Does this affect businesses in New Zealand?

Nobody knows yet. Every published example is a US desktop search, mostly for large brands such as Apple and Zillow. There is no evidence either way for New Zealand, or for small local businesses, so check your own brand search rather than assuming.

Will this send more clicks to my website?

Unknown. In the examples, the brand's own site opens the main column, but nobody has published click data. Compare your branded clicks in Search Console over the next few weeks instead of guessing.

What should I do about it?

Search your business name on desktop, read what Google says about you, and fix anything wrong at the source, usually your Google Business Profile or your own website. Don't rewrite your site because of a report about US searches.

Google AI Overviews for Brand Searches Move to the Right Column: What We Know

Q: Has Google confirmed AI Overviews moving to the right column?

No. As of 4 November 2026 Google has not announced the change, and its Search Status Dashboard lists nothing for it. The latest entry is the September 2026 spam update, which it marked complete on 8 October. The report comes from Search Engine Roundtable and search marketers who noticed it on X.

Search Engine Roundtable reported on 2 November 2026 that Google has moved the AI Overviews for many brand searches into the right-hand column of the results page. Google has not confirmed it, and the examples so far are all US desktop searches. This is what has been reported, what is unknown, and what I would check.

What happened

Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google has moved the AI Overviews for many brand-related keywords to the right-hand column. It said they previously appeared at the top or in the middle of the main results. Its example was a search for Apple. Source: Search Engine Roundtable.

Two search marketers noticed it on X first. David McSweeney posted on 31 October that AI Overviews for branded searches now seem to be generally in a right panel on desktop, or in some cases further down the page, and that he was seeing other variations too. Chris Long wrote that Google is showing AI Overviews for brand terms in the right column instead of a knowledge panel.

What Google has said

Nothing. There is no announcement and no help page change that I can find, and PPC Land noted that Google has not said whether this is a test or permanent. Google’s Search Status Dashboard lists nothing for it. The latest entry is the September 2026 spam update, which was marked complete on 8 October.

What the examples show

PPC Land described the examples in detail. For a search for Apple or Zillow, the brand’s own site opens the main column. The right column carries a panel labelled “AI Overview”, with a short AI-written description of the company, plus facts such as founders, headquarters and chief executive. PPC Land’s reading is that the content has been compressed, moved sideways and merged with the facts that used to sit in the knowledge panel.

The sources in those summaries are not only the brand’s own site. PPC Land’s Coca-Cola example, for instance, cites Wikipedia and loc.gov.

What is not known

Test or rollout. Google has said nothing. PPC Land reads McSweeney’s note about variations as a sign the rollout is uneven.
Which countries. Every published example is set to the United States, and all are on desktop.
Which businesses. The examples are large brands. Nobody has published how small local businesses look.
Clicks. In the examples the brand’s site is back at the top of the main column, but nobody has published click data, so whether it changes traffic is a guess.

Search Engine Roundtable’s author thinks the right column works better than the main results. He also said it is not great to trust AI to write about your brand as well as your own website would. That is his opinion, not something Google has said.

How to check your own business

Search your exact business name on desktop, in a private window, and write down what appears and where: a knowledge panel, an AI Overview, a map or none.
Read every fact it states about you, such as your address, hours, phone number and services. Fix anything wrong at the source, which is usually your Google Business Profile or your own website.
In Search Console, filter queries to those containing your business name and compare clicks and impressions week on week. Note the date you started looking, and rule out seasonality and tracking problems before blaming a layout change.
Keep a dated log with screenshots. My guide to tracking AI Overview visibility shows a simple way to do it.

What to do, and what not to do

Do:

Keep your Google Business Profile accurate: categories, hours, services, phone number and website.
Say plainly on your own site who you are, where you work and what you do, on your about, contact and service pages.
Keep your business name, address and phone number the same everywhere they appear.

I can’t tell you that any of this changes what Google writes. It is the part you control, and the examples show summaries drawing on more than one source.

Don’t:

Rewrite your site because of a report about US searches.
Assume it applies in New Zealand until you have seen it in your own results.
Pay anyone who promises to control what AI Overviews say about you. Nobody outside Google can.

Keep track

Every update, confirmed or not, is listed with sources in the Google and AI search update tracker. For how AI answers treat your business, see the AI search visibility guide or the AI Visibility Audit. If you want a second pair of eyes on your brand search, start with a free SEO audit. I also covered Google’s earlier AI Mode links change.