Nobody asked for a narrator, yet Google cast itself as Morgan Freeman for your brand anyway.

Say my name, say my name: AI Overviews jumped from 26% to 82% of DemandSphere's tracked branded queries in September, peaking at 90% on Sept. 27.

Google hasn't announced a thing.

Before you panic, most branded AI Overviews sit mid-page, below the official site. Only Google's own name and news publishers seem exempt. Convenient.

Still, the summary appears whether it cites you or not. So check:

• Which branded queries trigger one.
• What it says about you.
• Which sources it cites.

Speaking of citations, Google's AI contribution pilot pays some publishers under 0.1% of their ad revenue. Payouts appear in Search Console with zero explanation.

So don't build your content plan around AI licensing checks.

The ad tech bill might come due, though: A federal judge let publishers' core antitrust claims proceed against Google.

Experts for Gannett, Daily Mail and a publisher class put damages above $3B.

If you buy programmatic, the fees and auction rules in your stack are heading to trial.

Google may end up paying publishers real money yet, courtesy of a judge.