Real-Time Search Data Reveals Google’s November Update Impact on AI Overviews and Organic Rankings

1. AIO Citations and Organic Search Are Starting to Sync! A fascinating trend we’re seeing this month: there’s a growing overlap between sites featured in AI Overviews (AIO) and organic search results. This shift, first noticed in September, has only strengthened, especially in the top 10 organic search positions. High-ranking organic pages arenow more likely to be cited by AIO, suggesting Google is aligning AIO sources more closely with its organic search algorithm.

2. While Google hasn’t confirmed anything, it’s possible AIO is grounding itself in organic rankings, which are more precisely tailored to user intent. The alignment reflects patterns Google hinted at in its information gain patent, where organic search rankings are closely tied to AI-driven results—a trend BrightEdge continues to track.

3. Divergent Paths for Shopping Queries This alignment trend between AIO and organic results doesn’t apply to shopping-related queries. For these, organic rankings and AIO citations are increasingly disconnected. BrightEdge’s analysis suggests that AIO results for shopping queries are backed by additional, distinct sources, creating a split between organic and AIO results in these cases.

4. Google’s update is still rolling out, but BrightEdge’s Generative Parser technology reveals that shopping SERPs are taking a separate path.

5. Downward Trend in Overlap Early November saw a minor (+2.3%) increase in ranking overlap volatility between AIO and organic results. But soon after, volatility dropped (-3.7%), with a steady downward trend following the update announcement.

6. Spiking Volatility Following Update Release Once the update rolled out, overlap volatility between AIO and organic results spiked. BrightEdge interprets this as a pattern of redistribution in rankings. It’s likely a rebalancing act between AIO and organic search, which could stabilize as the update concludes. Interestingly, lower-ranking positions (21-30) saw the highest volatility:

• • Top 10 positions: +10.6% in volatility
  • Positions 11-20: -5.9% decline
  • Positions 21-30: +23.3% increase

New Patterns in AIO Citations 

Initial volatility hints at specific query types receiving more attention in this update. These real-time results might still evolve as Google rolls out the remaining phases, but they provide a glimpse into how AIO is reshaping content citation patterns.

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