Here is the monthly Google webmaster report - the June 2026 edition - where I cover all the larger SEO and webmaster related Google Search news that you may want to catch up on over the past week. Yes, we had the big Google May 2026 core update, with a number of unconfirmed Google updates as well.
Google released its how to optimize for AI search, which ruffled some feathers in the SEO industry. Google said that its search spam policies also apply to AI search features and then warned about manipulating or buying citations for AI search. Meanwhile, Google seems to be slowly deindexing pages across tons of sites, but Google won't really say why.
Google Search Console is slowly rolling out AI performance reports and AI blocking controls which we expected to happen, but I did not expect it to come because of the UK government. Google dropped FAQ rich results, and with that, the Search Console features. Google also had a 50 week data bug in Search Console, which cannot be recovered. The link report is broken as well and the Discover reports had two bugs this past month.
Google I/O news, on the search side, was a bit bleh. They announced the intelligent search box, which is okay. Google also released Gemini 3.5 Flash in search with a ton of new agentic features. Outside of I/O, Google rolled out preferred sources globally and added preferred sources in AI Mode and more. Google also released five improvements to links in AI Mode and AI Overviews, is it enough?
Oh, and Google appealed its search monopoly ruling, only to expect a huge fine from the EU in the coming months.
If you missed last month, it was a double one for the April and May 2026 Google Webmaster Report.
Here are the bigger stories from the past month:
Google Core Update & Unconfirmed Updates:
- Google May 2026 Core Update Is Rolling Out - You Felt It
- Google May 2026 Core Update Landed Over The Weekend
- Google May 2026 Core Update Hits Hard Saturday - May 30th
- Google May 2026 Core Update Volatility Hits Hard Again June 2nd
- Google May 2026 Core Update Has Completed Rolling Out
- Google I/O 2026 Search Ranking Volatility & Update
- Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated May 13th & 14th
- Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated Today - May 8th
- Google Search On How To Optimize For Generative AI With Myth-Busting
- Google Strongly Warns Against Manipulating Mentions For AI
- Google: Spam Policies Apply To AI Responses (AI Overviews & AI Mode)
- Google Search May Be Deindexing URLs At Higher Rates
- Google May Adjust Its Site Reputation Abuse Policy For EU News Sites
- Google Removes Lag For AI Overviews & AI Mode Showing Penalized Content
- Google: Search Quality Raters Guidelines Not A Guide For Search Rankings
- Google Indexing API Is Inundated By Bloggers
- Google Web Bot Auth: Validate Authentic Bots
- Google Search Console AI Performance Report & AI Blocking Controls (Limited)
- Google Search Drops FAQ Rich Results In Search & Search Console
- Google Search Console Fixed The 50 Week Data Logging Issue
- Google Search Console Links Report Is Broken
- Google Discover Report Bug Cause Decrease In Clicks/Impressions May 21
- Google Discover Performance Report Missing Data May 7 & May 8
- Google's New Search Bar, The Intelligent Search Box
- Google Search Now Powered By Gemini 3.5 Flash With New Agentic Features
- Google Preferred Sources Now Available For All Languages Globally
- Google AI Mode & AI Overviews Add Preferred Sources & New Carousel
- Google Improves Links Within AI Mode & AI Overviews In 5 Ways
- Google On AI Overviews & AI Mode Being Isolated Systems (Or Not)
- Google Tests Fresh Updates Label For Search Snippets
- Google Search Live Results Updated By AI X Minutes Ago Label
- Google AI Mode & AI Overviews Sliding Carousel For Link Cards
- Google Adding More Link Cards To AI Responses
- Google Tests New Sitename & Favicon Layout In Search
- Google AI Overviews With Author Names & Source (Again)
- Google Tests New Anchor Links & Favicon Experiences In AI Mode
- Google Business Profile Detailed Rejection Notices
- Google Local Results Tests Check Real-Time Stock
- Google Business Profiles Photos / Videos Add View Counts
- Google Business Profile Suspensions Spike Over User Account Restrictions
- Google Officially Appeals Search Monopoly Ruling
- Interviews Of Google's Sundar Pichai & Nick Fox
- EU May Fine Google Triple Million Euros Over Favoring Itself In Search Results
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
