Google AI Overviews now appear for most major brands
Google AI Overviews now appear for more than 80% of the branded queries DemandSphere tracks, up from 26% on Sept. 1. Google hasn‘t explained why.
Industry News
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Google releases September 2026 spam update
Google’s September 2026 spam update may take up to two weeks to roll out, making ranking drops harder to diagnose.
Google's AI contribution pilot pays publishers
Google‘s AI contribution pilot pays invited publishers through Search Console. Citations and links in AI answers don‘t qualify for payment.
Cloudflare's AI training block now spares Googlebot
Cloudflare‘s Disallow AI Training setting blocks AI training crawlers but not Googlebot. Bing won‘t honor it until early 2027.
Why 62% of AI citations don’t lead to brand mentions [Study]
In partnership with Kevin Indig, we analyzed 3,981 domain appearances across ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode. The study reveals how AI engines treat citations and brand mentions differently, why “ghost citations“ are common, and what marketers can do to improve brand visibility in AI search.
Google launches Search Profiles for publishers and creators
Google‘s new Search profiles give publishers and creators a dedicated landing page in Discover. Here‘s what it means for brands.
Google adds a dedicated Agentic Browsing category to Lighthouse
Google Lighthouse now audits how ready your site is for AI agents. Here‘s what it means for visibility.
Google Search Console adds AI performance reports and blocking controls
Google is rolling out an AI performance report and a toggle to block content from AI responses in Search Console. Here‘s what it means for your visibility.
Only 22% of marketers have fully integrated AI search and SEO. They’re pulling ahead. [Study]
AI search is the new SEO for most marketers. But their workflows haven‘t caught up yet. Survey of 481 marketers.
Google to add AI performance report to Merchant Center
A new AI performance insights report will give ecommerce brands a look at how they appear across AI-powered shopping experiences.