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.
Apple will be updating Apple Intelligence, Siri, Apple Search with World Knowledge Answers and with Google's help. Google Ads API releases are expected monthly in 2026. Google Ads to allow mature cosmetic procedure ads. Bing Maps is testing a beta version. Google is testing a weird local panel interface. And I posted the weekly SEO video recap today.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Apple Intelligence & Siri Revamp In 2026: World Knowledge Answers
Apple is reportedly working on a revamp of Siri, Apple Intelligence and its Apple Search features for 2026. Yep, another revamp. Bloomberg reported Apple planning to launch its own artificial intelligence-powered web search tool next year, integrated into the Siri voice assistant. Apple is also reportedly working with Google on this. -
Google Ads API Releases Monthly In 2026
Google will switch to a monthly release cycle for the Google Ads API in 2026. These are all estimated release dates but Google wants to release more frequent updates and will aim for a monthly release cycle. -
Microsoft Testing Bing Maps Beta
Microsoft has been beta testing a new Bing Maps interface for the past couple of months. I just recently became aware of it and wanted to share some screenshots of it. -
Google Ads Will No Longer Restrict Mature Cosmetic Procedures
Google Ads will soon allow advertisers to place ads for "Mature Cosmetic Procedures." This change goes into effect on September 22, 2025, and then advertisers will be allowed to advertise for cosmetic services and plastic surgery focused on intimate body parts. -
Google Local Panel With Weird Third-Party Directory Card
We know Google can show AI-generated summary cards in the local panels on mobile and desktop. But I am not sure what this thing is, it was spotted by Stephen White and it shows a website card from a third-party site, like a directory. -
Google Climbing Rock Wall With Boulders
We've seen tons of rock and climbing walls at the various Google offices. We've even seen this one. But I think they added these tall rock boulders next to the climbing wall at some point. -
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Monopoly Google Won’t Be Broken Up, FastSearch For Grounding & Apple Search World Knowledge Answers
This week, we covered the big Google Monopoly remedy ruling that will not end up breaking up the company and was more like a slap on the wrist. Google also has FastSearch, a faster search technology used for grounding...
Other Great Search Threads:
- Cloudflare Search Referral Report for Q2 2025 based on 25M websites globally: Google 88.9% Bing 3.0% DDG 1.1% Yahoo 0.7% Brave 0.4% OpenAI 0.23%, Glenn Gabe on X
- Heads-up: Google is not done with the Spam update yet. I'm seeing some sites reversing course that were negatively impacted. See some screenshots below. Stay tuned., Glenn Gabe on X
- Here are my notes on SEO & AI from yesterday's Citi conference. LegalZoom's comments gave me something to think about. Is there a huge new wave of people going to learn they need your product / service that hadn't even considered, Glen Allsopp on X
- JUST Started Seeing "Outgoing Call" In Local Services Ads. I Think They Have Been Tracking This For Quite Some Time, But I Havent Seen In Accounts Yet? Possibly Related To The Recent TC Update?, Anthony Higman on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ads API to switch to a monthly release cycle
- [Friday Deadline] Do you have what it takes to bring home the highest honor in search?
- In memoriam: Alan Bleiweiss has passed away
- Gating in an AI world: What to hide, what to show, and why
- Auditing and optimizing Google Ads in an age of limited data
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Atlassian agrees to acquire The Browser Company for $610 million, CNBC
- Google highlights efforts to support AI education in the U.S., Google Blog
- Google ruling shows how tech can outpace antitrust enforcement, Reuters
- OpenAI Plans Jobs Platform, Certification Program for AI Roles, Bloomberg
- Tech CEOs Take Turns Praising Trump at White House Dinner, Wall Street Journal
- Digiday's definitive list for what's in and out after Google’s antitrust search remedies ruling, Digiday
Links & Content Marketing
- HubSpot debuts a new AI playbook at Inbound as content marketing falters, MarTech
- In the age of AI answers, how can content marketing evolve beyond the click?, eConsultancy
- The Future of Topical Authority: Teaching Large Language Models to Trust You, SearchPulse
Local & Maps
- COVID vaccine locations vanish from Google Maps due to supposed “technical issue”, Ars Technica
- Google Maps for Wear OS auto-launches only when you need it, 9to5Google
Mobile & Voice
- Frustrated Wall Street analysts want Apple to buy Perplexity. It’s reportedly planning to beef up Siri to beat it instead, Fortune
- Future Apple Vision Pro could be smart sunglasses, AppleInsider
- The fastest growing AI chatbot lately? It's not ChatGPT or Gemini, ZDNET
SEO
- Small Business Reputation Management: Checklist, Tools, & Examples, WordStream
- Ultimate Guide: Ecommerce Product Variations Optimization, Yoast
- URA Framework: The Strategy That Survives Every SEO Shift, seoClarity
- What Google’s Trial Docs Reveal About Clicks, Links and Other Ranking Signals, Marie Haynes
- Optimizing for AI Search Engines: A Meta-Analysis of 19 Research Studies, Organic Labs
PPC
- Ask A PPC: How Do I Nail A PPC Job Interview For Google & Meta Ads?, Search Engine Journal
- PPC Live Ambassador Highlight - Jyll Saskin Gales, PPC Live
- Avoid These 6 Common (and Costly) Mistakes When Migrating To A New PPC Platform, Optmyzr
- Google Merchant API Expands Product Studio With AI-Powered Text, PPC News Feed
- Use This 7-Step Checklist to Set Up Your First Google Ads Campaign, Optmyzr
Search Features
- DuckDuckGo adds access to advanced models to it subscription plan, TechCrunch
- Branch conversations on web, ChatGPT Release Notes
- DuckDuckGo subscription adds advanced AI chat models, Spread Privacy
Other Search
- Introducing EmbeddingGemma: The Best-in-Class Open Model for On-Device Embeddings, Google Developers Blog
- Is the Future of Publishing a Bunch of AI Answer Engines?, AdWeek
- AI bots bombard publisher websites with 'no meaningful value exchange', Press Gazette
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