Tech giant Adobe has announced plans to acquire Semrush in a $1.9 billion all-cash deal.
Boston-based Semrush is a platform long favoured by marketers for its deep bench of SEO and analytics tools.
The agreement, revealed jointly by the two companies on Wednesday, will see Adobe pay $12 per share for the firm.
For Adobe, the deal is positioned as a strategic leap into ‘generative engine optimisation’ (GEO) – an emerging discipline focused on ensuring brands remain discoverable inside AI-generated experiences.
The company works with 99% of the Fortune 100, including The Coca-Cola Company, General Motors and IBM, to use AI to transform the way they work.
Adobe says Semrush’s decade of SEO experience, paired with its GEO tooling, will become essential as organisations attempt to understand how their brands surface across LLMs, owned media and the wider web.
‘Unlocking GEO for marketers’
Anil Chakravarthy, president of Adobe’s Digital Experience business, said generative AI has upended the traditional rules of brand discovery.
“Brand visibility is being reshaped by generative AI, and brands that don’t embrace this new opportunity risk losing relevance and revenue,” said Chakravarthy. “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.”
The announcement comes amid a surge in AI-driven traffic. Adobe Analytics reported a 1,200% year-on-year increase in visits to US retail sites from generative AI sources this October, a clear sign that discovery is no longer dominated by blue links and snippets.
Semrush chief executive Bill Wagner described the deal as a natural extension of the work marketers are already doing.
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 Wagner.
“This combination provides marketers more insights and capabilities to increase their discoverability across today’s evolving digital landscape.”
The acquisition underscores a rapidly shifting landscape in which consumers turn to large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Gemini for guidance on what to buy, where to go, and which brands to trust.
Semrush has seen strong demand from enterprise clients seeking just that, reporting 33% year-on-year ARR growth in its top tier. Its customer list includes Amazon, TikTok and JPMorganChase.
Adobe says bringing Semrush into its ecosystem – alongside Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics and the recently launched Brand Concierge – will give marketers a more complete view of their brand’s footprint across all major digital environments.
Both boards have approved the acquisition. The companies expect the deal to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory review and a shareholder vote. Semrush founders and other major shareholders, controlling over 75% of the firm’s voting power, have already pledged support.
Wachtell Lipton is advising Adobe on legal matters, while Semrush has enlisted Centerview Partners as its financial advisor and Davis Polk as legal counsel.
The story first appeared on Campaign's sister title Performance Marketing World.
