Google Begins Rolling Out May 2026 Core Update
Google began rolling out the May 2026 core update, the second broad core update this year. It may take up to two weeks to complete.
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See short video versions of news stories on YouTube and TikTok. Matt G. Southern is the Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal, where he’s covered Google, SEO, and AI for over 13 years.
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Mueller Explains Why Google Uses Markdown On Dev Docs
Google’s John Mueller says markdown pages can help developer documentation, but most sites should focus on current SEO needs before agentic traffic.
Google Reveals First AI Mode Usage Numbers After One Year
Google released first-party data on how people use AI Mode in the U.S. after one year.
Google’s llms.txt Guidance Depends On Which Product You Ask
Google Search says llms.txt isn’t needed for AI features, while Lighthouse now checks the file for agentic browsing readiness in an experimental audit.
Google Brings AI Content Verification To Search
Google expands SynthID verification to Search, allowing users to check whether content was AI generated.
Google’s New Search Box Hands Queries To AI Agents, I/O Reveals
Google made Gemini 3.5 Flash the default model in AI Mode, redesigned the Search box, and announced Search agents coming this summer.
SERP FAQ Removal & New Data Challenge Schema’s AI Search Value
Google’s FAQ removal and new Ahrefs research challenge schema’s value for SERP visibility and AI citations.
Google’s New AI Search Guide Calls AEO And GEO ‘Still SEO’
Google’s new AI Search guide says AEO and GEO are still SEO and names tactics site owners can ignore, including llms.txt, chunking, and special schema.
GA4 Tracks AI Assistant Traffic, FAQ Results Gone – SEO Pulse
Google adds AI assistant traffic to GA4, FAQ rich results are gone, Ahrefs tests schema, and Condé Nast plans around near-zero search forecasts.
Google Analytics Adds AI Assistant As Default Channel Group
Google Analytics now separates AI assistant traffic from referrals with a new default channel group for recognized chatbot referrers like ChatGPT and Gemini.
Condé Nast CEO: Plan As If Search Traffic Will Be Zero
Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch told teams to plan as if search traffic will be zero after three years of forecasts that underestimated actual declines.
Schema Markup Didn’t Move AI Citations In Ahrefs Test
An Ahrefs report tested whether adding schema markup to pages already cited by AI improved their citation rates.
Google Drops FAQ Rich Results From Search
Google deprecated FAQ rich results, completing a removal that started years ago. FAQ rich results were already restricted for most sites.
Google Adds More AI Search Links, Still No Click Data For SEOs
Google added more link surfaces to AI Search, but not new reporting for publishers. Studies continue to show lower clicks when AI responses appear.
Google Core Update Reshuffles Winners, AI Search Expands Links – SEO Pulse
Google adds subscription labels and inline links to AI Search. Amsive maps core update winners and losers. Plus Mueller on vibe coding and Preferred Sources.
Google’s Mueller On Why AI-Built Websites Miss SEO Basics
AI tools can build websites fast, but Mueller says they won’t set up your canonicals, sitemaps, or robots.txt unless you tell them to.
Bing Reveals What Grounding Means For AI Search Visibility
Microsoft’s Bing team published a framework describing how grounding for AI-generated answers differs from traditional search across five measurement areas.
Google’s AI Search Now Shows More Links: What SEOs Need to Know
Google is adding subscription labels, inline links, discussion previews, and desktop link previews to its AI Search experiences.
Google Sued For AI Overview Misinformation
A lawsuit alleges Google’s AI Overview falsely identified musician Ashley MacIsaac as a sex offender. It seeks $1.5M in damages.
Google Meridian GeoX Preview: 3 Key Updates For Marketing Measurement
Google previews Meridian GeoX, Meridian Studio, Data Manager updates, and visual Google tag setup ahead of Google Marketing Live.
Google Shares Insight On Black Box AI Models In Search
Google’s Nikola Todorovic said AI can act “like a kind of a black box” while explaining why machine learning was hard to deploy in Search.
Google Core Update Data Shows Sharp Drop In Aggregator Rankings
Data shows YouTube, Reddit, and aggregators lost US search visibility after Google’s March core update, while brand and government sites gained.
Ask Jeeves Search Engine Discontinues Operations After 29-Year Run
Ask.com, the search engine formerly known as Ask Jeeves, has shut down. IAC discontinued the search business after nearly 30 years.
Google & Microsoft Earnings Show AI Search Revenue Surge
Alphabet and Microsoft earnings show search ad revenue growing while Google Network revenue fell to $6.97B, continuing a multi-quarter decline.
Google Tells Developers To Build For AI Agents, Not Just Humans
Google’s web.dev guidance advises developers to treat AI agents as a distinct visitor type and recommends practices similar to accessibility practices.
Google Earnings Show AI Search Impact While Clicks Get Tested – SEO Pulse
Google repeats the bounce clicks claim. Alphabet and Microsoft report from the revenue side. More in this week’s SEO Pulse.
AI Search Click Patterns Reveal Local Domain Advantage
Aleyda Solis’s Similarweb analysis of 10 markets shows that AI search clicks frequently redirect to local domains, with the distribution differing by industry.
Bing Shows Signs Of Growth With 1B User Milestone Announcement
Microsoft says Bing reached 1B monthly active users, as search ad revenue grew 12% and Edge gained share for the 20th straight quarter.
Google Search Revenue Hits 19% Growth: What Pichai’s AI Claims Really Mean
Alphabet’s Q1 2026 earnings put Google Search revenue at $60.4 billion, up 19% YoY, as Pichai tied AI experiences to higher Search usage.
OpenAI Crawl Activity Tripled Since GPT-5, Data Shows
OpenAI crawl activity roughly tripled after GPT-5, with OAI-SearchBot now generating more log events than GPTBot.