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 added a new help document on third-party tools, services and advice, plus Google updated its hiring an SEO document. Google is testing Search profile insights and analytics. Bing has a new way to hide AI responses from Copilot. Google said it won't be making AI Mode the default search experience from Chrome.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Search Ranking Volatility This Weekend - Around June 6th
Earlier this month, the Google May 2026 core update was completed on June 2, 2026. But the volatility has not seemed to calm down. I am seeing a lot of chatter spike up from within the SEO community over the weekend. The SEO chatter started Friday, June 5th and continued through the weekend. Meanwhile, most of the third-party Google volatility tracking tools seem somewhat calm. -
New Google Document On Third-Party SEO Tools, Services & Advice
Google not only updated its advice on hiring an SEO document, but also created a new one named Google Search's guidance on using third-party SEO tools, services, and advice. This document drills into how to evaluate the advice you get from these sources and some tips to think critically about such SEO advice. -
Google Updates Its Hiring An SEO Doc Warning On SEO Tools & AI Optimization
Google has updated its help document titled Do you need an SEO? Google said the changes are to help when "evaluating your SEO's recommendations and tools, along with other minor updates to the page to simplify and modernize the content." But the document also added a section for Optimizing for generative AI and making sure your SEO follows Google's guidelines around that topic. -
Google Search Profiles Insights & Analytics
Google launched Search Profiles late last week, a way for creators and publishers to have a place on Google to highlight its content and platforms. And Google seems to be testing a new Insights section for Search profiles, where you can see how searchers are interacting with your Search profiles on Google. -
Bing Gives Searchers A Way To Disable AI Copilot Answers
Microsoft Bing announced a new way to disable the Copilot, Microsoft AI, responses from showing up in the Bing search results. There is a new browser extension available for Chrome and Edge that you can install to toggle off showing AI responses, or you can just add -ai to the end of your query. -
Google: Google Chrome Won't Set AI Mode The Default Search Experience
Google has confirmed that the search company has no plans on making AI Mode the default search experience within Google Chrome. This comes after Chrome Canary added a new experimental flag that redirected searches from the address bar directly to AI Mode. According to Rajan Patel, a Google VP, that was an error. -
Satyajeet Salgar Walk By In Time Magazine Google's Pichai Interview
Earlier this month, Time Magazine interviewed Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai. And some how, just some how, Satyajeet Salgar, Director of Product and UX at Google, made it into the video. Well, kind of... He was in a filler portion of the interview...
Other Great Search Threads:
- Spotted something new in Google Business Profile! It's been a while since 'Place Page Attributes' showed up in GBP, but now for the first time, I'm seeing a 'PRIMARY' tag appearing right next to the selected Chat/Texting number, Syed M. Amir Hassan on X
- Is it new @rustybrick I'm seeing an AI Preview in the https://t.co/USsMgNeZrW search results powered by Google. It appears on mobile, but I don't see it on desktop., Saurabh Bhardwaj on X
- It appears Google is planning to convert the "follow" button to "subscribe." DiscoverCard = convert_follow_to_subscribe, Damien Andell on X
- Schema.org is publishing the Public Usage Statistics dataset via a collaboration with Google., Shameem Adhikarath on X
- Seems like it would be good to at least have the landing page crawlable. Their main site has a more differenced robots.txt file, maybe send them a note :)., John Mueller on Bluesky
- We're rolling these reports out to a subset of websites, allowing us to thoroughly test them and receive feedback before making them widely available. This enables us to thoroughly test these features to ensure they’re working at a smaller scale before , John Mueller on Bluesky
- ChatGPT surpassed 600 million MAUs for the first time., Similarweb on
- Hit by may update, BlackHatWorld
- Hmm... crazy to see Grokipedia surge with the May 2026 core update. It dropped heavily in early February but really shot up with the core update. But... that's for now. I have a feeling that will drop again (and maybe so, Glenn Gabe on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google adds guidance on third-party SEO tools, services, advice and updates hiring an SEO doc
- Google clarifies sensitive audience targeting rules for Demand Gen campaigns
- Microsoft expands Audience Ads eligibility for cryptocurrency exchanges
- The latest jobs in search marketing
- Cloudflare: Bots now make up 57% of webpage requests
- 4 ways to track AI search visibility when attribution falls short
- Delegation search: Why users outsource decisions to AI
- How TV ads create search demand — and what to do about it
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- Anthropic Urges Global Pause in AI Development, Flags ‘Self-Improvement’ Risk, Wall Street Journal
- ‘Bots have now passed human traffic online,’ Cloudflare boss laments — says agentic traffic wasn’t expected to eclipse real people until next year, Tom's Hardware
- 'World-first' vaccine designed by artificial intelligence, BBC
- 9 Vibe Coding Examples: AI Apps You Can Use Right Now to Grow Your Website, Ahrefs
- Lockdown Mode, OpenAI
- OpenAI makes its next hardware move with Opal Electronics, Testing Catalog
- WTF is NLWeb? — Whiteboard Friday, Moz
- AI Search Runs on Two Memory Systems. The Platforms Don’t Use Them the Same Way., Duane Forrester Decodes
- OpenAI plots biggest ChatGPT overhaul since launch, Financial Times (Sub)
Analytics
- GA4 via Google Tag Manager: Step-by-Step Guide, KRM Digital Marketing
- Google Tag Gateway Now Available for Amazon CloudFront Users, PPC News Feed
Industry & Business
- European publishers seek £552m+ from Google claiming ad market abuse, Press Gazette
- Google Defeats "Negligent Digital Architecture" Claim-Starr v. Google, Eric Goldman
- Has Microsoft Lost Its Mojo (Again)?, Wired
- Nadella Rebukes Microsoft Executive’s Plan to Make Users “Addicted” to AI Agents, The Information
- OpenAI to comply with Trump AI model review order: Osborne, CNBC
- U.S. Officials Discuss Taking Financial Stakes in AI Industry, Wall Street Journal
- The Data-Center Slowdown and Google’s Gambit, Wall Street Journal
- WWDC 2026: Apple’s Secret Meeting That Led It to Take AI Seriously; iOS 27, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
- 91 Best Marketing Blogs, Newsletters, Podcasts, and Videos, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Android Auto redesigns Google Maps alerts to be less distracting, 9to5Google
- Google Starts Rolling Out Android Auto 17.1: How To Skip the Wait and Download It Right Now, AutoEvolution
SEO
- First Preview: Google Search Console Generative AI Report Now Live, Brodie Clark Consulting
- Automated SEO: What It Is and How It Works in 2026, Ahrefs
- Google May 2026 Core Update: Reddit Up, YouTube Down, SE Ranking
- How to Optimize for AI Visibility and Prepare for Agentic Search, Moz
- Keyword strategy in SEO: What it is & how to create one, Semrush
- Google Suggest Scraper in the Age of AI Search, Grumpy Old SEO
- Site Migration SEO Mistakes: 32 Pitfalls & Fixes, Pwani
PPC
- Local Services Ads policy update (June 2026), Google Advertising Policies Help
- Microsoft Allows Audience Ads for Cryptocurrency Exchanges, PPC News Feed
- Rolling out ads in the UK, ChatGPT Release Notes
- Saying Goodbye to DSA: How to Prepare for the AI Max Switch, ZATO
- Campaign Guidance for Experiments, PPC News Feed
Search Features
- Chrome tests redirecting searches to AI Mode instead of Google Search results, Windows Report
- How to Get a Google Search Profile From Outside the US, Suganthan
Other Search
- WWDC 2026 Preview: iOS 27, Siri, AI Features, macOS 27, More Apple Will Announce, Bloomberg
- A Double Victory for Web Speed: Chrome Breaks Records Again on Speedometer 3.1 and Jetstream 3, Google Blog
Feedback:
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