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 says search algorithms, spam detection, spam policies etc have not fundamentally changed with AI Search. Bing rolled out its multi-turn search feature. OpenAI ChatGPT now has top stories and more visual knowledge panels. Google shared the biggest crawling challenges of 2025. Google says don't spend too much time on redirect analysis for SEO purposes.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google: Search Algorithms, Spam Detections & Policies Don't Fundamentally Change With AI Search
Google's John Mueller said that when it comes to AI Search and the changes that come with that, Google's core search algorithms, spam detection methods, spam policies, and other search systems do not fundamentally change. -
Google's Top Crawling Challenges In 2025
Gary Illyes, along with Martin Splitt, of Google posted a podcast explaining the top crawling challenges Google noticed amongst its 2025 year of crawling. The top challenges Google had with crawling included faceted navigation, action parameters, irrelevant parameters, calendar parameters and other "weird" parameters. -
Google: Don't Spend Too Much Time On Redirects Analysis For SEO
Google's John Mueller said he would "caution against assuming that you need to do this level of analysis for all URLs on a website in order to achieve optimal SEO" when it comes to reviewing bad redirects or CSP settings. Why, because bad redirects or CSP settings are often simply visible when doing normal browsing, and if you see it, then that is enough. -
Bing Multi-Turn Search Rolls Out Worldwide
Bing Search has rolled out what it calls multi-turn search in Bing globally. This is something we saw Microsoft Bing test back in June, when we saw a floating Copilot follow up search box at the footer of the Bing search results page show up as you scroll. It is now globally live for all to use. -
ChatGPT With Top Stories & More Visual Knowledge Panels
OpenAI seems to be jazzing up its ChatGPT responses by showing more visual responses, like Google's knowledge panels and top stories. This goes across people, places, products, and ideas, OpenAI said. -
Rainy & Foggy Google London Rooftop Patio
Here is another photo from the Google office in London. This shows off the typical weather there, which is foggy and rainy. This photo is from one of the rooftop patios.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Another useful tidbit about Google Discover's "Tailor Your Feed." I tested it by requesting "fewer X posts" and analyzing the "resulting from natural language tuning." We can see that Google has replaced the Discover X (Twitter, Damien (andell) on X
- Everyone loves a hidden gem and my Microsoft Advertising hidden gem will always be ad group level settings. Here's why:, Navah Hopkins on LinkedIn
- Gender demographic traffic split to leading Gen AI websites, Similarweb on X
- Google: Fire your entire account rep team. Their reputation w top agencies is awful., Mike Rome on LinkedIn
- I am seeing the /blog/ sections for various large companies dropping in the last week or two. The blogs seem to be full of tons of explainer content for basic concepts within their niche, like "what is ____" or "how to use ____", Lily Ray on X
- The only constant is change! (And some form of neutrality, given the current GEO. Or is that a red flag? Or is the flag a big plus?), John Mueller on Bluesky
- How to add llms.txt (LLM file) in Wix? Any workaround?, Reddit
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ads API update cracks open Performance Max by channel
- How to build a modern Google Ads targeting strategy like a pro
- OpenAI quietly lays groundwork for ads in ChatGPT
- Human experience optimization: Why experience now shapes search visibility
- Ads in ChatGPT: Why behavior matters more than targeting
- Advanced ways to use competitive research in SEO and AEO
- The in-house vs. agency debate misses the real paid media problem
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- 'Moltbook' social media site for AI agents had big security hole, cyber firm Wiz says, Reuters
- Game Arena: Poker and Werewolf, and Gemini 3 tops chess, Google Blog
- How to plan your 2026 budget with Gemini and Google Sheets, Google Blog
- Introducing the Codex app, OpenAI
- Using AI to preserve the genetic code of endangered species, Google Blog
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Google Joins Singapore’s Green Fuel Tests Ahead of Flight Levy, Bloomberg
- Nvidia CEO Confirms New Investment in OpenAI, ‘Probably the Largest We Have Ever Made', The Information
- Snowflake lands $200M OpenAI partnership, The Deep View
- A list of the publisher lawsuits targeting Google’s ad tech practices, Digiday
- Google Is Spending Big to Build a Lead in the AI Energy Race, Wall Street Journal
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT push triggers senior staff exits, Financial Times (Sub)
Links & Content Marketing
- How to Find the Best Content Agency for Your Ecommerce Brand, Intergrowth
- Winning Brand Trust: Why 2026 Demands a Plural Brand Strategy, Content Marketing Institute
- 10 Ecommerce Link-Building Strategies: Boost Traffic, Rankings & Sales in 2026, Collaborator
Local & Maps
- Google Maps SEO: 5 Proven Strategies to Rank Higher, Ahrefs
- Google’s Latest AI Search Features Look Like a Personalized Travel Concierge, Skift
- Google Maps community edits could get a major Gemini makeover, Android Authority
SEO
- 5 quick news SEO wins every editor can get right now, SEO For Journalism
- Can I Use My YouTube Transcripts as Real Estate Blog Posts?, SEO Savvy Agent
- How Growing In-house Marketing Teams Outgrow DIY SEO, Level343
- Information Retrieval Part 2: How to Get Into Model Training Data, Leadership SEO
- What Brand-Led SEO Looks Like Today | Miracle Inameti-Archibong, Advanced Web Ranking
- DMGT reports revenue dip as Google changes hit traffic for Mail publisher, Press Gazette
- Google is killing authentic websites & I made it worse, Louis Rossmann on YouTube
PPC
- AI in Online Advertising: 5 Key Trends from January 2026, JumpFly
- Amazon Ads Opens A Beta Test For Its New MCP Server, AdExchanger
- Google Stops Preselecting PMAX in Shopping Setup, PPC News Feed
- How to Find and Exclude Ad Placements in Google Ads, Jyll Saskin Gales
- Malicious 'Mac Cleaner' Ads On Google Redirect Users To Phishing Nightmares, CyberPress
- SERPs with Ads + AI Overviews Grew by Over 394% in 2025, Semrush
Search Features
- DOJ Opposes Google's Bid For Partial Search Remedy Pause, Law360
- Gemini Live rolling out floating pill redesign on Android, 9to5Google
- Tune into the 2026 Winter Olympics with Google, Google Blog
Other Search
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