Adobe has announced the acquisition of Semrush, the platform specialized in brand positioning and visibility, for $1.9 billion in a 100% cash transaction. The purchase, already approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, seeks to offer a comprehensive solution for marketing professionals to access better information about how their brands appear in their own channels, in generative language models, in the traditional search engine as well as on the web as a whole.
In the era of agentic AI, visibility depends on optimizing presence in environments governed by generative algorithms
With this integration, Adobe seeks to take a strategic step to lead the orchestration of the customer experience in the era of agentic artificial intelligence, a new paradigm in which visibility does not depend only on classic SEO, but also on the ability to optimize content and presence in environments governed by generative algorithms. The growth in traffic from these sources confirms this: according to Adobe Analytics, access to retail sites in the United States from generative AI platforms multiplied by 12 in October compared to the previous year.
The Californian company already had solutions such as Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics and the recently launched Adobe Brand Concierge. So the incorporation of Semrush reinforces this ecosystem by providing it with a proven capacity in search engine optimization and, above all, in GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), an emerging discipline that gains prominence as large language models become the usual interface between consumer and brand. In the words of Anil Chakravarthy, President of Adobe’s Digital Experience Business: “Brand visibility is being redefined by generative artificial intelligence. Brands that do not adapt run the risk of losing relevance and revenue.”
Semrush has proven its effectiveness in this area with a proposal focused on offering visibility and relevance in new search contexts. In the last quarter alone, the company achieved 33% year-on-year growth in recurring revenue in its enterprise segment, consolidating its value among large players such as Amazon, JPMorgan Chase or TikTok. According to its CEO, Bill Wagner, “This combination will allow marketers to expand their ability to be discovered in an increasingly changing digital landscape.”
The agreement is expected to be closed definitively in the first half of 2026, once regulatory approvals and the approval of Semrush shareholders have been obtained, whose main holders – representing more than 75% of the voting power – have already expressed their intention to support the transaction.
