Google has started showing AI Overviews for many brand-name searches in the right-hand column of the results page, the spot where a knowledge panel usually sits. Search Engine Roundtable reported the change on November 2, 2026. The examples so far are big national brands, and Google has not announced anything. For a plumber, dentist or law firm, it is still worth a look, because the box next to your name on Google is where many customers check you out before they call.
What changed
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AI Overviews moved to the side. PPC Land reported that Google “has moved the AI Overviews for many brand-related keywords to the right-hand column of the search results page.” Before, they “appeared at the top or middle of the main search results section.” In the examples shown, the brand’s own website moves back to the top of the main column.
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Who spotted it. David McSweeney posted on X on October 31, 2026, that Google “has changed the layout for branded searches.” Chris Long of Nectiv posted on November 2 that Google was “showing AI Overviews for brand terms in the right column.” The searches cited include Apple, Zillow, Coca-Cola and Google.
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It mixes AI text with facts. PPC Land describes each right-column panel as AI-written text combined with rows of facts. Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable wrote that the change effectively replaces brand knowledge panels with AI Overviews. He also reported a separate October 27 post by Sachin Patel showing a Google knowledge panel with an AI-generated label.
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No word from Google. PPC Land says Google “has not announced the change,” and has not said whether the layout is a test or permanent. All published examples are US desktop results.
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It follows a fast rise. In a study published October 2, 2026, Ahrefs tracked 100 large global brands searched by name. AI Overviews appeared for five of 98 usable results on July 1 and for 63 of the 100 by September 30. Across its wider US desktop data, Ahrefs found AI Overviews on 82.91% of branded keyword results on September 29.
What it means for a local service business
None of the reported examples is a local business. Google has not said whether searches for a local company name are affected. But the direction is clear. When someone searches a business by name, Google is putting more AI-written text next to the result, and less of what the business wrote itself.
That matters more for a local firm than for Apple. Someone who searches a local business by name has usually already found it once and is checking before they call. They want the phone number, the hours, the reviews, and a sense of whether you are real and still open. If an AI summary sits in that spot, it should get those facts right.
Search your own name on a computer
Open a private browser window on a desktop or laptop and search your exact business name, then your name plus your town. Look at the right column. Note whether you see your Business Profile panel, an AI Overview, or both. Take a dated screenshot. Do it again in a few weeks, so a dated record shows you if and when the layout reaches you.
Read the AI text against your own facts
If an AI Overview appears for your name, read every line. Check the services listed, the areas served, the year you opened and any claims about licenses or pricing. PPC Land found a real example of a mismatch: in the Zillow panel, the AI summary gave a founding year of 2006 while the fact row beside it said 2004. A local business has fewer sources about it online, so one stale directory listing or old article can carry more weight.
Make the same facts say the same thing everywhere
Google’s own guidance for AI features asks site owners to check “that your Merchant Center and Business Profile information is up-to-date.” Start there. Then make sure your website states your name, address, phone number, services and service area in plain text, and that it matches your Business Profile word for word where it can. If your founding year, owner’s name or licensing appears on one page, it should not contradict another.
Do not hide your key pages from snippets
Google says that to appear in AI Overviews, “a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet.” If a developer added nosnippet or max-snippet rules to your site, your own About and Services pages may be kept out of the summary that describes you. That leaves the AI to rely on other people’s pages.
What did not change
Google says “there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary,” and that “the best practices for SEO remain relevant.” There is no special markup to add. It adds: “There’s also no special schema.org structured data that you need to add.”
Measurement has not improved either. The Ahrefs study does not measure clicks, so it cannot show whether brand AI Overviews send fewer people to a brand’s website. No one outside Google can see that yet.
And no AI engine can be bought or guaranteed. You cannot pay to control what an AI Overview says about you. What you can do is keep the facts it draws on correct, and check the result on a schedule. A fixed set of buyer questions re-run every month, including a search for your own name, shows you what customers actually see.
The short version
Google is moving AI Overviews for many brand searches into the right column, where the knowledge panel used to be. The examples are national brands, and Google has not said whether local businesses are next. Search your own name on a computer now, screenshot what you see, and make sure your website and Business Profile give the same correct facts.