Daily Search Forum Recap: August 6, 2026
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
We are seeing big changes and swings with the Google Search results…
Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Into August 5th & 6th
Yes, I reported Google Search ranking volatility over this past weekend, but I am seeing a large increase in the chatter within the SEO community over the past 24 hours or so. The chatter seems consistent with a big Google Search algorithm update that…
Google AI Leadership Changes: Jeff Dean Leaves, Demis Hassabis Change & More
Google announced a number of big changes within its executive AI leadership ranks, including Jeff Dean leaving Google after 27 years, Demis Hassabis stepping down as Google DeepMind CEO to be its chair, and Koray Kavukcuoglu taking over many of his res…
Google Algorithm update in August 2026? What we know
We’re kickstarting a brand new series here at SEW, where we will do our best to watch and report in search engines’ updates. As you are probably aware, not all of them are announced, only the bigger ones. However, a lot of webmasters, publishers and agencies report ongoing fluctuations and volatility. Tracking potential Google algorithm updates […]
The post Google Algorithm update in August 2026? What we know appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Google Search Console Shows AI Mode Queries, Not In Generative AI Reports
While the Google Search Console generative AI performance reports do not share query data, you can still try to figure out which queries are from AI Mode versus normal searches. The SEO community has been doing this for years now by looking for more c…
Microsoft Ads New Exclude Audience Ads Placements Within PMax Campaigns
Microsoft Advertising is rolling out a new feature for advertisers to allow you to exclude Audience ads placements within Performance Max campaigns. There is a new setting named “Excluded content terms” within Audience Ads.
Google Ads Video Q&A On August 17 Bidding Update
Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, posted a video Q&A on the upcoming bidding update coming on August 17th. As you know, these bidding changes are causing a big stir within the PPC industry and Ginny wanted to answer some questions in a video format.
New Google Product Listing Ads Deal Ends Experimental Annotation
Google has a new specialized feature within Product Listing Ads within Merchant Center named Deal Ends annotation. This is experimental now but works globally, except for EEA+, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It will add high-impact and real-time …
Google Ads Won’t Let Free Email Accounts Take Sensitive Actions
Google Ads is testing a new security feature to disallow free domain email addresses (such as @gmail.com or @yahoo.com) from performing sensitive actions on a Google Ads advertiser account. Google will only allow those using corporate emails to perform…
Bing Tests New “Top Source” Section In Search Results
Bing is testing a new section on its search results page called “Top Source.” Based on what we’re seeing, this section appears to group together multiple pieces of content whether individual pages or news articles from a single site. Here is the screenshot of how it looks. Here is the X post. We’ve noticed […]
The post Bing Tests New “Top Source” Section In Search Results appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Google Guide: How To Help Users Find Your Site Through Preferred Sources In Search Results
Google recently rolled out a preferred sources feature on the search results page. When a user selects a website as a preferred source, that site’s content is more likely to show up in Top Stories and gets highlighted as a preferred source within AI Overviews and AI Mode. Here is a screenshot of how it […]
The post Google Guide: How To Help Users Find Your Site Through Preferred Sources In Search Results appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Move over Google Shopping: ChatGPT’s ad carousel launch is imminent
ChatGPT ads are becoming much more like Google Shopping. OpenAI is reportedly rolling out a new carousel format that can place several products inside one ad at the bottom of a conversation. Digiday says it verified the format after seeing screenshots. Until now, ChatGPT ads have generally promoted one product at a time. The carousel […]
The post Move over Google Shopping: ChatGPT’s ad carousel launch is imminent appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Google tests new “Featured Products” subheading in shopping ads
Google is testing a new subheading within its Sponsored results carousel called “Featured products,” with the description “From online or local stores” underneath it. We’re seeing this tested on both mobile and desktop. Here is the screenshot. In the example above, a search for wheelchairs shows the usual Sponsored results carousel, but now with this […]
The post Google tests new “Featured Products” subheading in shopping ads appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
What 50k Query Fan-Outs Reveal About Brands (+ Free Data!)
What do 50k query fan-outs reveal about LLM bias, brand visibility, and search intent? Explore fresh data on Gemini prompts + download the free raw dataset.
Google loses four architects of Search and Gemini as DeepMind’s founder steps back
Jeff Dean, Sanjay Ghemawat, Quoc Le and Oriol Vinyals are leaving to form a new AI company. Demis Hassabis is handing daily control of Google DeepMind to one of his longest-serving deputies. Four engineers whose work runs through Google Search, the company’s computing infrastructure and Gemini are leaving to start a new AI venture. At […]
The post Google loses four architects of Search and Gemini as DeepMind’s founder steps back appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Apple’s advertising business just had its best quarter ever
Apple’s advertising business set a new June-quarter revenue record, according to comments made during the company’s latest earnings call. One important number remains missing: Apple still does not report advertising revenue separately. The company generated $30.74 billion from Services during its fiscal third quarter, up 12% from $27.42 billion one year earlier. Apple’s regulatory filing […]
The post Apple’s advertising business just had its best quarter ever appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
AI visibility scores can mislead search marketers, new guidelines warn
Marketers should be cautious about using AI visibility scores to make budget or strategy decisions, according to new industry guidance. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), a trade group representing the digital advertising industry, says many current tools provide directional signals rather than reliable business intelligence. These tools measure how often brands and websites appear across […]
The post AI visibility scores can mislead search marketers, new guidelines warn appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
AI Shopping Agents
The main benefit of AI in commerce is quickly removing friction by broadening out the scope of search and showing alternate solutions. There is a trade off in any broadening. New ideas and solutions can be valuable, but broaden things too much and crea…
Google: Reddit Gets No Special Preference In Google Search Rankings
Google’s communications representative, Jennifer Kutz, told The Verge that Reddit gets no preference in Google Search or Google’s AI Search features. Kutz told The Verge that Reddit “gets no special preference” in Google’s ranking systems.
Google Assistant Shutting Down On Mobile Devices On September 4
We knew this day was coming, and now Google has sent out emails announcing the date when Google Assistant will be going away on mobile devices. The date is September 4, 2026, and Gemini will replace Google Assistant on WearOS, headphones and earbuds th…