AI Overviews cites 38% fewer self-promotional listicles, drops brands 83% of the time: data

lilyraynyc · x · 2026-10-01

SEO expert Lily Ray updated data (100 queries) on how Google's AI Overviews treat self-promotional "best of" listicles (September vs June):

38% fewer citations of self-promotional listicles
Brands behind them are omitted 83% of the time, up from 69% in June
In 70% of cases the self-promoting listicle now helps competitors get recommended while the recommending brand itself is excluded

For brands doing content marketing and SEO, the "write a listicle praising yourself" playbook is failing—and even backfiring—in the AI search era.

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