Daily Search Forum Recap: February 10, 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.

OpenAI's ChatGPT ads go live with user ad controls. We are also seeing the start of more Google ranking volatility. Google is testing citation icons at the bottom of the AI Mode results. Google Ads PMax A/B testing is rolling out. Grokipedia is seeing a big drop in its search visibility. Bing is testing dynamic search results count under the search box.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• OpenAI ChatGPT Ads Go Live With User Ad Controls
  OpenAI has officially launched ads in ChatGPT yesterday. The company announced, "Today, we're beginning to test ads in ChatGPT in the U.S. The test will be for logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education tiers will not have ads."
• Google Search Ranking Volatility Gets Heated Again February 10th
  I am seeing some early signs of yet another unconfirmed Google Search ranking update with more volatility touching down today, February 10th. The chatter within the SEO community is starting to spike, and some of the third-party tracking tools are showing volatility.
• Grokipedia Seeing Decline In Google Search Visibility
  There are some reports coming out that Grokipedia, the AI-based Wikipedia, is now showing a decline in search visibility in both Google and even ChatGPT. This comes after both an indexing and ranking surge in Google Search.
• Google Ads Performance Max A/B Experiments In The Wild
  A month ago, we reported on a new help document on Google Ads for Performance Max optimization experiments: A/B testing assets beta. Well, now some are seeing this in the wild, where you can set up these A/B tests in a controlled environment.
• Google AI Mode Tests Citation Icons At Bottom Of Answers
  Google appears to be testing showing the citation favicon site icons at the bottom of the answer in AI Mode. This is in addition to where it normally shows those icons, at the top right of the card stack, on the side of the answer response.
• Bing Tests Dynamic Results Count Under Search Box
  Microsoft Bing is testing a dynamically loading results count under the search box. So when you enter your search phrase, the results count will dynamically count up from 0 to the number of results found.
• The Old Bing Bellevue Building 12 Man Sign For Seahawks
  Did you know that about a decade ago, the old Microsoft Bing office would make it so its building had a massive 12 sign so that Seattle Seahawks fans could see the 12 for miles and miles.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Lily: really want to double crawl load? We'll crawl anyway to check similarity. Non-user versions (crawlable AJAX and like) are often neglected, broken. Humans eyes help fixing people and bot-viewed content. We like Schema in pages. AI makes us great at u, Fabrice Canel on Bluesky
• Another example of a site that started to lose rankings for many of its self-promoting "best" listicles in mid-January, and the downstream effect on ChatGPT citations for that domain at the same time (via @ahrefs Brand Radar) htt, Lily Ray on X
• Claude and Perplexity went toe-to-toe for most of 2025, with Perplexity usually ahead. Last month, Claude broke away., Similarweb on X
• TIP: Deleting a Google Business Profile, Local Search Forum

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Reddit says 80 million people now use its search weekly
• OpenAI starts testing ChatGPT ads
• Google AI Mode doesn’t favor above-the-fold content: Study
• A preview of ChatGPT’s ad controls just surfaced
• What Google and Microsoft patents teach us about GEO
• Why GA4 alone can’t measure the real impact of AI SEO
• How to diagnose and fix the biggest blocker to PPC growth

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Data Commons Hosted MCP: Zero-Install Public Data for AI, Google Developers Blog
• Google for Singapore 2026: Advancing our AI investments, Google Blog

Industry & Business

• Section 230 turns 30 as it faces its biggest tests yet, The Verge
• Anthropic closes in on $20B round, TechCrunch
• From Svedka to Anthropic, brands make bold plays with AI in Super Bowl ads, TechCrunch
• Google sued by Autodesk over AI-powered movie-making software, Reuters
• Google-Parent Alphabet Kicks Off Seven-Part US Bond Sale, Bloomberg
• Microsoft Sales Chief Responds to Potential Rivalry with OpenAI’s New Agent Product, The Information
• Sam Altman touts ChatGPT growth as OpenAI nears $100 billion funding, CNBC

Links & Content Marketing

• 5 Content Marketing Ideas for March 2026, Practical Ecommerce
• Winning Brand Trust: How To Earn Attention One Room at a Time, Content Marketing Institute

Local & Maps

• Google Maps Rival Gets the Navigation Feature Google Will Never Launch, AutoEvolution
• Local Google Ads Optimization Strategies that Work In 2026, Hopskip Media
• Review Posting Blocks Are Surging: The Data & Patterns Behind Google’s Crackdown, Sterling Sky

SEO

• Enterprise SEO vs Traditional SEO: What changes at scale?, Hallam
• How To Create FAQs At Scale With Screaming Frog + OpenAI API, Nectiv
• Log Files, AI Bots, and the Real Mechanics of AI Search | Metehan Yesilyurt, Advanced Web Ranking
• Markdown-only pages for AI crawlers are a waste of time. Here's why., SALT.agency
• Traffic Impact of Google Discover Update, Practical Ecommerce
• Answer engine optimization vs. traditional SEO: What marketers need to know, Hubspot

PPC

• Google Ads Updates YouTube Campaign Objective for Clarity, PPC News Feed
• In Graphic Detail: The scale of the challenge facing publishers, politicians eager to damage Google’s adland dominance, Digiday
• OpenAI will reportedly start testing ads in ChatGPT today, The Verge
• Phishing Alert Targets Google Merchant Center Users, PPC News Feed
• The Art and Science of Google Ads: Becoming an Expert, Jyll Saskin Gales

Search Features

• Google Tests Personal Intelligence In NotebookLM, Find Articles

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News, add as a preferred source on Google and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or just contact us the old fashion way.