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U.S. Year in Review 2025: Google News Visibility Across Categories

The U.S. news landscape in Google Search throughout 2025 was marked by a heavy concentration of political visibility, sustained international crisis coverage, and strong category-specific patterns where specialist publishers consistently outperformed general news brands. Those trends become especially clear when comparing how different topics and publishers surfaced across Google’s news categories, based on visibility data from the Trisolute News Dashboard.

This year in review covers the period from January 1, 2025, to November 30, 2025, and combines visibility signals across mobile and desktop devices. All ranking types were included, including News Box headline, News Box text, News Box carousel, Video Box, Publisher carousel, Other carousel, Web Story, Featured Snippet, Visual Digest, and organic rankings.

For this overview, the focus is on the following Google news categories in the U.S.: Top Stories, Headlines, U.S., World, Business, Technology, Entertainment, Sports, Science, and Health. Each category section highlights the top three publishers by visibility score and shows how many rankings they generated and across how many keywords. It also summarizes the 25 most ranked keywords in that category and evaluates the role of AI Overviews based on total SERPs per keyword, how often AI Overviews appeared, and what share of SERPs they represented.

As with all News Dashboard analyses, rankings reflect how prominently Google surfaced topics and publishers. They do not directly measure audience interest, even though search behavior can influence visibility, and they are shaped by additional factors such as Google’s interpretation of relevance, freshness, and context. Reading the data across categories helps publishers benchmark performance, spot topic clusters that drive recurring visibility, and understand where certain SERP environments, including AI Overviews, are gaining relevance.

Note: since this article breaks down each major news category in detail, the Table of Contents below can help you jump straight to the sections most relevant to you.

Table of Contents

Category: Top Stories

Top Stories reflects the most visible breaking and high-impact news topics surfaced by Google in the U.S., highlighting which events dominated immediate attention across News Box placements and fast-moving SERP features.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 CNN

cnn.com

Visibility score: 10.18%

Rankings: 282,902

Keywords: 3,615

#2 New York Times

nytimes.com

Visibility score: 9.15%

Rankings: 207,948

Keywords: 3,462

#3 NBC News

nbcnews.com

Visibility score: 6.57%

Rankings: 207,070

Keywords: 3,411

In Top Stories, visibility in the U.S. was concentrated among the country’s largest national news organizations. CNN led the category with a visibility score of 10.18%, generating 282,902 rankings across 3,615 keywords and securing the top position for breaking and high-impact stories.

The New York Times followed closely in second place. With a visibility score of 9.15%, the publisher achieved 207,948 rankings across 3,462 keywords, remaining highly competitive in both volume and topical breadth.

NBC News ranked third with a visibility score of 6.57%. The publisher recorded 207,070 rankings from 3,411 keywords, reaching a similar ranking volume to the New York Times but with a lower overall visibility score.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. trump (313,184)
  2. trump tariffs (47,052)
  3. israel (40,713)
  4. trump putin (35,005)
  5. texas (30,213)
  6. trump ukraine (25,392)
  7. shooting (23,259)
  8. gaza (22,942)
  9. charlie kirk (18,887)
  10. iran (18,580)
  11. judge (16,625)
  12. china (16,618)
  13. trump epstein (16,556)
  14. musk (16,509)
  15. shutdown (15,899)
  16. live updates (15,889)
  17. trump’s (15,058)
  18. trump supreme court (14,873)
  19. trump musk (14,715)
  20. trump gaza (13,775)
  21. trump harvard (13,737)
  22. epstein (13,158)
  23. trump bill (13,121)
  24. government shutdown (12,797)
  25. epstein trump (12,451)

The Top Stories category in the U.S. was overwhelmingly dominated by U.S. politics and the ongoing influence of Donald Trump. The keyword “trump” led the rankings by a wide margin, accompanied by numerous closely related combinations such as “trump tariffs”, “trump putin”, “trump ukraine”, “trump supreme court”, and “trump epstein”. This clustering highlights how strongly Trump-related developments shaped breaking news visibility throughout the year.

Geopolitical conflict also played a major role. Keywords including “israel”, “gaza”, “iran”, “china”, and “russia” point to sustained coverage of international crises, often intersecting with U.S. foreign policy. Domestic events were visible through terms like “texas”, “shooting”, “judge”, and “government shutdown”, reflecting the prominence of legal decisions, violence, and political standoffs in national news.

Overall, Top Stories generated 3,523,066 total rankings, with 1,257,861 rankings appearing in News Box formats. This resulted in a News Box share of 35.70%, underlining the category’s strong connection to breaking and fast-moving news.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
raid17414885.06%
school15611573.72%
minneapolis2108741.43%
california3608523.61%
national1068075.47%
texas1,563805.12%
food1087973.15%
federal867384.88%
parole lyle menendez787393.59%
charlotte1687142.26%
parole erik menendez747195.95%
cdc officer696898.55%
japan2686524.25%
peace645585.94%
new york2045426.47%

The Top Stories category showed a limited but noticeable presence of AI Overviews. Out of 42,539 tracked SERPs, 5,020 included an AI Overview, resulting in an overall AIO share of 11.80%. While still secondary to traditional news formats, AIOs appeared more frequently here than in comparable UK Top Stories results.

Where AIOs surfaced, they were heavily concentrated around descriptive, institutional, or contextual terms. Keywords such as “parole erik menendez”, “parole lyle menendez”, “cdc officer”, “raid”, and “federal” all showed AIO shares above 85%, indicating a strong explanatory interpretation by Google. Location-based queries like “minneapolis”, “charlotte”, and “new york” showed mixed penetration, while highly news-driven state-level keywords such as “texas” and “california” triggered AIOs far less often. Overall, AIOs in Top Stories were primarily associated with background-heavy or legally complex topics rather than fast-breaking events.

Category: Headlines

Headlines captures the recurring news topics that shaped daily visibility throughout the year, showing which stories maintained sustained prominence beyond individual breaking moments.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 CNN

cnn.com

Visibility score: 8.42%

Rankings: 871,445

Keywords: 8,487

#2 New York Times

nytimes.com

Visibility score: 8.37%

Rankings: 699,876

Keywords: 8,337

#3 NBC News

nbcnews.com

Visibility score: 5.67%

Rankings: 662,208

Keywords: 7,939

The Headlines category showed a similar concentration of visibility among major U.S. news brands than Top Stories. CNN again ranked first with a visibility score of 8.42%, supported by 871,445 rankings across 8,487 keywords.

The New York Times placed second with a visibility score of 8.37%. Although slightly behind CNN in overall visibility, they generated 699,876 rankings from 8,337 keywords, resulting in a very comparable presence across daily headline topics.

NBC News completed the top three with a visibility score of 5.67%. The publisher achieved 662,208 rankings across 7,939 keywords, maintaining broad coverage but at a lower visibility level than the two leaders.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. trump (844,245)
  2. israel (118,175)
  3. trump tariffs (98,861)
  4. gaza (92,872)
  5. california (84,283)
  6. trump’s (81,341)
  7. texas (76,614)
  8. shutdown (74,280)
  9. musk (71,271)
  10. china (68,475)
  11. judge (66,943)
  12. trump ukraine (66,287)
  13. trump putin (63,008)
  14. supreme court (61,499)
  15. shooting (54,483)
  16. epstein (54,133)
  17. iran (53,706)
  18. trump supreme court (52,599)
  19. trump judge (49,392)
  20. ice (47,538)
  21. russia (46,894)
  22. storm (42,071)
  23. trump epstein (41,281)
  24. senate (40,056)
  25. government shutdown (38,189)

In Headlines, the keyword landscape remained heavily centered on U.S. political power structures and recurring national debates. “trump” again dominated visibility, far ahead of all other terms, followed by politically and institutionally charged keywords such as “supreme court”, “senate”, “judge”, and “government shutdown”.

International conflict remained highly visible, with “israel”, “gaza”, “iran”, “russia”, and “china” all ranking prominently. At the same time, domestic geography and events shaped daily headline coverage through keywords like “california”, “texas”, “storm”, and “shooting”. Immigration and enforcement-related topics also appeared via “ice”.

Across the year, Headlines accumulated 13,160,623 total rankings, of which 4,574,902 were News Box rankings. This corresponds to a News Box share of 34.76%, showing that recurring headline topics were frequently surfaced in prominent SERP features.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
california3,32283225.05%
chicago1,94669235.56%
food60638162.87%
charlotte81333941.70%
raid42432676.89%
school46930865.67%
texas3,9442656.72%
climate24823393.95%
federal36020757.50%
japan79319824.97%
portland45418841.41%
peace19818291.92%
state20018190.50%
minneapolis47618037.82%
health19417389.18%

In Headlines, AI Overviews played a much more prominent role. Of 75,927 SERPs, 27,155 contained an AIO, corresponding to a share of 35.76%. This positions Headlines among the categories with the highest AIO integration in U.S. news results.

AIOs clustered strongly around thematic and policy-oriented terms. Keywords such as “climate”, “peace”, “state”, and “health” showed AIO shares above 85%, suggesting a clear explanatory intent. Urban location queries including “chicago”, “charlotte”, “portland”, and “minneapolis” also triggered AIOs at moderate rates. In contrast, large-volume state-level keywords like “texas” and “california” showed relatively low AIO penetration, reinforcing the pattern that AIOs favour interpretive framing over broad, ongoing news coverage.

Category: U.S. (National news)

U.S. focuses on nationally anchored news, covering domestic politics, public institutions, crime, and major regional developments as prioritised by Google across U.S.-specific SERPs.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 New York Times

nytimes.com

Visibility score: 7.70%

Rankings: 579,573

Keywords: 7,476

#2 CNN

cnn.com

Visibility score: 7.46%

Rankings: 688,247

Keywords: 7,231

#3 NBC News

nbcnews.com

Visibility score: 5.72%

Rankings: 601,704

Keywords: 7,428

In the U.S. category, the visibility leadership shifted slightly. The New York Times ranked first with a visibility score of 7.70%, generating 579,573 rankings across 7,476 keywords and leading national news coverage.

CNN followed closely in second place with a visibility score of 7.46%. With 688,247 rankings from 7,231 keywords, CNN achieved the highest ranking volume in this category despite ranking just behind the New York Times in visibility score.

NBC News ranked third with a visibility score of 5.72%. The publisher recorded 601,704 rankings across 7,428 keywords, resulting in a similarly broad keyword footprint to the two leading outlets.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. trump (771,626)
  2. texas (103,861)
  3. california (88,331)
  4. shutdown (88,065)
  5. shooting (75,182)
  6. trump tariffs (75,976)
  7. judge (70,299)
  8. trump’s (62,461)
  9. ice (63,111)
  10. trump judge (59,699)
  11. supreme court (57,866)
  12. senate (52,293)
  13. musk (49,753)
  14. trump supreme court (51,018)
  15. immigration (44,305)
  16. storm (39,444)
  17. trump ukraine (40,871)
  18. china (37,970)
  19. epstein (39,034)
  20. fire (36,334)
  21. trump putin (37,873)
  22. gop (36,557)
  23. flooding (36,219)
  24. harvard (36,609)
  25. government shutdown (36,190)

The U.S. (national news) category was strongly driven by domestic politics, legal developments, and regionally anchored events. Keywords related to “trump” clearly dominated the rankings, including combinations such as “trump tariffs”, “trump judge”, “trump supreme court”, and “trump putin”. Institutional and political processes were further reflected through terms like “senate”, “gop”, “supreme court”, and “government shutdown”.

Geographic and event-based coverage played an equally important role. States and cities featured prominently through keywords such as “texas”, “california”, and “harvard”, while crisis- and incident-related terms like “shooting”, “fire”, “storm”, and “flooding” highlighted the category’s focus on immediate domestic developments. Immigration and enforcement topics appeared via “immigration” and “ice”, underscoring the prominence of policy-driven national debates.

Across 2025, the U.S. (national news) category generated 12,030,634 total rankings, reflecting sustained visibility for politically and socially defining topics across the United States.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
california3,50185324.36%
chicago1,83569737.98%
charlotte1,07146042.95%
man55033360.55%
raid39433384.52%
texas4,7773326.95%
health33529588.06%
portland74829439.30%
virginia69627839.94%
school53827450.93%
food44626759.87%
florida95326427.70%
family26923286.25%
corruption28821273.61%
suspect64520531.78%

The U.S. category showed one of the strongest overall AIO presences. From 83,593 SERPs, 31,904 included an AI Overview, resulting in an AIO share of 38.17%. This reflects a clear shift toward contextual summarisation in nationally focused news.

High AIO shares were concentrated around social, legal, and institutional topics. Keywords such as “raid”, “family”, “health”, “school”, and “corruption” exceeded 70% AIO penetration, while abstract descriptors like “man” and “suspect” also appeared frequently with AIOs. By contrast, high-volume geographic keywords such as “texas”, “california”, and “florida” showed consistently low AIO shares. Overall, AIOs in U.S. national news appeared most often where stories required interpretation rather than ongoing political or regional updates.

Category: World

World brings together international stories that gained visibility in U.S. search results, reflecting how global conflicts, political actors, and international developments were presented to an American audience.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 New York Times

nytimes.com

Visibility score: 7.90%

Rankings: 548,965

Keywords: 4,977

#2 BBC

bbc.com

Visibility score: 6.89%

Rankings: 795,026

Keywords: 5,935

#3 CNN

cnn.com

Visibility score: 6.53%

Rankings: 570,325

Keywords: 5,060

International coverage in the World category was led by the New York Times. With a visibility score of 7.90%, the publisher generated 548,965 rankings across 4,977 keywords and secured the top position for global news topics.

BBC ranked second with a visibility score of 6.89%. Despite placing behind the New York Times in visibility score, the UK-based publisher achieved a higher total ranking volume, generating 795,026 rankings across 5,935 keywords.

CNN followed in third place with a visibility score of 6.53%. The publisher recorded 570,325 rankings from 5,060 keywords, reinforcing its strong role in international news coverage for a U.S. audience.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. israel (387,304)
  2. gaza (385,612)
  3. trump (315,884)
  4. russia (132,732)
  5. china (127,315)
  6. pope francis (117,776)
  7. iran (103,289)
  8. pope (100,848)
  9. israel gaza (81,627)
  10. gaza israel (79,627)
  11. hamas (67,374)
  12. sudan (64,664)
  13. france (64,240)
  14. gaza city (63,451)
  15. ukraine (63,175)
  16. trump gaza (61,670)
  17. uk (59,940)
  18. ukraine russia (58,806)
  19. syria (58,692)
  20. south korea (57,281)
  21. europe (56,200)
  22. netanyahu (55,367)
  23. india (48,590)
  24. macron (47,172)
  25. germany (46,095)

The World category was primarily shaped by international conflict, diplomacy, and global leadership figures. Coverage of the Middle East dominated the rankings, with “israel” and “gaza” appearing at the very top, supported by combinations such as “israel gaza” and “gaza city”. These keywords underline the sustained visibility of the conflict across U.S. search results.

Beyond the Middle East, global power dynamics were reflected in keywords such as “russia”, “china”, “iran”, “ukraine”, and “europe”. Religious and moral authority entered the landscape through “pope francis” and “pope”, while regional developments were visible via countries such as “france”, “germany”, “india”, and “south korea”.

In total, World generated 11,895,570 rankings, including 3,838,896 News Box rankings. This resulted in a News Box share of 32.52%, reinforcing the category’s strong alignment with high-impact international developments.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
climate1,1421,04591.51%
france3,31971921.66%
asylum64060594.53%
japan2,57757622.35%
french59144875.80%
tax40533081.48%
rally36329581.27%
hong kong96228829.94%
dutch31028591.94%
sanctions41428268.12%
human rights29027695.17%
corruption scandal32426280.86%
brazil57725444.02%
prime minister70422431.82%
far right28619969.58%

In World, AI Overviews were widely present but selectively applied. Out of 109,335 SERPs, 35,414 included an AIO, resulting in a share of 32.39%.

The strongest AIO presence appeared around political framing, ideology, and human rights topics. Keywords such as “human rights”, “asylum”, “climate”, “dutch”, and “corruption scandal” exceeded 80% AIO coverage. By contrast, country-based terms like “france”, “japan”, “brazil”, and “hong kong” showed notably lower penetration, despite high visibility. This suggests that AIOs in World news were primarily triggered by conceptual or policy-driven queries rather than geographic or event-specific reporting.

Category: Business

Business highlights economic, financial, and corporate topics visible in Google News, combining market movements, policy-driven developments, and technology-related business narratives.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 CNBC

cnbc.com

Visibility score: 6.48%

Rankings: 1,275,723

Keywords: 6,373

#2 Yahoo

yahoo.com

Visibility score: 5.91%

Rankings: 1,331,153

Keywords: 7,677

#3 CNN

cnn.com

Visibility score: 3.36%

Rankings: 619,284

Keywords: 4,582

The Business category was shaped primarily by specialized economic and platform-driven publishers. CNBC led the category with a visibility score of 6.48%, generating 1,275,723 rankings across 6,373 keywords.

Yahoo ranked second with a visibility score of 5.91%. With 1,331,153 rankings from 7,677 keywords, Yahoo achieved the broadest keyword coverage among the top three and the highest overall ranking volume.

CNN placed third with a visibility score of 3.36%. The publisher recorded 619,284 rankings across 4,582 keywords, trailing the two leading business-focused platforms by a significant margin.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. trump (456,071)
  2. china (180,454)
  3. nvidia (179,941)
  4. stocks (173,097)
  5. fed (135,211)
  6. tariffs (134,011)
  7. inflation (126,435)
  8. tesla (121,312)
  9. stock market (111,594)
  10. ai (108,662)
  11. elon musk (107,024)
  12. stock (94,798)
  13. bitcoin (93,136)
  14. meta (80,798)
  15. market (79,257)
  16. wall street (74,456)
  17. s p 500 (69,927)
  18. warren buffett (67,308)
  19. gold (64,624)
  20. trump tariffs (61,267)
  21. crypto (61,113)
  22. recession (59,560)
  23. palantir (58,746)
  24. dow (58,657)
  25. musk (55,760)

The Business category combined political influence, financial markets, and technology-driven economic narratives. Political spillover into economic coverage was clear, with “trump”, “trump tariffs”, and “china” ranking among the most visible keywords, highlighting the continued relevance of trade and policy uncertainty.

Market-focused terms dominated the remainder of the list. Keywords such as “stocks”, “stock market”, “dow”, “s p 500”, “wall street”, and “fed” reflect sustained attention on financial performance and monetary policy. Technology and innovation played a central role through “nvidia”, “tesla”, “ai”, “bitcoin”, “crypto”, and “meta”, while influential figures appeared via “elon musk” and “warren buffett”.

Across 2025, Business generated 22,881,676 total rankings, with 7,899,719 rankings in News Box formats. This corresponds to a News Box share of 34.52%, indicating strong visibility for economic topics in prominent SERP placements.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
gold2,7031,17643.51%
wall street3,24487226.88%
rocket launch today1,62486553.26%
tech79275094.70%
blackrock83873787.95%
palantir1,19861251.09%
september68861188.81%
ai news today75859278.10%
investments82856267.87%
nvidia5,04953810.66%
accenture56852592.43%
5g70950671.37%
current mortgage rates1,00150150.05%
mortgage1,09648544.25%
ifc61948478.19%

The Business category showed extensive use of AI Overviews. From 181,513 SERPs, 68,558 included an AIO, corresponding to an AIO share of 37.77%.

AIOs were especially prevalent for corporate, technological, and time-based queries. Keywords such as “tech”, “accenture”, “blackrock”, “september”, and “ai news today” showed AIO shares well above 85%. Financial instruments and market context terms like “gold”, “investments”, and “mortgage” displayed moderate AIO penetration. In contrast, highly news-driven market entities such as “nvidia” and “wall street” triggered AIOs far less often. This highlights a clear distinction between explanatory business content and real-time market reporting.

Category: Technology

Technology covers consumer tech, software, gaming, and digital innovation, with a strong emphasis on product launches, platform updates, and evolving tech ecosystems.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 The Verge

theverge.com

Visibility score: 2.41%

Rankings: 221,737

Keywords: 2,589

#2 IGN

ign.com

Visibility score: 2.40%

Rankings: 224,578

Keywords: 1,532

#3 Forbes

forbes.com

Visibility score: 1.53%

Rankings: 128,456

Keywords: 1,258

In Technology, a different group of publishers dominated visibility than in the previous categories. The Verge ranked first with a visibility score of 2.41%, supported by 221,737 rankings across 2,589 keywords.

IGN followed closely in second place with a visibility score of 2.40%. Although slightly behind in visibility score, they generated 224,578 rankings from 1,532 keywords, resulting in a higher ranking volume but narrower keyword coverage.

Forbes completed the top three with a visibility score of 1.53%. The publisher achieved 128,456 rankings across 1,258 keywords, reflecting a more selective presence in this category.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. nintendo switch 2 (197,073)
  2. samsung (182,288)
  3. iphone 17 (167,325)
  4. switch 2 (137,429)
  5. google (103,867)
  6. ios 26 (91,430)
  7. ai (86,061)
  8. microsoft (81,008)
  9. apple (76,721)
  10. nvidia (63,611)
  11. iphone (57,245)
  12. pixel 10 (56,544)
  13. windows 11 (50,190)
  14. gta 6 (49,085)
  15. switch 2 release date (46,896)
  16. google pixel 10 (46,852)
  17. nintendo (46,010)
  18. donkey kong bananza (45,545)
  19. galaxy s25 (44,283)
  20. battlefield 6 (43,631)
  21. samsung galaxy s25 (43,619)
  22. pokémon go (38,298)
  23. windows 10 (37,413)
  24. 5g (36,241)
  25. google ai (34,688)

In Technology, visibility was clearly driven by consumer electronics, platform ecosystems, and AI-related innovation. Hardware and product launches dominated the rankings, led by “nintendo switch 2”, “iphone 17”, “samsung”, “pixel 10”, and related variations. Release-focused queries such as “switch 2 release date” further highlight the importance of launch cycles.

Platform and software ecosystems were also highly visible. Keywords including “google”, “ios 26”, “windows 11”, “windows 10”, and “google ai” point to sustained interest in operating systems and AI integration. Gaming-related terms such as “gta 6”, “battlefield 6”, “donkey kong bananza”, and “pokémon go” added another layer of recurring visibility.

Overall, Technology reached 12,352,366 total rankings, with 3,785,285 News Box rankings. This resulted in a News Box share of 30.64%.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
windows 112,6542,04977.20%
5g1,7141,25773.34%
ios 263,78791224.08%
windows 102,26688739.14%
android1,02176675.02%
prime day1,74049428.39%
202580346457.78%
was 1995 30 years ago47144193.63%
cybersecurity news today47144093.42%
brain45242594.03%
ios55937567.08%
review38035894.21%
nvidia1,36635525.99%
xbox game pass1,68935120.78%
snapdragon38834789.43%

In Technology, AI Overviews appeared regularly but not uniformly. Of 210,541 SERPs, 47,963 contained an AIO, resulting in an AIO share of 22.78%.

AIOs were most common for update-driven, technical, or review-oriented searches. Keywords such as “windows 11”, “android”, “review”, “cybersecurity news today”, and “was 1995 30 years ago” exceeded 75% AIO penetration. Hardware- and platform-specific terms like “snapdragon” and “5g” also showed high values. Meanwhile, product-launch and brand-heavy queries such as “ios 26”, “nvidia”, and “xbox game pass” showed comparatively low AIO shares. Overall, AIOs in Technology favoured explanation and evaluation over headline-driven product news.

Category: Entertainment

Entertainment reflects how pop culture, celebrities, television formats, and media franchises performed in Google News visibility, shaped by recurring formats and high-interest personalities.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 People

people.com

Visibility score: 4.28%

Rankings: 779,559

Keywords: 7,626

#2 New York Times

nytimes.com

Visibility score: 2.44%

Rankings: 441,047

Keywords: 4,185

#3 Yahoo

yahoo.com

Visibility score: 2.44%

Rankings: 432,025

Keywords: 8,612

Visibility in Entertainment was led by People. With a visibility score of 4.28%, people.com generated 779,559 rankings across 7,626 keywords and secured the top position in this category.

The New York Times ranked second with a visibility score of 2.44%. The publisher recorded 441,047 rankings across 4,185 keywords, maintaining a stable but more limited presence.

Yahoo also achieved a visibility score of 2.44% and placed third. They generated 432,025 rankings across 8,612 keywords, resulting in the widest keyword coverage among the top three entertainment publishers.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. diddy (180,052)
  2. sean diddy combs (127,607)
  3. horoscope (105,680)
  4. taylor swift (100,993)
  5. blake lively justin baldoni (77,680)
  6. snl (73,650)
  7. 2025 (72,574)
  8. sydney sweeney (69,513)
  9. gene hackman (63,158)
  10. diddy trial (60,846)
  11. ozzy osbourne (60,347)
  12. taylor swift travis kelce (54,303)
  13. meghan markle (51,677)
  14. pamela anderson (50,947)
  15. eric dane (48,764)
  16. box office (43,590)
  17. kanye west (43,565)
  18. superman (43,118)
  19. sutton foster (42,664)
  20. sabrina carpenter (41,785)
  21. south park (41,723)
  22. robert irwin (41,431)
  23. jimmy kimmel (41,199)
  24. benson boone (40,042)
  25. rihanna (39,334)

The Entertainment category was strongly shaped by celebrity coverage, scandals, and pop culture franchises. Music and celebrity figures dominated the rankings, led by “diddy”, “sean diddy combs”, and “diddy trial”, alongside artists such as “taylor swift”, “rihanna”, “kanye west”, and “sabrina carpenter”.

Television and entertainment formats also played a major role. Keywords such as “snl”, “jimmy kimmel”, “south park”, and “box office” reflect ongoing visibility for TV shows and film performance. Relationship-driven and viral topics appeared through combinations like “taylor swift travis kelce” and “blake lively justin baldoni”.

Across the year, Entertainment generated 23,184,242 rankings, including 8,053,156 News Box rankings, corresponding to a News Box share of 34.74%.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
20251,9121,42974.74%
what is group 71,1691,10694.61%
lyme disease1,79085247.60%
morgan wallen tour 20261,10978070.33%
hannah montana tour 202680577496.15%
amaya papaya75369492.16%
nicole kidman1,67065439.16%
charcot-marie-tooth disease76463883.51%
holly stranger things64261095.02%
jonathan bailey1,40460643.16%
review57553292.52%
war of the worlds 20251,17651243.54%
how long is wicked for good49247095.53%
who won dancing with the stars 202546643793.78%
love island reunion1,05443541.27%

The Entertainment category showed strong AIO integration. Out of 146,602 SERPs, 53,566 included an AI Overview, resulting in an AIO share of 36.54%.

AIOs were heavily concentrated around narrative, explanatory, and question-based queries. Keywords such as “what is group 7”, “how long is wicked for good”, and tour-related searches showed AIO shares above 90%. Disease-related terms appearing in entertainment contexts, such as “lyme disease” and “charcot-marie-tooth disease”, also triggered AIOs frequently. By contrast, celebrity name queries like “nicole kidman” and “jonathan bailey” showed significantly lower AIO penetration. This indicates that AIOs were used primarily for contextual storytelling rather than celebrity-driven coverage.

Category: Sports

Sports shows how professional leagues, major competitions, and prominent athletes contributed to sustained news visibility across U.S. sports coverage.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 ESPN

espn.com

Visibility score: 8.76%

Rankings: 3,762,372

Keywords: 13,928

#2 Yahoo

yahoo.com

Visibility score: 4.66%

Rankings: 1,037,916

Keywords: 12,181

#3 CBS Sports

cbssports.com

Visibility score: 4.20%

Rankings: 1,160,527

Keywords: 10,358

The Sports category was clearly dominated by ESPN. With a visibility score of 8.76%, the sports publisher generated 3,762,372 rankings across 13,928 keywords, far surpassing all competitors.

Yahoo ranked second with a visibility score of 4.66%. The publisher achieved 1,037,916 rankings from 12,181 keywords, showing broad coverage across leagues and competitions.

CBS Sports followed in third place with a visibility score of 4.20%. With 1,160,527 rankings across 10,358 keywords, the category was strongly shaped by sports-specialist outlets.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. cowboys (103,846)
  2. aaron rodgers (92,670)
  3. 2025 (92,978)
  4. yankees (85,077)
  5. eagles (84,071)
  6. lakers (81,698)
  7. knicks (79,381)
  8. chiefs (80,204)
  9. dodgers (79,190)
  10. giants (74,450)
  11. caitlin clark (74,015)
  12. ufc (70,012)
  13. browns (68,030)
  14. champions league (65,916)
  15. nfl draft (67,541)
  16. warriors (63,891)
  17. steelers (63,012)
  18. ravens (63,766)
  19. trade (58,562)
  20. cooper flagg (57,545)
  21. micah parsons (56,636)
  22. bengals (55,548)
  23. patriots (54,628)
  24. lions (53,399)
  25. college football (52,060)

The Sports category was dominated by U.S. professional leagues and high-profile athletes. NFL-related visibility was particularly strong, with teams such as the “cowboys”, “chiefs”, “eagles”, “giants”, and “patriots” appearing prominently, alongside draft-related coverage through “nfl draft”.

Basketball and baseball were also well represented. Keywords such as “lakers”, “knicks”, “warriors”, “yankees”, and “dodgers” highlight sustained interest across major U.S. leagues. Individual athletes and emerging figures appeared through terms like “aaron rodgers”, “caitlin clark”, “micah parsons”, and “cooper flagg”, while international context was added via “champions league”.

In total, Sports accumulated 27,747,133 rankings, with 9,379,963 News Box rankings, resulting in a News Box share of 33.81%.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
20252,2161,55670.22%
season71962987.48%
texas1,40957540.81%
alex vesia1,04752249.86%
lane kiffin1,27147637.45%
alabama1,12344639.72%
world series1,51242828.31%
miami91538742.30%
injury67338657.36%
ufc 3191,12037633.57%
ncaa 2646836678.21%
top58232054.98%
win37231785.22%
florida78131139.82%
bill belichick1,10330627.74%

In Sports, AI Overviews played a secondary but visible role. Of 147,248 SERPs, 40,016 contained an AIO, corresponding to a share of 27.18%.

AIOs appeared most often for abstract, seasonal, or evaluative terms. Keywords such as “season”, “win”, “top”, and “ncaa 26” showed high AIO penetration, while injury-related queries also triggered AIOs relatively frequently. Team- and location-focused terms such as “texas”, “florida”, and “world series” showed much lower AIO shares. This reinforces the pattern that AIOs in Sports are more likely to appear for explanatory framing than for live competition or team-centric coverage.

Category: Science

Science brings together research-driven, space-related, and environmental topics, highlighting Google’s focus on explanatory and discovery-oriented science content.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 Space.com

space.com

Visibility score: 5.54%

Rankings: 397,394

Keywords: 1,539

#2 CNN

cnn.com

Visibility score: 2.48%

Rankings: 165,652

Keywords: 1,110

#3 New York Times

nytimes.com

Visibility score: 1.96%

Rankings: 123,052

Keywords: 961

In Science, Space.com emerged as the most visible publisher. With a visibility score of 5.54%, the site generated 397,394 rankings across 1,539 keywords.

CNN ranked second with a visibility score of 2.48%, supported by 165,652 rankings from 1,110 keywords and maintaining a moderate presence in science-related coverage.

The New York Times placed third with a visibility score of 1.96%. The publisher recorded 123,052 rankings across 961 keywords, rounding out the top three.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. nasa (324,178)
  2. spacex (278,392)
  3. mars (207,069)
  4. moon (153,198)
  5. space (139,820)
  6. 3i atlas (138,983)
  7. spacex launch (137,321)
  8. asteroid (104,282)
  9. earth (100,229)
  10. black hole (92,129)
  11. the moon (86,894)
  12. asteroid earth (78,959)
  13. comet (78,244)
  14. dinosaur (77,064)
  15. northern lights (74,050)
  16. meteor shower (70,232)
  17. scientists (70,187)
  18. webb (55,340)
  19. meteor (52,090)
  20. launch (45,423)
  21. spacex starlink (44,781)
  22. planets (44,766)
  23. interstellar (43,454)
  24. blood moon (40,847)
  25. rocket launch today (40,385)

The Science category was heavily centered on space exploration and astronomical phenomena. Institutional and mission-driven keywords dominated, led by “nasa”, “spacex”, “spacex launch”, and “rocket launch today”. Planetary and cosmic topics such as “mars”, “moon”, “asteroid”, and “black hole” further defined the category.

Event-based and observational phenomena also played an important role. Keywords including “meteor shower”, “northern lights”, “blood moon”, and “comet” reflect periodic spikes in visibility tied to natural events. Broader scientific framing appeared through terms like “scientists”, “planets”, and “interstellar”.

Overall, Science generated 10,930,592 rankings, with 3,379,695 News Box rankings, corresponding to a News Box share of 30.92%.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
mars7,4613,67749.28%
study1,9191,61584.16%
3i atlas8,8761,52117.14%
solar system2,2711,48965.57%
rocket launch today1,88297251.65%
sky1,42796967.90%
orionid meteor shower1,07696289.41%
supernova1,14095283.51%
dark matter1,23893775.69%
satellite1,17190076.86%
full moon august 202593789295.20%
black hole3,39287525.80%
planet1,22185770.19%
life1,17783871.20%
full moon september 20251,04278375.14%

The Science category showed one of the strongest AIO presences overall. Out of 231,974 SERPs, 93,487 included an AI Overview, resulting in an AIO share of 40.30%.

AIOs were particularly dominant for core scientific concepts and astronomical phenomena. Keywords such as “full moon august 2025”, “orionid meteor shower”, “supernova”, “dark matter”, and “study” exceeded 80% AIO penetration. Even high-volume queries like “mars” and “solar system” showed substantial AIO coverage. This confirms Science as a category where Google strongly prioritises explanatory summaries over traditional news presentation.

Category: Health

Health focuses on medical, preventative, and public health topics, illustrating how diseases, treatments, and health risks were surfaced alongside institutional and research-based reporting.

Top 3 Publishers

#1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

cdc.gov

Visibility score: 3.23%

Rankings: 502,134

Keywords: 1,169

#2 New York Times

nytimes.com

Visibility score: 3.06%

Rankings: 172,142

Keywords: 1,007

#3 NBC News

nbcnews.com

Visibility score: 2.89%

Rankings: 220,324

Keywords: 1,062

The Health category was led by institutional and public-service sources. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranked first with a visibility score of 3.23%, generating 502,134 rankings across 1,169 keywords.

The New York Times followed in second place with a visibility score of 3.06%. The publisher recorded 172,142 rankings from 1,007 keywords, reflecting strong editorial coverage of health-related topics.

NBC News ranked third with a visibility score of 2.89%. The publisher achieved 220,324 rankings across 1,062 keywords and completed the top three in this category.

Top 25 Keywords

  1. measles (450,332)
  2. bird flu (265,827)
  3. covid (185,334)
  4. vaccine (174,462)
  5. cancer (161,129)
  6. flu (145,912)
  7. rfk jr (118,763)
  8. measles cases (89,009)
  9. brain (85,306)
  10. study (78,884)
  11. cdc (68,292)
  12. dementia (65,877)
  13. measles outbreak (65,352)
  14. weight loss (57,193)
  15. norovirus (57,044)
  16. texas measles (56,849)
  17. alcohol (55,929)
  18. heart (53,122)
  19. long covid (51,804)
  20. microplastics (50,966)
  21. vaccines (50,372)
  22. health (50,309)
  23. flu season (48,364)
  24. risk (43,805)
  25. measles case (42,959)

The Health category was strongly shaped by infectious diseases, public health concerns, and vaccination-related coverage. “measles” dominated the rankings by a wide margin, supported by related terms such as “measles cases”, “measles outbreak”, and “texas measles”. Other infectious disease topics included “bird flu”, “covid”, “flu”, and “norovirus”.

Public health policy and institutions were visible through keywords such as “vaccine”, “vaccines”, “cdc”, and “rfk jr”. Chronic conditions and long-term health risks appeared via “cancer”, “dementia”, “heart”, “brain”, and “long covid”, while lifestyle-related topics such as “weight loss”, “alcohol”, and “microplastics” added a preventative health dimension.

Across 2025, Health reached 10,855,534 total rankings, with 3,023,421 News Box rankings. This corresponds to a News Box share of 27.85%.

AI Overviews

Keyword Total SERPs AIOs % of AIOs
brain5,2874,32081.71%
cancer4,9163,11663.38%
study3,8262,73871.56%
health2,1591,95690.60%
flu3,3841,81053.49%
menopause1,9171,39872.93%
women1,3761,26692.01%
blood pressure1,3181,22392.79%
weight loss1,4781,11975.71%
botulism1,1061,03393.40%
lyme disease2,1061,00847.86%
alzheimer’s2,02695146.94%
dementia1,79591550.97%
leucovorin1,08189682.89%
risk2,00589344.54%

The Health category displayed the highest AIO penetration of all categories. From 218,910 SERPs, 121,466 included an AI Overview, resulting in an AIO share of 55.49%.

AIOs were overwhelmingly concentrated around medical, diagnostic, and preventative topics. Keywords such as “brain”, “health”, “women”, “blood pressure”, “botulism”, and “menopause” all exceeded 80% AIO coverage. While broader disease terms like “cancer” and “dementia” showed slightly lower shares, they still triggered AIOs frequently. Overall, Health clearly stands out as the category where AI Overviews are most systematically deployed to provide structured medical context.

Overall findings and outlook for 2026

Across the core news categories, visibility in the U.S. was dominated by a small group of major national outlets. CNN and The New York Times consistently led Top Stories and Headlines, with NBC News also remaining highly visible. The U.S. (national news) category showed an even tighter race at the top, with The New York Times narrowly leading by visibility score while CNN generated the highest ranking volume, underlining that the same publishers can dominate in different ways depending on whether the focus is breadth, volume, or top placement concentration.

Keyword patterns point to a year defined by U.S. political power structures and conflict-driven coverage. “trump” dominated Top Stories, Headlines, and U.S., alongside clusters tied to institutional decision-making and political standoffs such as “supreme court”, “senate”, “judge”, and “government shutdown”. International crises remained central across categories, especially via “israel” and “gaza”, which led the World category and remained highly visible in Headlines. In parallel, recurring state-anchored terms like “texas” and “california” appeared across multiple categories, reinforcing how strongly regional events can shape national visibility at scale.

Several categories were clearly shaped by specialist publishers rather than general news brands. Business visibility was led by CNBC and Yahoo, reflecting the role of finance-focused coverage and aggregation in market-related SERPs. Technology leaned toward product and platform ecosystems, with The Verge and IGN leading visibility and keyword rankings driven by device launches, operating system updates, gaming titles, and AI-related terms. Entertainment visibility was led by People, supported by celebrity- and franchise-driven topics, while Sports showed the clearest specialist dominance through ESPN’s large lead in rankings and keyword breadth.

AI Overviews were not evenly distributed across categories, but they were highly influential in the parts of the SERPs where Google interprets intent as explanatory rather than purely news-driven. AIO penetration remained moderate in Top Stories (11.80%) but rose sharply in Headlines (35.76%) and U.S. (38.17%), suggesting a growing role for summarization in recurring and nationally framed topics. The strongest AIO presence appeared in Health (55.49%) and Science (40.30%), where keywords frequently align with definitions, guidance, and background explanation. In contrast, broad, high-volume geographic terms such as “texas”, “california”, and “florida” repeatedly showed low AIO shares, indicating that ongoing, update-heavy news queries still rely more on traditional results and news formats.

Looking toward 2026, the data suggests two practical shifts to watch. First, visibility opportunities will continue to concentrate around recurring political and institutional themes, especially where keywords naturally form clusters that can be covered through ongoing reporting, explainers, and updates. Second, AI Overview exposure appears most attainable in categories and keyword types where interpretation and contextualization matter, particularly Health, Science, and parts of Business and Technology. For publishers and news SEO teams, this makes it increasingly important to differentiate between keywords that reward speed and freshness and those where structured context, clarity, and explanatory coverage are more likely to align with the SERP environments Google is expanding.

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