Adobe bought Semrush for $1.9 billion; Entering the era of “artificial intelligence SEO”

Adobe announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy Semrush, one of the most important players in the SEO field, for $1.9 billion in cash. The company explained that the offer of $12 per Semrush share is almost double the previous day’s trading price, and the purpose of this deal is to prepare Adobe’s suite of tools for the new generation of search and marketing in the era of artificial intelligence.

In its official statement, Adobe said that the purchase of Semrush is part of the company’s plan to develop marketing tools and increase the power of brands in an environment where “user behavior is rapidly changing.”

According to Adobe, today users have turned to chatbots and artificial intelligence browsers to perform a large part of their daily activities, including searching for news and recipes, to shopping, booking travel, and making important decisions. This change has moved the SEO market away from the classic model and entered a stage that Adobe calls “Generative Engines”.

Unprecedented traffic growth through artificial intelligence

According to Adobe Analytics data, traffic to retail websites through AI-powered chatbots has increased by 1,200 percent since October, Adobe explained; Statistics that show that search based on artificial intelligence is quickly becoming one of the main channels of audience acquisition.

Semrush and Focus on “Optimization for Productive Engines”

In recent years, Semrush has invested in an area called “Generative Engine Optimization” or GEO; An area that tries to optimize web content not only for traditional search engines, but also for artificial intelligence engines such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Grok, and Perplexity.

The company recently introduced a tool that checks website performance with a combination of classic SEO techniques and engine-specific algorithms.

Adobe’s view of the future

Anil Chakravarti, Head of Digital Experience at Adobe, explained the importance of this acquisition.
“The presence of brands in the era of generative artificial intelligence has completely changed, and companies that do not align themselves with this trend will lose their place. With Semrush, we’re enabling GEO alongside classic SEO as a new growth channel for marketers.”

He added: “This integration will help businesses to have a stronger presence in a competitive environment and increase the path of interaction and conversion.”

Finally, the $1.9 billion deal between Adobe and Semrush is more than just a business acquisition, it is a sign of a big change in the search market; A market where AI-based search engines are rapidly replacing traditional patterns. With this purchase, Adobe is trying to prepare its marketing tools for a future where brands’ visibility in search engine results is as important as Google presence.