Adobe to Acquire Semrush for $1.9 Billion

Adobe announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Semrush, a search engine optimization (SEO) company, for approximately $1.9 billion in cash, aiming to strengthen its marketing product suite.

In a statement, Adobe revealed it will offer $12 per share for Semrush—nearly double the company’s Tuesday closing price of $6.89. As of Tuesday’s market close, Semrush had a market capitalization of roughly $1 billion.

The acquisition reflects Adobe’s bet that businesses will increasingly invest in optimizing their content and webpages to boost visibility within AI-powered tools. With growing numbers of users turning to AI chatbots, agents, and AI-native browsers for tasks ranging from news consumption and recipe searches to shopping and travel bookings, a significant new market opportunity is emerging for SEO firms like Semrush. This shift in consumer behavior is driving a surge in traffic from generative AI tools to websites.

Indeed, Adobe Analytics data shows that by October, traffic from generative AI chatbots to retail websites had surged by 1,200% compared to the same period a year earlier.

Semrush has been actively investing in what it calls “Generative Engine Optimization” (GEO). The company recently launched a tool that merges traditional SEO techniques with optimization strategies tailored for AI engines—including ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Grok, and Perplexity—to monitor and enhance website performance.

“Brand visibility is being redefined by generative AI, and companies that fail to seize this new opportunity risk losing relevance and revenue,” said Anil Chakravarthy, President of Adobe’s Digital Experience business. “With Semrush, we’re unlocking GEO as a new growth channel for marketers, integrating it with their existing SEO strategies to drive greater visibility, customer engagement, and conversions across the entire ecosystem.”