Two Years In: How Google's AI Rewired Search (and What Comes Next)

Originally presented on Tuesday, June 17, 2026, this on-demand session takes a deep look at two years of exclusive BrightEdge research tracking the rise of Google's AI in search from the first rollouts to the prompt-driven journeys customers navigate today. 

AI Overviews have gone from a novelty to the default first impression across nearly every major industry. But the story behind that shift, how citation patterns matured, which brands stayed visible and which didn't, and what the two-year trend line predicts for the year ahead, is one most marketers haven't seen told with this much data. 

What you'll learn: 

• How two years of AI search growth has compressed the funnel and what this means for measurement, content strategy, and planning
• How citation patterns have evolved, including which content earns AI visibility now and where the long tail opened doors for emerging brands
• How leading marketing teams are monitoring their prompt universe and adapting to a customer journey that keeps changing 

Why watch 

• Rated 4.20/5 for overall satisfaction and 4.22/5 for relevance by attendees, strong signal this content resonates directly with marketers navigating AI search right now.
• Get a two-year look at exactly how Google's AI expanded, stalled, and pivoted across industries with data that makes the next phase of AI search far more predictable.
• Understand the citation economics that determine whether your brand gets named or skipped and what the trend line says about where that bar is heading.
• See why this topic is resonating with marketers: the most-valued part of the session was AEO strategies and best practices, followed by AI Overviews: two years in review and what the data reveals about where most teams currently stand.
• Explore the themes attendees want more of next, including writing content for AI, platform-specific optimisation, improving brand citations, and executive reporting for the AI era. 

Top 3 Takeaways 

1. The funnel has already compressed, do your metrics reflect that? 

AI Overviews aren't just appearing more often, they're doing more. Some industries have seen coverage rates jump from near-zero to dominant in under a year. The way customers discover, compare, and decide has structurally changed. The question is whether your content strategy and measurement framework have caught up. 

2. AI is naming fewer brands and reading more sources, the visibility equation has flipped 

The shortlists AI engines serve to customers have gotten shorter, while the source base they draw from has grown substantially. That combination means the brands that do get mentioned have earned it across a much wider citation footprint. Watch the session to see exactly where that gap is opening and what's closing it for the brands staying visible. 

3. Most marketing teams are watching. Very few are actually building against it. 

BrightEdge's marketer pulse data reveals a striking execution gap and it's the same gap your competitors are sitting in. The teams moving through it fastest share a specific approach to prompt intent that most programs haven't adopted yet. The window is open, but the data suggests it won't stay that way.