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 exploring ways to let us block our content from being used in AI search, like AI Mode and AI Overviews. Yahoo is back in Search with its release of Yahoo! Scout. Google AI Overviews now jump you into AI Mode and hide the citations - it is not good. Google AI Overviews are powered by Gemini 3 globally now. Bing Webmaster Tools is testing new AI Performance reporting. Google Search tests adding color to the top of the search results page.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Bad News: Google AI Overviews Follow-Up Questions Go Directly To AI Mode
Google made it official, now Google Search AI Overviews will let you do a follow up question after clicking on the "Show more" button and that follow up question will take you directly into AI Mode. This will no doubt lead to less clicks to your website and more traffic into Google AI Mode. -
Google Exploring Ways To Allow Sites To Opt Out Of AI Overviews & AI Mode
Google just announced it is looking into ways to allow websites to specifically opt out of Google using its content in the Search generative AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. This comes based on UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) new requirements for Google Search. -
Bing Webmaster Tools AI Performance Report Beta
Bing is testing a new report within Bing Webmaster Tools named AI Performance. AI Performance shows you how many citations you are getting from Microsoft Copilot and partners. But while it shows you citations (i.e. impressions), it does not show you clicks from those Bing AI experiences. -
Yahoo! Scout - Yahoo's Official Return To Search With AI
After three years of Yahoo dropping hints at its return to search, Yahoo has announced Yahoo! Scout - its new AI search engine feature that is embedded within Yahoo Search, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports and so on - as well as at scout.yahoo.com. -
Gemini 3 Powering Google AI Overviews Globally
Google AI Overviews are now being powered by Gemini 3 globally, by default. Robby Stein, VP of Product, Google Search announced, "We're making Gemini 3 the new default model for AI Overviews globally, so you get a best-in-class AI response right on the search results page, for questions where it's helpful." -
Google Search - Add Splash Of Color With Color Picker
Google is testing the ability to add color to your search results page with a color palette picker. There is this palette icon at the top of the results that when clicked on says "Add a splash of color to the top of Search," and "Pick color." -
Escape the Office - Google Escape Rooms
In nine Google offices worldwide, Google has these escape room games named Escape the Office where "Volunteers turn everyday office items into puzzle challenges, giving Googlers a fun way to meet new teammates and collaborate in unexpected ways," Google wrote on X.
Other Great Search Threads:
- "Tailor Your Feed" Update on Google Discover: I couldn't see if a Discover feed had been impacted by the prompt and request sent in "Tailor Your Feed," or at least it wasn't clear. Since January 13th, Google has added an attrib, Damien (andell) on X
- An interesting fact about Google Discover and the "follow" function. When you follow a publisher and your Discover feed refreshes or you get a new feed, and Google suggests a card related to that publisher, Google will categori, Damien (andell) on X
- EVENT: Come join our v23 "Google Ads API Release Highlights" event!, Cory Liseno on LinkedIn
- In Google Discover, you can manage the languages that appear in your feed, including multilingual options, directly in Settings under Language & Region. You can also view blocked languages. Here's an example with a "Block, Damien (andell) on X
- Percentage of Google visitors who also visited ChatGPT since its launch (no data for May 2024 due to ChatGPT's URL change), and vice versa., Similarweb on X
- Testing the "Tailor your feed" feature in Discover (it's in labs). Sort of weird that I have to access that within the overflow menu for a listing and not top-level somehow, but it does work... When prompting Discover for something, Glenn Gabe on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google may give sites a way to opt out of AI search generative features
- Bing Webmaster Tools testing new AI Performance report
- Google AI Overviews follow up questions jump you directly to AI Mode
- Yahoo debuts Scout, an AI search and companion experience
- Is your account ready for Google AI Max? A pre-test checklist
- 4 Facebook ad templates that still work in 2026 (with real examples)
- Why Search and Shopping ads stop scaling without demand
- EU puts Google’s AI and search data under DMA spotlight
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- Identifying Signal from Noise: 6 Ways to Leverage Query Fan Outs for AI Search Strategy, Seer Interactive
- Introducing Agentic Vision in Gemini 3 Flash, Google Blog
- OpenAI's latest product lets you vibe code science, MIT Technology Review
- UK announces Meta-backed AI team to upgrade public services, Reuters
Analytics
- Data Pipelines Don’t Fail Quietly: A Practical Guide to Monitoring & Alerting, Analytics Ninja
- New Tool From AirOps Looks At Search Performance From Every Angle, AdExchanger
Industry & Business
- Anthropic ‘destructively’ scanned millions of books to build Claude, The Washington Post
- Anthropic doubles VC fundraising to $20bn on surging investor demand, Financial Times (Sub)
- EU Gives Tech Giant Google Six-Month Deadline to Comply with DMA, Ribera Says, Bloomberg
- Google AI Plus expands to 35 new countries and territories including the US, Google Blog
- Meta Announces Up to $6 Billion Agreement With Corning to Support US Manufacturing, Facebook
- SoftBank in Talks to Invest Up to $30 Billion More in OpenAI, Wall Street Journal
- YouTubers sue Snap for alleged copyright infringement in training its AI model, TechCrunch
- Anthropic Hikes 2026 Revenue Forecast 20% but Delays When It Will Go Cash Flow Positive, The Information
Links & Content Marketing
- Experiential Content: How Interaction Builds Confidence in B2B Decisions, TopRank Marketing
- Master Content Operations and Keep Your Team Moving Forward, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- This simple Apple Maps setting solved a key problem for me — I can’t believe no one’s talking about it, TechRadar
- Local SEO Strategy for Google Maps Ask A Question, Whitespark
SEO
- 22 Best SEO Software Tools for Enterprise Teams, SEOTesting
- Outranking competitors product pages, Ilana Davis
- The 30-day SEO transformation playbook: Week 1, Oncrawl
- The Boring Win for Core Web Vitals: Protocol Update, Grumpy Old SEO
- 15 Best Practices for URLs and When to Optimize Them, JumpFly
- Estimating Potential Revenue Loss from Zero-Click Search: A Method for Using Secondary Data, Luca Tagliaferro
- Google vs. AI Content: The Case of Grokipedia, SISTRIX
PPC
- ChatGPT Ads Are Coming: What PPC Marketers Need to Know Before Everyone Else, PPC Hero
- Performance Max Gets One-Click Ad Preview, PPC News Feed
- The future of demand gen is small teams with big AI capabilities, SALT agency
- Why your paid ads aren't scaling: 4 challenges that have nothing to do with your ads, PPC Hero
- ChatGPT Ads: What Google & Meta Advertisers Need to Know, Jyll Saskin Gales
- Faulty Image Cropping Detected in Google's Discover Ads, PPC News Feed
Other Search
- Launching Profound Data Nodes for Agent Workflows, Profound
- Google just leaked a first look at Android for PC in action, The Verge
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