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's Sundar Pichai and Nick Fox were both interviewed separately about the future of Google Search. Google Search Console's Discover report is missing data from May 21st, yes another bug. Google local results is testing a button to check real time stock/inventory. Google Ads is rolling out real-time policy reviews during the ad creation process. OpenAI is showing more links in ChatGPT leading to a 150% increase in referrals.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Interviews Of Google's Sundar Pichai & Nick Fox
There are two interviews that is probably worth a listen of Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai and Google's SVP of Knowledge & Information, out of Google I/O and Google Marketing Live. If you listen, you can see the direction Google Search is headed - and duh, it is AI. -
Google Ads Real-Time Policy Reviews During Ad Creation
Google is rolling out what it calls Real-Time Policy Reviews within Google Ads for Responsive Search Ads and rolling out to other campaign types later in the year. Google wrote, "this feature provides instant feedback during the ad creation process, significantly reducing the time it takes for your ads to begin serving." -
Google Local Results Tests Check Real-Time Stock
Google is testing letting searchers check for real-time stock, inventory, of products through the local pack in the search results. There is this new button being tested next to view "more places" in the local pack that says, "Check real-time stock." -
Google Discover Report Bug Cause Decrease In Clicks/Impressions May 21
Google has confirmed another bug with the Search Console Discover performance report on May 21st. Google said there was another data logging issue that may cause a decrease in clicks and impressions for May 21, 2026. -
Similarweb: ChatGPT Shows More Links Leading To 150% Increase In Referrals
New data out of Similarweb says that since OpenAI began surfacing more prominent links to brands in the ChatGPT answers, referral traffic is up 150%. Also pageviews per visit is up 24% and time on site is up 11%. -
Butterflies On The Google Dinosaur Stan
Google's dinosaur, named Stan, has these fake butterflies on them. I spotted this on Instagram. It is not uncommon for Stan to have things and clothing put on it. This time, it is butterflies...
Other Great Search Threads:
- Google Merchant Center Action Required: Migrate to the new Merchant API, Menachem Ani on X
- New to the Google app, Google is preparing a special Discover feed for videos via `googleapp_discover_video_mode_feed`. This is similar to what they did previously for images with the "Images" tab at the bottom of the navigation, Damien (andell) on X
- People aren’t just complaining about Google's AI search overhaul, they’re leaving. Yesterday alone, our week over week installs surged 30% in the U.S. Momentum is growing. It’s time to Fire Google., DuckDuckGo on X
- Massive Deindexation On Properties and Parasites?, BlackHatWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- OpenAI is preparing conversion-focused ads for ChatGPT
- Sundar Pichai: Google Search, AI agents, and tools will become one
- Google folds Display Ads into Demand Gen campaigns
- Google’s latest AI ad push shows ads are becoming conversations, not clicks
- Google’s Nick Fox: AI search rewards content that goes deeper
- Interrupting buyer journeys: The SEO strategy hiding in plain sight
- Google Search Console links report showing old data after breaking
- SEO changelogs: The missing layer of enterprise site governance
- The new playbook for localized AI search optimization
- 5 early signs of PPC performance drops: Track competitors to spot them
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- AI hallucinations in research, legal filings, and books are growing and getting harder to fix, Fortune
- Apple is doomed because Google AI doesn't know when 2027 is, Macworld
Industry & Business
- Capital One Fails to Escape Suit Over Meta, Google Data Sharing, Bloomberg
- Google Defeats Film Distributor's 'Shorts' TM On Appeal, Law360 UK
- Google lands Nuvem subsea cable in South Carolina, Data Center Dynamics
- OpenAI Hires ServiceNow CMO Colin Fleming to Lead Business Marketing Push, AdWeek
Links & Content Marketing
- B2B Podcasting: 20 Stats that Make the Marketing Case, TopRank
- Internal Linking Strategies for SEO Siloing: Virtual Siloing, Bruce Clay
- PR and SEO: How to Build More Authority Together (5 Steps), Backlinko
Local & Maps
SEO
- AI In The Wild: Confident, Wrong, and Weirdly Expensive, SEO for Lunch
- Diagnosing Organic Traffic Decline: 19 Effective Ways, Seer Interactive
- Effectiveness of automatic SEO apps, Ilana Davis
- How Are AI Answers Created (And What/How Are We Optimizing for), Ann Smarty
- May 2026 Core Update: Visibility Analysis and Data Updates, SISTRIX
- New Era Of Search: What Google’s AI Search Changes Mean For Bloggers, TopHatRank
- Query Fan-Out: What It Is & Why It Matters for AI Visibility, WordStream
- 3 Website Traffic Methods + 5 Questions to Choose, Compass Digital Strategies
- AI Traffic vs AI Citations: What Clicks and Cited Pages Show About the AI Search Journey, Aleyda Solis
- Spam in the age of AI Search, I Love SEO
PPC
- Google Ads Quality Score in 2026: What It Controls and What It Doesn't, Hopskip Media
- Google Display Ads is migrating to Demand Gen, Google Blog
- How Magecart’s ATMZOW Skimmer Is Still Hiding Inside Google Tag Manager, Security Boulevard
- OpenAI Targets Smaller Advertisers With New ChatGPT Ads, The Information
- Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Ireland (May 2026), Google Advertising Policies Help
Search Features
- Google rolling out new setting for Search Services History, more, 9to5Google
- Google update set to move users from AI Overviews to AI Mode, Press Gazette
- Google’s AI Overviews is getting weird — users are making it roleplay, Piunika Web
- The Google app could soon get a new "Videos" tab, Android Authority
Other Search
- Machine Media: The Death of the Open Web, iPullRank
- More than 340 local news outlets are limiting the Internet Archive’s access to their journalism, Nieman Journalism Lab
- What We Ask Google by Simon Rogers review – the secrets of our search history, The Guardian
Feedback:
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