OpenAI Says Robots.txt May Not Apply To ChatGPT’s Fetch Bot
New data shows ChatGPT’s page-fetching bot is reaching sites that have disallowed it, and OpenAI’s own documentation explains why the file may not stop it.
About
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.
Articles
Claude’s Watermark Confirms AI Output, Not Authorship
Anthropic plans to watermark Claude text. This article explains what a watermark can confirm and why not finding one doesn’t mean the text isn’t AI-generated.
Google Gemini Passes 1B Monthly Users, 63% Now Use Voice
Google says its Gemini app passed 1 billion monthly users and reports that 63% now use voice, alongside camera, uploads, and app automation data.
Google Amends SerpApi Suit With Content Licensing Terms
Google amended its DMCA complaint against SerpApi, adding licensing terms after a court dismissed the original claims over search scraping.
OpenAI Allows Some Health & Finance Ads In ChatGPT
OpenAI’s ad rules now allow some health and finance advertisers in ChatGPT, while placement restrictions still apply to sensitive conversations.
ChatGPT’s Search Index Serves Small Sites Too, Data Shows
New data finds no difference in how OpenAI’s in-house search index served licensed and unlicensed sites.
Anthropic To Mark Claude Text & Files Under EU AI Act Code
Anthropic will embed invisible watermarks in Claude text and sign generated files.
YouTube Adds New Shorts Payout Rules To Partner Program Terms
YouTube announced Partner Program changes taking effect in 2027, including new Shorts earnings rules, activity checks, and a terms deadline.
Google Announces Campaign Benchmarking In Google Analytics
Google announced that its Ask Advisor AI agent will compare campaign performance in Google Analytics against anonymized averages from similar businesses.
Reviews, Reputation & Listings: The Local Signals AI Now Reads
Listing inconsistencies, review language, and third-party citations now decide whether AI assistants name your business. Fix them in this order before chasing AI visibility tactics.
What Opting Out Of Google’s AI Search Features Means Now
Google’s AI search opt-out is rolling out as Top Stories appear inside AI Overviews. What the control covers and what businesses can measure before deciding.
Social Search Data For All, AI-Detected Pages Rank Lower – SEO Pulse
This week’s SEO Pulse covers expanded Search Console social reporting, Ahrefs’ AI-content ranking analysis, AI opt-out implications, and metadata guidance.
Google Opens Search Console Social Reporting To Everyone
Search Console platform properties are now open to everyone worldwide, and Google has published a guide to reading your social and video search data.
Google’s Mueller: Fix Conflicting Metadata, Don’t Test It
Google’s John Mueller says if sites are serving conflicting metadata, they should fix the conflict, not test which source wins.
YouTube Views Rose While Long-Form Ad Revenue Fell, Data Shows
Metricool data shows views per long-form YouTube post increased while estimated ad revenue and average view duration fell.
Google’s Illyes Unsure On Shifting unavailable_after Dates
Google’s Gary Illyes said he would need to check whether pushing an unavailable_after date forward on every renewal causes problems. He gave a first read.
AI Opt-Out May Cost Sites A Google Top Stories Spot
Google is putting Top Stories carousels inside AI Overviews, raising the stakes on its new AI opt-out setting in Search Console.
Google Search Results Still Rank Heavily AI-Flagged Pages
Data ties higher AI detector scores to lower positions and to fewer pages in Google’s index, though heavily flagged pages still rank in top 10.
Indexed Claude Chats Show Why Disallow Is Not Noindex
Shared Claude chats showed up in Google. We checked the pages and found a noindex header sitting behind a robots.txt block that keeps Google out.
ChatGPT Links Out Most On Travel Queries, Data Shows
A new report finds ChatGPT citation rates vary sharply by topic, with travel answers citing sources far more often than education answers.
Google Data Compares Gemini & AI Mode Use Against Daily Life
Google’s new AI & Economy report compares Gemini and AI Mode conversations against how Americans spend their days.
Google’s Q2: Precise Revenue Figures, Click Claims You Can’t Check
Alphabet detailed Search revenue to the decimal. Google described web traffic in three kinds of unverifiable claims. Q2 widened the gap.
Search Growth Slows, Publishers Weigh Leaving Google – SEO Pulse
A court dismisses Google’s DMCA claims against SerpApi, the EU fines Google €890 million, major publishers weigh leaving Google, and Search growth eases.
YouTube Explains What Can Stop A Channel Getting Paid
YouTube spelled out three kinds of content that can stop a channel from getting paid, and says it’s clarifying existing rules, not changing them.
Pichai Says Google Needs Gemini 4 To Compete At The Frontier
On Alphabet’s Q2 call, Pichai named coding an area to improve, saying Google needs Gemini 4 for the next frontier, as 3.5 Pro stays delayed.
Google Search Revenue Growth Eases After A Year Of Acceleration
Alphabet’s Q2 Search revenue rose 17% to $63.27 billion, its first easing after four quarters of acceleration. Google credited retail and Gemini integration.
Court Dismisses Google’s DMCA Claims Against SerpApi
A federal court dismissed Google’s DMCA claims against SerpApi, ruling that blocking scrapers from public search results is not copyright circumvention on its own.
Google’s AI Search Data Is Growing, But The Gaps Remain
Google is adding more AI search data across Search Console and Merchant Center, but clicks, individual queries, and key reporting details remain missing.
Google AI Mode Ads Rarely Match The Sources It Cites
In a new analysis of AI Mode text ads, ads appeared on nearly a third of commercial keywords, and advertisers were rarely among the sources.
Google AI Mode Is Citing More Google-Hosted Pages
New data shows Google is now AI Mode’s second most-cited domain, driven by Google-hosted Business Profile and Product Knowledge Panel cards.