Michael Scott · 7 November 2026

Google moves AI Overviews for brands to the right-hand column

Google has started moving the AI Overview on brand searches into the right-hand column, where the Knowledge Panel used to sit. Your site leads the results again, but the summary beside it is one you can't edit. Here's what's changed, what UK searchers see today and what to check.

Google moves AI Overviews for brands to the right-hand column

Google has moved the AI Overview for many brand searches out of the main results and into the right-hand column on desktop. That's the spot where the Knowledge Panel has sat for more than a decade.

Search Engine Roundtable reported the change on 2 November 2026, after SEOs Chris Long and David McSweeney spotted it over the previous few days. Google hasn't made an official announcement.

What's changed

Until now, an AI Overview for a brand search sat at the top or in the middle of the main results, often above the brand's own website. In the new layout:

  • Your website leads the main column again, with its sitelinks underneath.
  • The AI Overview sits in the right-hand panel, labelled "AI Overview", where the Knowledge Panel used to be.
  • The examples so far are big US brands such as Apple, Zillow, Coca-Cola and Google, on desktop.

This follows a rapid rise in AI Overviews on brand searches. DemandSphere's tracking found them on about 26% of branded queries on 1 September and more than 90% by 27 September.

What UK searchers see today

We checked from the UK on 7 November, and a Google search for "apple" still shows the old layout. Apple's website leads the main column, and the right-hand panel is the familiar Knowledge Panel, with a description pulled from Wikipedia rather than an AI Overview.

Full Google UK desktop results page for apple on 7 November 2026: Apple's website and sitelinks lead the main column, a Sponsored Products block and then the Knowledge Panel sit in the right-hand column, and the AI Overview still appears lower down in the main results
Google UK search for "apple", 7 November 2026: Apple's site leads the main column, the Knowledge Panel sits on the right, and the AI Overview is still in the main results.

So for now this looks like a US change. Google often rolls layouts like this out more widely, though, so UK brands should expect it and get ready.

Why it matters for brands

The good news: your own site is back at the top of the page for people searching your name. That's better for click-through than having an AI summary pushed above you.

The catch: the Knowledge Panel was built from information brands could claim, check and correct. The AI Overview that replaces it is written by Google's AI, and you can't edit it.

That summary can draw on review sites, forum threads, out-of-date directory listings or a competitor's comparison page. So for many people, the first description they see of your business is now one you don't control.

It's also hard to measure. Search Console's AI reporting shows impressions but no clicks or queries, so you can't yet see whether the new layout sends you more or fewer visits.

What we'd do now

  1. Google your own brand name on desktop and mobile, and check what the AI Overview says about you. The examples so far are US brands, so it may not have reached every UK search yet.
  2. Check the facts. Look for wrong opening hours, old addresses, discontinued services or a competitor's framing.
  3. Tidy up the sources AI draws on. Keep your About page clear, your Google Business Profile and directory listings consistent, and your reviews healthy.
  4. Keep an eye on branded traffic. Watch brand clicks in Search Console and GA4 over the coming weeks for any change.

If you'd like us to audit how Google's AI describes your brand, get in touch with the Clicky team.

Sources