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 announced GPT-5 and Microsoft Copilot is using it already, but is Bing Search? Google Ads gained new PMax controls and reporting features. Bing Webmaster Tools now has 24 months of data, up from 16 months. Google Analytics code on the wrong site should not impact your SEO. People also search for sections in Google AI Mode. And I posted the weekly SEO video recap.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Microsoft Copilot Now Using OpenAI's GPT-5 (Did Bing Get An Upgrade Too?)
Yesterday, OpenAI announced GPT-5 and it is free for all users within ChatGPT and other platforms. That includes Microsoft Copilot, which now is also using GPT-5's models. -
Bing Webmaster Tools Performance Report Gains 24 Months Of Data & More
Bing not only added new filters by device and country, but also Bing added several more months of historical data - from 16 months to 24 months of data to the Bing Webmaster Tools search performance reports. Plus, Bing also added Keyword trendlines at a glance. -
Google Ads For Performance Max Gains New Controls & Reporting
Google announced a number of new Google Ads Performance Max controls and reporting features. They include new controls such as campaign-level negative keyword lists, more search theme limits, more demographic targeting, and new reporting for customer'¬' acquisition, goal diagnostics, final URL assets, and creative recommendations. -
Google AI Mode With People Also Search For
Google is testing adding the "people also search for" section within the Google AI Mode results. This shows below the link cards on the right, and shows other queries people use related to the search query you entered into AI Mode. -
Google Analytics Code On Wrong Site Won't Hurt Your Google Rankings
Did you ever see your Google Analytics code, for your website, on someone else's site? It happens for some reason here and there. But if it does, there is no reason to worry that it will impact your SEO or Google search rankings. -
Google Street View Snowmobile At Boulder Office
Here is a snowmobile at the Google office in Boulder, Colorado. No, Googlers don't take it out for a spin. This one was used to capture street view images on the mountains and hard to get to places. -
Video: Google Clicks To Sites Stable, Volatility Cooled & Heated, AI Mode Ads, GPT-5 & Sullivan Drops Liaison
This week, we covered the ongoing Google search volatility, which cooled for a bit and then got heated again. Google’s Liz Reid said that website clicks from Google are relatively stable since launching AI Overviews, but no one believes them. Google did not...
Other Great Search Threads:
- Google Small Business Bulletin - August 2025 - Back to School, Back to Business Growth!, Google Business Profile Community
- Googler Gary Illyes on Google providing more granular solutions to site owners for controlling content use for training and showing of content in AI Overviews/Mode. "So there's definitely ideas floating around. I'm involved in, Gagan Ghotra on X
- You don't need to be using the broad match campaign setting (which will move to AI Max) to be eligible to show Search ads in AI Mode or AI Overviews. Search campaigns with broad match keywords or with Search Term Matching enabled in AI Max can match to qu, Ginny Marvin on LinkedIn
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Bing Webmaster Tools now with 24 months of data, filters by country and device, and keyword trendlines
- GPT-5 is here: OpenAI promises better writing, faster research
- Google Ads Performance Max gets new controls, reporting, creative insights
- How generative answers are changing the user journey
- Google Ads API adds new targeting options in Performance Max
- ‘Search everywhere’ doesn’t mean ‘be everywhere’
- Becoming AI-native: The next leap for SEO professionals
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Bounce Rate & Engagement Rate, KRM Digital
Industry & Business
- Apple hit by string of departures in AI talent war, Financial Times (Sub)
- Exclusive: Rubio orders US diplomats to launch lobbying blitz against Europe's tech law, Reuters
- OpenAI Pays Bonuses Ranging Up To Millions of Dollars to 1,000 Researchers, Engineers, The Information
- PPC Live 3rd Year Birthday Celebration Was A Hit!, PPC Live
- OpenAI gets caught vibe graphing, The Verge
Links & Content Marketing
- How To Build Audience Relationships That Stand the Test of Time, Content Marketing Institute
- The Cost of Guest Posts Based on 26k Sites [New Data], BuzzStream
Local & Maps
- Apple Maps cycling adds support in Hong Kong, Taiwan, AppleInsider
- How to Respond to Google Reviews – Easy Steps, Igniting Business
- SMB Marketing Report 2025, BrightLocal
- South Korea set to decide whether to let Google Maps finally work properly, The Guardian
Mobile & Voice
- Google Lens voice search goes impossible to miss with 'Ask' button, Android Authority
- Apple's confirmed GPT-5 is coming to Apple Intelligence — and sooner than expected, Tom's Guide
- Here's when ChatGPT integration within Apple Intelligence will use GPT-5, 9to5Mac
SEO
- "Reddit Marketing" Won't Fix Your SEO, Nikki Pilkington
- Beyond Keywords: Leveraging Technical SEO to Boost Crawl Efficiency and Rankings, CSHEL
- Dear Google, I Love You, But You're Gaslighting Us, SEO for Lunch
- Googler Gary Illyes Recent Interview (Google Search Central Bangkok Event), Gagan Ghotra
- How "Substantial" is Ranking Content?, Chris Green
- How Google’s AI Overviews Are Changing Click Behavior and SEO Metrics, Bruce Clay
- Is Traditional SEO Becoming Obsolete?, Freelance Coalition
- PDP Optimization: SEO for Ecommerce Blueprint, Sitebulb
- SEO for photographers: websites, social media, and Google Search, Search Off the Record
- What is Query Fan-Out in SEO (AiSEO), Hobo
- 6 SEO Strategies That Win in the Age of AI Search, DesignRush
- The One-Page SEO Testing Plan: How to Get Buy-In for SEO Testing, Search Pilot
PPC
- 5 Overlooked BOFU Formats That Convert [Free Checklists & Frameworks], Moz
- Changes for supporting European Union Political Ads Regulation in Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts, Google Ads Developer Blog
- The Converged Frontier: How Google AI is Reshaping PPC and SEO, PPC Hero
Search Features
- Don’t Be Fooled: Google’s AI Isn’t Helping Your Site, Bill Hartzer
- Google AI announcements from July, Google Blog
- Google Discover now makes up two-thirds of search traffic, Press Gazette
- Microsoft incorporates OpenAI’s GPT-5 into consumer, developer and enterprise offerings, Microsoft
- What framework to use for increasing visibility in AI Search, I Love SEO
Other Search
- Gemini Users Say Its Sharing Self-Loathing Comments: 'I Am a Failure', Business Insider
- GPT-5 is being released to all ChatGPT users, The Verge
- OpenAI scraping: Australian news websites targeted by AI giants despite blocks, AFR
- Trump's Truth Social launches AI search powered by Perplexity, Engadget
- ‘I Feel Like I’m Going Crazy’: ChatGPT Fuels Delusional Spirals, Wall Street Journal
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