Google moved brand AI Overviews. Check your brand campaigns.

On November 2, Google moved AI Overviews for many brand searches into the right-hand column of desktop results. Its Performance Max help page now says those campaigns may pass brand queries to dedicated Search campaigns, so the money you spend on your own name deserves a look this week.

What changed

On November 2, AI Overviews for many brand keywords started appearing in the right column on desktop, where the knowledge panel used to sit. Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable reported the move with examples including Apple, Zillow, Coke and Google. Google hasn't said why it made the change. PPC Land noted that it arrived without an announcement and that the examples it saw were US results. (Source: PPC Land)

Ahrefs found AI Overviews on 63 of 100 brand names by September 30, 2026, with 48 of those in position one. On July 1, it found them on five of 98 usable results.

On the paid side, Google's Performance Max help page now says campaigns "may filter out navigational and brand-specific searches" in favor of brand Search campaigns. The page advises advertisers to fund those Search campaigns adequately and give them strong ads. It also says adding Search Themes may help keep the two aligned.

The budget mood is shifting too. Digiday spoke with 18 media buyers who said clients no longer treat Google search spend as automatic. Lindsay Marty put the contested slice at 10% to 20% of Google budgets. Farhad Divecha said about 10% of his clients' Google budgets are under question, possibly rising to 20% to 30% around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Tinuiti's Michelle Merklin said branded keyword cost per click rose 5% in the quarter. A Google spokesperson said AI Overviews "create new opportunities for brands."

What it means for you

This matters most if people search your business name and you run Search or Performance Max campaigns. Brand clicks are often the cheapest clicks in an account, and the page around them is changing.

If you spend nothing on Google Ads, you can skip most of this. The 10% to 30% figures come from buyers describing their own clients, not from Google data, so treat them as a sign of the mood rather than a rule for your budget.

The realistic cost of doing nothing is paying for brand clicks through a campaign no one is watching, or finding your brand Search campaign underfunded after Performance Max stops taking those queries.

What to do

1. Search your business name on desktop in a private browser window. Note what appears in the right column and whether the facts are right. You can't edit an AI Overview directly, but you can fix what your own website and listings say.
2. Confirm you have a brand Search campaign, that it has budget, and that its ads describe your business clearly. Google's help page names these as the things that capture filtered brand traffic.
3. Review which brand queries your Performance Max campaigns are triggering. If brand terms show up there, make sure a brand Search campaign is ready to take them. Check that your Search Themes match your brand, since Google's page links the two.
4. Compare brand cost per click and conversions over four weeks before you change anything. A single headline is a poor reason to cut a campaign.
5. Verify any Google Ads contact before you act on it. Google's support page says its representatives use email addresses ending in @xwf.google.com. Reports this week describe sales contacts with AI-generated profiles, and Google hasn't replied to questions about them.

If you run no Performance Max campaigns and no brand campaign, step 1 is the only one that applies.