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.
Google is hiring a search quality engineer to work on AI Answer quality. Google added the LLMs.txt files to its websites for "other reasons." Bing is testing a new home page design to promote Copilot. Google removed the practice problem structured data help documentation. Google Ads to allow ads for prediction markets.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Hiring AI Answers & Search Quality Software Engineer
Google posted a new job listing looking to hire a new Senior Software Engineer, Search, AI Answers Quality. The job post says "Help the AI Answers Quality team deliver AI Overviews to users' hard and complicated queries on the SRP and in AI Mode." -
Microsoft Bing Tests New Home Page Design Promoting Copilot
Microsoft Bing is testing a new home page design where it promotes its AI-powered search and answer engine, Copilot. It seems to be a limited test and is not fully live yet, but it is a big change to the home page, which normally has the Bing custom background, search box, and the news feed below. -
Google Added LLMs.txt To It's Web Sites For Other Reasons Than Discovery
A month ago, Google added LLMs.txt files to many of its developer and documentation sites including the Search developer docs. As you know, Google pulled it off the Search developer docs within a day or so but the LLMs.txt files still remain on many of Google's other sites. -
Google Practice Problems Structured Data Help Documentation Removed
Last November, Google announced it was dropping support for a number of structured data types and search features. One of those was practice problem structured data types, and now, Google has removed the help documentation along with it. -
Google Ads To Allow Ads For Prediction Markets
Google Ads will update its advertising policies to allow ads for Prediction Markets starting on January 21, 2026. This will be allowed in the United States, but only for federally regulated entities. -
Google Dog (Doogler) In Tie
Here is a photo of a Google dog, also known as a Doogler, wearing a tie. The person who posted this on Instagram wrote, "It's my first day to work at Google as an emotion support specialist! I earn myself 2 biscuits per hour!"
Other Great Search Threads:
- Observations on Bing Search Behavior and SEO Differences vs Google, WebmasterWorld
- Don't sleep on Google's free listing results in 2026. For this client, the uplift YoY compared to 2024 was so significant that it made 2025 a challenge to outperform... but we managed to do it anyway. Here are 5 strategies we employed, Brodie Clark on X
- They used to say that page 2 of Google was the best place to hide a dead body. These days, with all of the AIO's, Google Ads, LSA's, Local Pack Ads, plus forums, PAA's....I would say you're just as well hiding the body in the #1 o, Colan Nielsen on X
- Google Tag Gateway is rolling out a Google Cloud Platform integration (beta), Simo Ahava on LinkedIn
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ads upgrades Creator Partnerships with search and management tools
- 2026 PPC trends to get ahead of now
- Google Ads adds shortcut button to Change history
- How to earn brand mentions that drive LLM and SEO visibility
- A 90-day SEO playbook for AI-driven search visibility
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- 9 signs Google’s Gemini just ended ChatGPT’s dominance, Tom's Guide
- AI Can’t Cost This Much (Predictions 2026, #8), John Battelle's Searchblog
- AI Deepfakes Are Impersonating Pastors to Try to Scam Their Congregations, Wired
- Claude Code is about so much more than coding, Transformer News
- Gemini on Google TV is getting Nano Banana and voice-controlled settings, The Verge
- OpenAI's ChatGPT helps users navigate health care and health insurance, Axios
- Watch the NVIDIA CES 2026 keynote with CEO Jensen Huang live here: AI, robotics updates and more, Engadget
- AI and the Human Condition, Stratechery
Analytics
- GA4 Segment Overlap, KRM Digital Marketing
Industry & Business
- Google Gemini Is Taking Control of Humanoid Robots on Auto Factory Floors, Wired
- Sutskever’s Fate, OpenAI’s Next Deal, A Hit Robot—and 13 Other Predictions for 2026, The Information
- Texas awards law firm Norton Rose $156 million in legal fees from Google settlement, Reuters
- Three Former Apple Face ID Engineers Launch Robotics Startup Out of Stealth, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
- 16 Content Writing Tips From Experts To Survive 2026, Search Engine Journal
- Navigate the New Year: What’s Your Word for 2026?, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
SEO
- 'The Core Before Christmas' - Google's December 2025 Broad Core Update - Analysis and Findings From The 18 Day Rollout, GSQI
- 2025: The Year SEO Outgrew the Click, SearchEngineWorld
- 2026 News SEO Trends & Predictions: Insights From 20 Global Experts On What’s Next, Newzdash
- How AI Search Changes Discovery Without Rankings, International Search News
- The Biggest AI Marketing Trends for 2026, WordStream
- Top 5 Generative Engine Optimization Strategies For 2026, Laura Jawad Marketing
- What Search Leaders Predict for SEO in 2026, Search With Sean
- What to Do About AI Overviews Traffic Loss, Semrush
- Why Competitors Show Up in AI Search & You Don‘t, Semrush
- Why SEO Training? The Breakdown Between Leaders, Teams, & Optimization, Level343
- Will 2026 see the birth of “Artisanal SEO"?, Chris Green
- The AI Search Reckoning Is Dismantling Open Web Traffic – And Publishers May Never Recover, AdExchanger
PPC
- Fake Google Ads for Paramount Support — Gift Card Scam Alert, The Gabber Newspaper
- Reddit Takes on Google and Meta with New AI Media Buying Tool, AdWeek
- Why Are We Still Keyword Mapping in 2026? Is It Relevant in the Age of AI?, Audiencekey
- No Surprises Later: The New Client Call Isn’t a Sales Pitch, It’s an Expectation Check, JumpFly Digital Marketing Blog
Search Features
- Google Web Guide: A New Search Experiment, Semrush
- The Alexa Plus website is now available to everyone in early access, The Verge
Other Search
- Google VP John Maletis confirms 10-year ChromeOS support commitment, Chrome Unboxed
- Most People Don’t Read, DEJAN
- Samsung Unveils New Supersized, Color-Rich TVs With More AI, Bloomberg
- Discovering Personalized Semantics for Soft Attributes in Recommender Systems using Concept Activation Vectors, Google Research Blog
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