AI Overviews cite self-ranked 'best of' pages less, Lily Ray finds
Self-ranking “best of” pages — where a company ranks itself first on its own comparison page — are showing up less often in Google AI Overviews, per an Oct. 4 analysis by SEO consultant Lily Ray of Amsive. Ray found AI Overviews omitted the self-ranked brand from 83% of answers citing such pages in September 2026, up from 69% in June, with a competitor recommended instead in 70% of cases, based on a tracked set of 100 “best B2B software” queries. The finding cuts against an August analysis by Kevin Indig that found 62% of vendor-authored listicles gained organic traffic since January, and against Scrunch’s own measurement of a 24.3% competitor-recommendation rate.
Why it matters: Self-ranking content is a common AEO tactic, and this is early, contested evidence that Google's AI Overviews may be working against it rather than a settled trend.
The record: Google AI OverviewsGoogle
Glossary: SEOAI Overviews
Via PPC Land ↗
Posted to the wire October 5, 2026. Edited by Joe Balewski.