Data Shows How AI Overviews is Ranking Shopping Keywords

Data Shows How AI Overviews is Ranking Shopping Keywords

The trend of ranking shopping keywords shows marketers where AI search is showing up within the buyer’s journey and what businesses should expect.

AI overviews are Google’s generative artificial intelligence summaries that appear prominently on search results, often before organic listings and sometimes even above ads. Unlike features snippets, which extract concise information from a single web page to answer a specific query, AI overviews synthesize information from multiple sources to provide a more comprehensive summary. This approach provides users with a broader, more streamlined understanding of their search topic without the need to click through multiple links.

These overviews leverage Google's comprehensive understanding of the web and often include references to the web pages, such as the Digital Marketing Institute example in the image above.

The integration of ads directly within AI-generated summaries raises new considerations for both visibility and attribution, which are two important pillars of SEO and PPC strategy.

Google is concentrating AI in parts of the shopping process where it gives informational value, especially during research and evaluation, aligning AI overviews with the points in the shopping journey where users need help comparing options or understanding product details.

BrightEdge reported that Google only retain 30% of the AI overview keywords that appeared at the peak of its September 1 through October 15, 2025, research window.

AI is a Comparison and Evaluation Layer

As per BrightEdge’s research, AI overviews aligning with shopper intent and Google placing AI in research queries like “best TV for gaming”, continuous support for evaluation queries such as “Samsung vs LG”, and then withdraws when users show purchase intent with searches such as “Samsung S95C price”

AI serves as an educational and comparison layer, not a transactional one.

AI’s Usefulness Varies Across Categories

Google adjusts AIO keywords retention based on these needs. Categories that retained AI Overviews, such as Grocery, TV and Home Theatre, and Small Appliances, share a pattern. 

Users rely on comparison, explanation, and instruction during their decisions. While categories with low retention, such as Furniture and Home, rely on visual browsing rather than text-based evaluation, this limits the value of AI.

Google’s category patterns suggest that AI occurs more often in categories where text-based information (like comparison, explanation, and instruction) informs decisions.

Shopping Trends Influencing AI Appearance

AI helps shoppers understand options in November, assists with comparison in early December, and by late December, AI tends to be less influential and traditional search results tend to complete the sale. This ultimately makes November the key moment for making evaluation and comparison content easier for AI to cite. While once December arrives, the chance for AI-driven discovery shrinks because consumers have moved on to the final leg of their shopping journey, purchase.

Brands should align their content strategies with the points in the journey where AI overviews are active. BrightEdge advises identifying evaluation and transactional pages, ensuring the comparison content is indexed early, and watching category-specific retention patterns.

Two areas where brands can focus their efforts-

1. Supporting AI during research and review stages
2. Improving organic search visibility for purchasing queries

The 18% year-over-year consistency figure shows that flexibility is needed, as queries shown in AI overviews change frequently.

Shoppers using AI in ecommerce: AI shopping trend

Not just a part of the ecommerce future, AI is powering the shopper journey

From personalized product discovery in Perplexity to virtual try-ons, dynamic pricing, and proactive reordering, artificial intelligence is reshaping every touchpoint of how consumers find, evaluate, and buy.

#1 Discover products via GenAI

Shoppers are turning to generative AI tools to discover products in a more conversational, intuitive way.

Instead of typing fragmented keywords, shoppers described exactly what they need, like “show me comfy office chairs under USD 300 with lumbar support”, and get curated results instantly.

#2 Virtual try-ons with AI visual modeling

Virtual try-ons seem like a novelty, solving fundamental e-commerce problems, which include how to visualize products on yourself without physically trying them on. The tools provide a valuable preview that aids in avoiding sizing guesswork, styling regret, or the hassle of returns.

Younger, mobile-first consumers are particularly open to the experience, and as the underlying tech improves, it can capture body types, fabric behaviour, and even lighting conditions.

Where it’s happening:

• Fashion, beauty, and eyewear brands
• Google AI mode offering a “Try it on” experience

#3 Voice search guided by AI and LLMs

Consumers are turning to voice assistants such as Amazon, Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Assistant, Samsung Bixby - and now ChatGPT’s voice mode to search products, compare prices, and even make purchases, all without lifting a finger.

Where shoppers are using voice search today:

• Amazon Alexa
• Apple Siri
• Google Assistant
• Walmart Voice Order
• Target and Best Buy
• ChatGPT Voice

As per the 2024 survey from TRLUS Digital Experience, found that 81% of Americans use voice tech daily or weekly.

#4 Visual search made smart with AI recognition

Visual search empowers shoppers to snap or upload a photo of an outfit, a chair in a coffee shop, or something spotted on social media and instantly find lookalike products online. It removes the frustration of trying to describe an item with vague keywords.

Where is it happening?

• Smartphones come with built-in visual search
• Amazon, IKEA, and ASOS
• Wayfair and Zara

In 2020, Google Lens could recognize 15 billion products using AI, which is assumed to be much higher today.

#5 Agentic commerce

In shopping, agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence that can autonomously take action on a shopper’s behalf—like tracking a product, adding it to the cart, or completing a purchase—based on their preferences and intent.

For example, ChatGPT’s Agent Mode allows users to delegate multi-step tasks such as finding a gift, comparing reviews, and placing an order, by ensuring that AI interact with third-party tools and websites.

Where it’s happening:

• Google AI Mode’s agentic checkout
• Amazon and Walmart’s AI assistants
• Alibaba’s Wenwen

#6 Predictive nudges and AI-powered reordering

By analyzing browsing behavior, purchase history, timing patterns, and even seasonal context, predictive systems now remind shoppers what to buy before they even think to search.

Where it’s happening:

• Ecommerce websites
• Amazon’s Subscribe & Save, Chewy’s Autoship, and Walmart’s Auto Reorder
• Email, SMS, and push campaigns.