Google Shows AI Overviews on 98% of Software Review Searches, New Study Finds

The Recurring Commission Atlas measured 1,761 Google results pages and 479 ChatGPT and Gemini answers. Review searches fell by a median 50% in a year.

SAINT-LAMBERT, QUEBEC, CANADA, September 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — A new study from NetPartners Marketing finds that Google displays an AI Overview on 98% of “[brand] review” searches for business software and on 100% of “[brand] alternatives” searches. The data comes from the Recurring Commission Atlas, a free public ranking of 576 SaaS affiliate programs launched this month.

The study pulled 1,761 live Google results pages in the United States on September 23, 2026 and asked ChatGPT and Gemini 479 questions about software categories and affiliate programs.

Key findings:

– AI Overviews appeared on 89% of software review, alternatives and pricing searches combined. Pricing searches were the least covered at 75%, because Google often sends users straight to the vendor.
– Of 177 “[brand] review” keywords with at least 50 monthly searches, 86% declined year on year. The median change was -50%.
– AI Overviews cited 8,503 sources. Independent websites earned 36% of citations, forums and video 23%, software vendors 19% and review platforms such as G2 and Trustpilot 18%.
– YouTube was the most cited single domain, appearing in 53% of AI Overviews that listed sources.
– ChatGPT and Gemini never named 48 of the 117 top-ranked recurring affiliate programs across 326 category answers. HubSpot, GetResponse and ActiveCampaign were named most often.
– Of 90 programs advertising “30% recurring” commissions or more, 29 did not hold up. 27 paid less at the entry tier or stopped paying too early according to their own terms pages and 2 published no terms at all.

“Software buyers still research before they buy, but a growing share of that research now ends inside an AI answer,” said Zoltan Juhasz, founder of NetPartners Marketing and author of the study. “For anyone who publishes reviews, ranking on page one is no longer the finish line. The pages that get quoted are the ones with original, dated numbers.”

The Atlas scores each program on what one referral is actually worth over 24 months, on search demand and on whether independent websites can realistically win the traffic. The HighLevel affiliate program, which pays 40% recurring for the life of the customer, serves as the benchmark index of 100. SE Ranking, Skool, Systeme.io and Thinkific scored highest among the 116 other programs on the board.

The full methodology, program pages and the underlying data are available free of charge. The findings are published in the Atlas AI search report, alongside the complete ranking.

About NetPartners Marketing

NetPartners Marketing is the trade name of Agence Vesta Inc., a bilingual marketing consultancy based in Saint-Lambert, Quebec. It publishes netpartners.marketing, an independent guide to HighLevel for agencies and service businesses, and the Recurring Commission Atlas. The company is a HighLevel affiliate partner and a partner of other affiliate programs listed in the Atlas. Rankings are calculated from the published data and are not paid placements.

Zoltan Juhasz
Agence Vesta Inc.
+1 514-907-7709
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