Adobe just dropped $1.9 billion to buy Semrush, the SEO platform that helps brands stay visible online. The price? $12 per share in all cash, announced November 19, 2025.
This isn’t just another tech acquisition. It’s Adobe’s response to a seismic shift in how people find products and information. Consumers abandoned traditional search engines for ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. So brands that mastered Google SEO suddenly face a new challenge: getting AI platforms to mention them at all.
Adobe wants Semrush’s expertise in optimizing content for these AI systems. Because when your brand doesn’t show up in AI-generated answers, you might as well not exist.
The AI Search Explosion Nobody Saw Coming
Here’s the number that explains everything: traffic from generative AI sources to U.S. retail sites jumped 1,200% year-over-year in October 2025, according to Adobe Analytics data.
That’s not a typo. Twelve hundred percent growth in one year.
People now ask ChatGPT for product recommendations instead of Googling them. They use Perplexity to research purchases instead of clicking through search results. Moreover, Google’s own Gemini competes directly with its traditional search engine.
So traditional SEO strategies aren’t enough anymore. Brands need to optimize for how AI platforms synthesize information, cite sources, and make recommendations. That’s where Semrush comes in.
What Semrush Actually Brings to Adobe
Semrush built its reputation on traditional search engine optimization over more than ten years. Then AI platforms disrupted everything.
But instead of panicking, Semrush developed generative engine optimization (GEO) capabilities. These tools help marketers understand how their brands appear when AI platforms answer questions and make recommendations.
The platform serves major clients including Amazon, JPMorganChase, and TikTok. Plus, its enterprise customer segment grew annual recurring revenue 33% year-over-year in the most recent quarter. That growth demonstrates real demand for AI-optimized brand visibility solutions.
“With the advent of LLMs and AI-driven search, brands need to understand where and how their customers are engaging in these new channels,” stated Bill Wagner, Semrush’s CEO, in the November 19 announcement.
Adobe needed this expertise. Fast.
Adobe’s Brand Visibility Problem
Adobe dominates customer experience management for enterprise companies. In fact, 99% of Fortune 100 companies use Adobe’s AI tools to transform their operations.
Yet Adobe lacked specialized capabilities for managing brand visibility across AI platforms. Its products like Adobe Experience Manager and Adobe Analytics excel at measuring traditional customer interactions. But they couldn’t answer the question keeping CMOs awake: “How do we show up in ChatGPT?”
“Brand visibility is being reshaped by generative AI, and brands that don’t embrace this new opportunity risk losing relevance and revenue,” stated Anil Chakravarthy, president of Adobe’s Digital Experience Business.
The Semrush acquisition fills this strategic gap. Now Adobe can help marketers optimize content for both traditional search engines and AI platforms that synthesize information from multiple sources.
That’s valuable when search behavior fundamentally changes almost overnight.
Why $12 Per Share Actually Made Sense
Semrush shares closed at $6.76 on November 18, 2025. Adobe offered $12 per share the next day. That’s a 77% premium.
Sounds expensive. But consider the context.
Semrush maintained a market value slightly above $1 billion before the announcement. For Adobe, which carries a market value exceeding $135 billion, this represents a relatively modest acquisition. The deal costs less than 2% of Adobe’s market cap.
Plus, Adobe secured commitments from Semrush’s founders and stockholders representing over 75% of voting power to approve the transaction. That suggests insiders believed $12 per share represented fair value given the strategic importance of GEO capabilities.
The boards of both companies approved the deal. Regulatory approval seems likely, unlike Adobe’s previous $20 billion attempt to buy Figma that collapsed in December 2023 after U.K. regulators warned it would harm innovation.
This transaction combines complementary technologies instead of consolidating direct competitors. So regulatory hurdles appear lower.
The Figma Deal That Didn’t Happen
Adobe learned expensive lessons from the failed Figma acquisition.
That deal would have been Adobe’s biggest ever at approximately $20 billion. Adobe attempted the purchase in 2022, planning to combine its design tools with Figma’s collaborative software platform.
But regulators saw different implications. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority warned that consolidating two leading design platforms would likely harm innovation. Adobe paid Figma a $1 billion termination fee when the companies abandoned the deal in December 2023.
The Semrush acquisition avoids similar pitfalls. Adobe doesn’t compete with Semrush in search optimization. Instead, it’s acquiring specialized expertise that complements existing customer experience products.
Investors will watch regulatory approval closely nonetheless. Adobe can’t afford another billion-dollar termination fee.
How AI Platforms Changed Marketing Overnight
Traditional SEO focused on ranking high in Google search results. Marketers optimized content with keywords, earned backlinks, and improved site speed to climb rankings.
Then large language models disrupted the entire system.
ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity don’t show ten blue links. Instead, they synthesize information from multiple sources and generate single answers. Your brand either gets mentioned in that answer or disappears entirely.
Research published throughout 2025 demonstrated that traditional SEO skills remain relevant because AI platforms rely on search engine results for source material. However, marketers must expand their approaches to ensure visibility when AI systems synthesize information.
Semrush developed methodologies for exactly this challenge. Its GEO tools help marketers optimize content so AI platforms cite their brands when answering questions and making recommendations.
This shift explains why McKinsey data shows $1.1 billion in equity investment flowed into agentic AI during 2024. Job postings related to agentic AI increased 985% from 2023 to 2024. The entire marketing industry is scrambling to adapt.
What Happens When Search Becomes Conversational
AI platforms don’t just change where search happens. They fundamentally alter how consumers interact with information.
Traditional search required users to click through multiple results, read various sources, and synthesize information themselves. AI platforms do that synthesis work automatically.
So brand visibility no longer depends primarily on ranking position. Instead, it depends on whether the AI platform considers your content authoritative enough to cite when generating responses.
This creates new challenges for marketers. You can’t just optimize for keywords anymore. You need to optimize for how AI platforms evaluate source credibility, synthesize information, and attribute credit.
Adobe’s newly introduced Adobe Brand Concierge addresses some of these needs. But Semrush brings deeper expertise specifically around search optimization and brand visibility measurement across both traditional and AI-powered discovery channels.
Together, they position Adobe to help marketers navigate this transition.
Enterprise Customers Drive Real Revenue
Semrush’s enterprise segment growth tells the real story about market demand.
That 33% year-over-year annual recurring revenue growth demonstrates that sophisticated marketing organizations will pay for comprehensive brand visibility solutions. Major clients like Amazon, JPMorganChase, and TikTok don’t invest in tools unless they deliver measurable value.
These relationships prove Semrush’s ability to serve complex enterprise requirements. Adobe can leverage these customer relationships while integrating Semrush capabilities into its broader customer experience platform.
For Adobe, which recently raised its fiscal-year outlook for the second time in September 2025, the acquisition extends its AI investment strategy into search optimization. The company reported that customers increasingly opt into premium offerings to access new AI capabilities.
Semrush fits this pattern perfectly. CMOs need AI-optimized brand visibility tools. Adobe can now sell them as part of an integrated customer experience platform.
Adobe’s Stock Performance Tells Another Story
Adobe’s stock declined more than 20% during 2025 through November. Investors questioned whether Adobe could establish itself as an AI powerhouse while competing against emerging AI-native platforms and established technology giants.
The Semrush acquisition represents Adobe’s answer. Instead of building GEO capabilities from scratch, Adobe bought proven expertise with paying enterprise customers.
This pragmatic approach makes sense given Adobe’s failed Figma acquisition. Building versus buying carries different risks. Buying Semrush delivers immediate capabilities that Adobe can integrate into existing products.
Whether investors reward this strategy remains uncertain. But the acquisition addresses a specific strategic gap that Adobe couldn’t ignore as AI platforms reshape search behavior.
Semrush shares also experienced pressure during 2025 amid broader technology stock selloffs. The company emphasized its AI adoption, particularly around search optimization tools for ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
Both companies bet that combining their strengths creates more value than competing independently.
What This Means for Marketers
Every CMO faces the same question: “How does our brand show up when people ask AI platforms for recommendations?”
Traditional advertising models relying on visual impressions and clicks face structural challenges as autonomous AI agents handle more shopping and research tasks. Consumers increasingly delegate purchase decisions to AI platforms that evaluate options and make recommendations.
Adobe’s acquisition of Semrush provides marketers with tools to optimize brand visibility across both traditional and AI-mediated discovery channels. That’s valuable when the rules of search optimization fundamentally change.
“This is a natural way for us to keep growing in a space that’s very important to our existing customers,” stated Anil Chakravarthy in a Wall Street Journal interview. “Every chief marketing officer today is thinking about how they’re showing up in ChatGPT [and other platforms].”
The transaction timing makes sense. As AI agents mediate more consumer interactions, brands that master AI visibility gain significant advantages over competitors still focused exclusively on traditional SEO.
The Deal Timeline and Closing Conditions
The companies expect to close the transaction during the first half of 2026. That requires approval from Semrush stockholders and regulatory authorities.
Adobe already secured commitments from stockholders representing over 75% of Semrush’s voting power. So stockholder approval seems assured.
Regulatory approval appears more likely than Adobe’s previous Figma attempt. The deal combines complementary technologies instead of consolidating direct competitors. Plus, the $1.9 billion price tag is significantly smaller than the $20 billion Figma deal that attracted regulatory scrutiny.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz serves as legal advisor to Adobe. Centerview Partners acts as exclusive financial advisor to Semrush, with Davis Polk & Wardwell providing legal counsel.
Standard closing conditions apply. But absent unexpected regulatory concerns, the deal should close on schedule.
AI Search Is Just Getting Started
The 1,200% year-over-year increase in traffic from generative AI sources represents early adoption, not saturation.
As AI platforms improve and consumers grow more comfortable delegating research to them, traditional search behavior will decline further. Brands that adapted their visibility strategies early gain compound advantages over competitors that waited.
Adobe recognized this shift and moved decisively. The $1.9 billion price may seem steep compared to Semrush’s $1 billion market value. But the strategic value of GEO capabilities likely exceeds the purchase price if AI search continues its exponential growth.
For marketers, the message is clear: optimize for AI platforms now or risk irrelevance later. Adobe and Semrush bet their combined future on that premise.
The next twelve months will reveal whether they bet correctly. But the data suggests they understood the trend before most competitors recognized the problem.
Post Title: Adobe Acquires Semrush for $1.9B: AI Search Strategy
Meta Description: Adobe just dropped $1.9 billion to buy [Semrush](https://www.semrush.com), the SEO platform that helps brands stay visible online. The price? $12 per share in all cash, announced
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