most-cited sources, which means profiles you may not be watching can shape the answer. That is the kind of citation behavior that makes consistent, accurate details across platforms worth the effort.
It is also not clear how often a brand's own website is the source, or what any of this does to clicks. Treat it as an early signal, not a verdict.
What to Do About It
Search your exact business name on Google and read any AI Overview from top to bottom, including the sources it lists.
Check every fact it states: services, hours, location or service area, and phone number. Note anything wrong or missing.
Fix the sources you control first: your Google Business Profile, website, and the major directories and social profiles that tend to get cited.
Save a dated screenshot now so you can compare in a month; these summaries change often.
Watch branded impressions and clicks in Search Console to see whether people still reach your site after seeing the summary.
Your name search used to be the one result you could count on. Check what AI says about you now, and make sure the sources it relies on tell the same accurate story.
Further reading: AI Overviews Are Now Answering Most Local Searches: Is Your Business Still Invisible?
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