By Felipe Morales, CEO of ESBUENISIMO LINKS
AI Overviews in Latin America 2026: they appear in 84.5% of searches
AI Overviews in Latin America: a study of 200 searches in Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Argentina. Which searches show them, by country and industry, and which sources they cite.
Updated November 10, 2026, with 200 searches measured that same day.
AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries Google shows above the results, are no longer a test: in Latin America they appear in the vast majority of searches. To measure it, ESBUENISIMO LINKS ran the same 40 Google searches in Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Argentina, 200 in total, and checked which ones showed an AI Overview and which sites it cited.
The result: 84.5% of searches showed an AI Overview (169 of 200). Each one cited seven different sources on average, and YouTube was the most cited, present in 68% of the summaries. News media, by contrast, appeared in just 11.8%.
View the data as a table
| of searches showed an AI Overview (169 of 200) | 84.5% |
| different sources cited on average per AI Overview | 7 |
| of AI Overviews cite at least one YouTube video | 68% |
| of AI Overviews cite a news outlet | 11.8% |
Study methodology
We chose 40 searches in neutral Spanish, five per industry across eight industries (finance, health, technology, travel, education, cars, home and shopping, and marketing), half informational ("how to save money") and half commercial ("best credit card"). Each one was run from the five countries on November 10, 2026, on desktop, through the DataForSEO Google results API, which also loads AI summaries that appear with a delay. We counted each source once per summary, by domain.
It is a limited sample: it works for comparing countries, industries and source types, not for estimating the exact share of all searches in a country. Google explains in its documentation on AI features in Search that AI Overviews appear when its systems consider they add value, so results vary by query and by day.
AI Overviews by country: Chile leads
Chile had the most AI summaries: 36 of 40 searches (90%). It was followed by Mexico (87.5%), Peru (85%), Argentina (82.5%) and Colombia (77.5%). The number of sources per summary was similar, between 6.8 and 7.2.
| Country | Searches with AI Overview | Share | Sources per AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chile | 36 of 40 | 90.0% | 7.08 |
| Mexico | 35 of 40 | 87.5% | 6.86 |
| Peru | 34 of 40 | 85.0% | 7.18 |
| Argentina | 33 of 40 | 82.5% | 6.94 |
| Colombia | 31 of 40 | 77.5% | 6.77 |
View the data as a table
| Chile | 90.0% · 36 of 40 searches |
| Mexico | 87.5% · 35 of 40 searches |
| Peru | 85.0% · 34 of 40 searches |
| Argentina | 82.5% · 33 of 40 searches |
| Colombia | 77.5% · 31 of 40 searches |
In Chile, the figure matches our study of who ranks on Google Chile: 82 of 100 commercial searches already showed an AI Overview in early November.
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Intent matters more than country. Informational searches showed an AI Overview in 94% of cases; commercial ones in 75%. By industry, finance and education had a summary in all 25 searches measured, and travel had the fewest (72%).
| Search type | With AI Overview | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Informational (what is, how to, symptoms) | 94 of 100 | 94% |
| Commercial (best, insurance, product) | 75 of 100 | 75% |
| Total | 169 of 200 | 84.5% |
The searches that almost never showed a summary have something in common: they are local or immediate-purchase queries. "Clínica dental" (dental clinic) had no AI Overview in any country; "qué hacer en Cusco" (what to do in Cusco) only in Mexico; "vuelos baratos" (cheap flights), "colchón" (mattress) and "agencia de marketing digital" (digital marketing agency) in two of five. There, Google still prefers maps, ads and product listings.
| mejor tarjeta de crédito | Finance | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| cómo invertir dinero | Finance | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| qué es un crédito hipotecario | Finance | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| cómo ahorrar dinero | Finance | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| seguro de vida | Finance | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| síntomas de la diabetes | Health | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| cómo bajar de peso | Health | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| mejor protector solar | Health | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| qué es la presión alta | Health | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| clínica dental | Health | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| mejor celular calidad precio | Technology | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| notebook para estudiantes | Technology | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| qué es la inteligencia artificial | Technology | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| cómo usar chatgpt | Technology | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| mejor plan de internet hogar | Technology | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| qué hacer en cusco | Travel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| mejores playas del caribe | Travel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| seguro de viaje | Travel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| vuelos baratos | Travel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| cuándo viajar a europa | Travel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| mejores universidades | Education | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| cursos online gratis | Education | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| cómo aprender inglés | Education | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| qué estudiar | Education | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| becas para estudiar en el extranjero | Education | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| mejor auto eléctrico | Cars | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| seguro de auto | Cars | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| autos usados | Cars | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| cómo cambiar un neumático | Cars | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| suv más vendido | Cars | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| mejor lavadora | Home and shopping | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| cómo limpiar un sillón | Home and shopping | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| colchón | Home and shopping | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| freidora de aire | Home and shopping | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| regalos de navidad | Home and shopping | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| qué es el seo | Marketing and business | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| cómo crear una página web | Marketing and business | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| agencia de marketing digital | Marketing and business | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| cómo vender por internet | Marketing and business | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| qué es el link building | Marketing and business | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Which sources AI Overviews cite
Of the 1,102 citations recorded, 59.5% went to company, brand, comparison and specialized blog sites; 22.2% to video and social media; 6.6% to education sites; 5.5% to governments and agencies; and only 2% to news media.
| Domain | AI Overviews citing it (of 169) |
|---|---|
| youtube.com | 115 (68.0%) |
| instagram.com | 54 (32.0%) |
| facebook.com | 43 (25.4%) |
| google.com | 34 (20.1%) |
| mayoclinic.org | 14 (8.3%) |
| reddit.com | 13 (7.7%) |
| wikipedia.org | 11 (6.5%) |
| medlineplus.gov | 8 (4.7%) |
| cdc.gov | 7 (4.1%) |
| argentina.gob.ar | 7 (4.1%) |
The most striking figure is YouTube: it appears in 115 of the 169 summaries, more than Instagram (54) and Facebook (43) combined. In Mexico and Colombia, YouTube was in more than 70% of AI Overviews. For a brand, this means a well-titled video with a transcript can be one of the most direct sources for showing up on Google.
Who wins the citations in each industry
The general pattern (YouTube and social media first) changes industry by industry. In health, Google prefers institutional sources: Mayo Clinic appears in 14 of the industry's 19 summaries, MedlinePlus in 8 and the US CDC in 7, even though the searches were run from Latin America and in Spanish. In finance, one bank achieves what few brands do: BBVA's sites in different countries add up to 14 citations, thanks to educational guides on saving, investing and mortgages.
| Industry | Most cited sources (AI Overviews citing them) |
|---|---|
| Finance | youtube.com (20), facebook.com (14), instagram.com (9), BBVA sites (14 in total) |
| Health | youtube.com (15), mayoclinic.org (14), medlineplus.gov (8), cdc.gov (7) |
| Technology | youtube.com (15), instagram.com (7), Google pages (7), ibm.com (4) |
| Travel | instagram.com (11), youtube.com (5), tiktok.com (5), worldpackers.com (5) |
| Education | youtube.com (15), facebook.com (11), instagram.com (8) |
| Cars | youtube.com (13), facebook.com (5), instagram.com (4) |
| Home and shopping | youtube.com (14), Google pages (10), wikipedia.org (3) |
| Marketing and business | youtube.com (18), Google pages (7), iebschool.com (6) |
In travel, Instagram and TikTok beat YouTube: Google's AI uses travelers' posts to answer what to do or where to go. And in home and shopping and marketing, Google frequently cites itself, mostly its help and product pages. The lesson for brands is that there is no single recipe: in each industry you need to see which type of source is winning citations and produce content in that format, or get mentioned on those sites.
What it means for brands
If 8 out of 10 searches show a summary above the results, the first organic spot is no longer the first contact. Brands have three paths, and it pays to work on all three:
- Be one of the seven cited sources. Content that answers the question in its first lines, with data and a date. The practical guide is in how to appear in Google AI Overviews.
- Be on the sites Google already cites. Comparison sites, industry portals, videos and media. Being mentioned there puts the brand into the summary even if its own site is not cited.
- Measure. Check every month which industry searches show an AI Overview and who appears. That is the AI visibility work we do with brands in Chile and the region, together with classic web positioning.
One more point for Google Ads investors: commercial searches, where paid clicks happen, are precisely the ones with the fewest AI Overviews (75%). Informational searches, where brands build trust, are almost all covered by AI already. Click costs by country are in our study of Google Ads CPC in Latin America.
How to cite this study: ESBUENISIMO LINKS, "AI Overviews in Latin America 2026", November 10, 2026, esbuenisimolinks.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an AI Overview?+
It is the AI-generated summary Google shows above search results, with links to the pages it used as sources.
How often do AI Overviews appear in Latin America?+
In 84.5% of 200 searches measured by ESBUENISIMO LINKS on November 10, 2026 in Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Argentina. Chile had the highest share (90%) and Colombia the lowest (77.5%).
Which sites do AI Overviews cite?+
Mostly company, brand, comparison and blog sites (59.5% of citations) and video and social media (22.2%). YouTube was the most cited domain, in 68% of summaries; news media accounted for only 2% of citations.
Which searches do not show an AI Overview?+
Local or immediate-purchase searches, such as “dental clinic”, “cheap flights” or “mattress”. Informational searches showed an AI Overview in 94% of cases and commercial ones in 75%.
How can a brand appear in AI Overviews?+
With content that answers the question in its first lines, with data and a date; by being mentioned in the comparison sites, portals, videos and media Google already cites; and by checking every month which industry searches show a summary and who appears.
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