Adobe to acquire Semrush for $1.9B, putting GEO on every marketer's roadmap
Adobe plans to acquire Semrush in a $1.9 billion all-cash deal, paying $12 per share. The move brings Semrush's SEO backbone and GEO (generative engine optimisation) tooling into Adobe's marketing stack.
Adobe already works with 99% of the Fortune 100 to use AI across their operations. Folding Semrush into Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics and Brand Concierge aims to give teams a single view of how their brands surface across LLMs, owned channels and the wider web.
Why this matters for marketers
Discovery isn't dominated by blue links anymore. Adobe Analytics reported a 1,200% year-on-year jump in visits to US retail sites from generative AI sources in October-proof that AI answers, assistants and chat results are now a real demand source.
"Brand visibility is being reshaped by generative AI, and brands that don't embrace this new opportunity risk losing relevance and revenue," said Anil Chakravarthy, President of Adobe's Digital Experience business. "With Semrush, we're unlocking GEO for marketers as a new growth channel alongside their SEO, driving more visibility, customer engagement and conversions across the ecosystem."
What Adobe is buying
Semrush is a staple for SEO, competitive research and analytics. The strategic play is GEO-optimising how brands appear inside AI-generated answers, summaries and recommendations across LLMs and AI assistants.
As LLMs shape buying journeys, knowing where and how your brand appears (and is cited) becomes core. Semrush brings a decade of SEO data, GEO tooling and enterprise traction with customers like Amazon, TikTok and JPMorganChase.
Semrush's take
"Adobe is an industry leader in helping marketers create personalised customer experiences at scale. With the advent of LLMs and AI-driven search, brands need to understand where and how their customers are engaging in these new channels," said Semrush CEO Bill Wagner. "This combination provides marketers more insights and capabilities to increase their discoverability across today's evolving digital landscape."
What to do now: a GEO checklist
- Audit your brand inside LLMs. Ask ChatGPT and Gemini common customer questions. Capture where you appear, how you're described and which sources are cited.
- Ship content built for AI answers. Tight FAQs, product comparisons, help docs, citations and clean schema. Make it easy to quote you.
- Pair SEO with GEO. Keep your technical SEO strong, then add structured data, digital PR and partner content that LLMs like to reference.
- Measure AI-sourced demand. Tag "AI referral" traffic, track chat-originated sessions and compare conversion to organic search.
- Set governance. Define brand voice, claims, and escalation paths for inaccurate AI references.
- Plan the stack. Expect integrations across Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics and Brand Concierge once the deal closes.
Deal terms and timing
Both boards have approved the acquisition. Closing is targeted for the first half of 2026, pending regulatory review and a shareholder vote.
Semrush founders and major shareholders controlling over 75% of voting power have pledged support. Advisors include Wachtell Lipton (Adobe legal), Centerview Partners (Semrush financial) and Davis Polk (Semrush legal).
What to watch next
- Standard GEO metrics: impressions in AI answers, citation share, click-outs and downstream conversions.
- How martech consolidates around AI discovery and content ops.
- Regulatory scrutiny on data signals, market concentration and interoperability.
For official updates, check the Adobe Newsroom and Semrush announcements:
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