ZipTie vs Semrush: 17x more AI Overviews (!?)

ZipTie Team

3 min read

Published: September 13, 2024

Updated: September 6, 2026

Semrush, a well-known SEO tool, recently announced support for tracking AI Overviews. Our in-depth research has uncovered a startling discrepancy. Ziptie shows up to 17x more AI Overviews than Semrush. Our analysis reveals that while Semrush might show AI Overviews appearing for just 1-2% of keywords, ZipTie often detects them in 20-30% of cases, and for some query types, even up to 50%.

Just one example: when analyzing Onely.com (our sister company), ZipTie detects AI Overviews for 28% of keywords, compared to Semrush’s 1.6% (17x more!)

This significant difference isn’t just a matter of numbers – it represents a fundamental gap in how these tools perceive the prevalence and importance of AI-generated content in search results.

For SEO professionals relying on Semrush data alone, this could mean severely underestimating the impact of AI Overviews on their business strategies.

Let’s dive deeper into these differences, explore their potential causes, and discuss what they mean for SEO professionals looking to optimize their content in an increasingly AI-driven search landscape.

Key Differences in AI Overview Detection

Our comparison revealed some striking differences:

ZipTie consistently detects more AI Overviews than Semrush:

Detection Rate

This discrepancy is significant, as it affects how SEO professionals might perceive the prevalence of AI Overviews in search results.

Depth of Insights

ZipTie offers more detailed information about AI Overviews

• Tracks how your domain performs in AI Overviews over time
• Displays the full AI Overview response and list of sources. It’s not available in Semrush.
• Provides more comprehensive analytics specific to AI Overviews

Exploring the Differences

Why the huge gap?

We’ve identified two potential reasons:

1. We fully emulate Google’s user experiences (extremely difficult for Semrush or any other big players to do).
2. We frequently adapt to layout changes in AI Overviews

Strengths of Both Tools

We love Semrush, but it’s not good for tracking AI Overviews.

I would like to raise awareness, as I believe Semrush reports on AI Overviews may not be giving you the full picture.

It’s important to recognize that both tools have their merits:

Semrush:

• Offers a comprehensive suite of SEO tools
• Provides valuable insights for overall SEO strategy
• Has a strong reputation in the SEO community

ZipTie:

• Specializes in AI Overview tracking
• Offers more accurate and comprehensive data in this specific area
• Provides insights that closely align with actual user experiences.

Implications for SEO Strategies

The discrepancy in AI Overview detection between these tools has significant implications:

1. Informed decisions: relying solely on Semrush might lead to underestimating the prevalence of AI Overviews.
2. Content Optimization: More accurate data from ZipTie can help in better tailoring content to appear in and compete with AI Overviews.
3. Performance Tracking: ZipTie’s comprehensive AI Overviews tracking allows for better measurement of how content strategy changes affect domain appearance in AI Overviews.

Conclusion

While Semrush remains a powerful general SEO tool, ZipTie provides more accurate data about AI Overviews and deeper insights.

It’s crucial to understand that Semrush’s lower detection rate doesn’t indicate that AI Overviews are unimportant. On the contrary, ZipTie’s data suggests they are more prevalent than Semrush indicates, appearing in about 50% of certain types of searches.

By utilizing ZipTie, SEO professionals can gain a more accurate picture of AI Overviews in search results and better optimize their content for this evolving aspect of search.

As AI continues to play a larger role in search engines, tools that specialize in tracking these features will become increasingly valuable for maintaining a competitive edge in the digital landscape.