Daily Search Forum Recap: June 23, 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.

Google Search Console is expanding access to the new generative AI reporting features, beyond the UK. Google Ads clarified AI Max for Search Campaign reporting features. Google created new Subscription Linking policies for news publishers. Google Ads has a new How the landing page logic works for Travel Promotion Ads and Booking Links within Search Campaigns for Travel. Google announced it has expanded its Financial Services Verification process to 24 new European Economic Area (EEA) markets.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Search Console AI Performance Report Rolling Out To More
  Google seems to be expanding access to the new Search Console generative AI performance reports to more regions, outside of just the UK. I see a number of people in India who are now reporting seeing the new AI report. I personally do not see these new AI reports yet but maybe you do?
• Google Ads Clarifies AI Max For Search Campaigns Reporting
  Google has updated the Google Ads help document on About reporting in AI Max for Search campaigns with a number of changes. The changes include documenting the DSA to AI Max deadline, more information on how to understand the report, a new section on navigating and interpreting Search Campaigns for Travel performance reports, and updates to focus on intent and getting regular reviews.
• Google Creates Subscription Linking For News Publishers
  Google has posted a new policy document for subscription linking for news publishers under the Google Publisher Center help area. Google wrote, "Any publisher using this service must adhere to these policies."
• Google Ads On Travel Promotion Ads & Booking Links Work For Search Campaigns For Travel
  Google added a new section to the about final URL expansion in Search document named "How the landing page logic works for Travel Promotion Ads & Booking Links within Search Campaigns for Travel." This explains the relationship between your targeting settings and your landing pages and how the final URL expansion is related to that.
• Google Ads Expands Financial Advertiser Verification Across 24 European Markets
  Google announced it has expanded its Financial Services Verification process to 24 new European Economic Area (EEA) markets. The verification requirements kicks in today, July 23, 2026. Google said they are doing this to "help stop scams before they start."
• Google Karaoke
  Google had a DJ come to offer Googlers in the Playa Vista office the option to do karaoke. I guess some Googlers release stress through signing...

Other Great Search Threads:

• Google appears to be testing a "Recent Activity" tab on the homepage that links directly to AI Mode., Sachin Patel on X
• 200,000 subscribers?! Wow, thank you!, Ginny Marvin on LinkedIn
• Don’t worry, next year they will reach out for “toxic GEO” cleanup work, Lily Ray on X
• FAQ schema is Officially removed from Google Search Console Should i remove it from my website or leave it as it is for llms?, Reddit
• Programmatic SEO + scaling to additional countries/languages + in a YMYL category can be risky. Interesting case here. Tanks in visibility and now is barely indexed. No manual action from what I understand., Glenn Gabe on Bluesky
• Google Ads policies page added old news to the page, about Dating & Companionship policies - I'll update this story with the detail but you can see, it is the same..., Barry Schwartz on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google Ads updates target-based bidding for budget-limited campaigns
• 3 questions that reveal your real search performance
• Reddit unveils new AI-powered ad tools built on community conversations
• Google’s LLM patent suggests a new goal for SEO: Teaching AI who you are
• 3 ways to build a more complete SEO ROI model
• Why continuous learning is now part of search performance

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Hidden Prompt Injection vs. Twelve AI Assistants: One Obeyed, Three Warned the User, Search Engine World
• Google AI Studio’s Interactions API for Gemini models and agents, Google Blog
• OpenAI Launches Full-Scale Effort to Patch Open-Source Bugs as It Takes on Anthropic’s Mythos, Wired
• AI models that can take down governments and business months away, rare Five Eyes statement warns, The Guardian
• Google Warns AI Consciousness Debate Could Become a Political Battleground, Decrypt
• Patch the Planet: a Daybreak initiative to support open source maintainers, OpenAI

Analytics

• Is Your Marketing Chasing Its Own Tail?, Measured

Industry & Business

• Microsoft’s Satya Nadella: We Can’t Let AI Giants Eat the Economy, Wall Street Journal
• Advice on Getting a Frontier AI Job, From a Google DeepMind Engineer, Business Insider
• Getty Images Announces Display Partnership with OpenAI, Global News Wire
• How Has AI Changed Agency-Client Relationships?, Local Falcon
• Alphabet Shares Slide 7% After Another AI Leader Departs for Rival Firm, Bloomberg
• Google Investing in ‘Backrooms’ Studio A24, Wall Street Journal
• Google says its shopping search is fixed. Rivals beg to differ, Courthouse News Service
• Scorpion + 1SEO as AI Reshapes Local Marketing, Street Fight

Links & Content Marketing

• The Content Framework That Worked In 2019 Is Now Working Against You, Search Engine Journal

Local & Maps

• Georgia is now on Street View, Google Blog
• Build Your Local Keyword Research Tool with DataForSEO, Omi Sido
• How Hotels Can Turn First-Party Data Into Direct Bookings, Brainlabs
• Explore Colonial Williamsburg with Google Arts & Culture, Google Blog
• FAA’s New AI System Aims to Cut Flight Delays, Boost Airspace Capacity, Bloomberg

Other Search

• Surging in ChatGPT, Dead in Google – The curious case of a YMYL site with no search visibility in Google, but cited like crazy in ChatGPT, GSQI
• The barrier to agentic search in B2B is trust, Hallam
• Amazon is testing Alexa+ in India with Hindi support, TechCrunch

PPC

• Product explorer in Merchant Center and other product news for June 2026, Microsoft Advertising
• Google Ads Updates Target-Based Bid Strategies, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• Gemini overlay gets expanded ‘plus’ menu on Android, 9To5Google
• Google Search history now shows media you upload, how to disable, 9To5Google
• Large pastes are now handled as attachments for more plans, OpenAI

SEO

• How We're Futureproofing Getting Featured in AI, Adam Riemer
• Avoid video and animated image abuse, Ilana Davis
• Blogs, traffic, and Google, Seth's Blog
• Evolving Search into Human Experience Optimization, Advanced Web Ranking
• Sameness is a bigger threat than generative AI, SEO Brief
• Small Update – Version 24.2 Released 22nd June 2026, Screaming Frog
• Technical debt is becoming an AI problem, Jono Alderson
• What is a Good Organic CTR? Real Website Benchmarks (June 2026), Ahrefs
• SEO Without Killing the Soul: Growth Tips for Highbrow Brands, Owain Lloyd-Williams
• Why AI Gets Your Brand Details Wrong—and How to Fix It, seoClarity
• Your Complete Screaming Frog Guide, Seer Interactive

Feedback:

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