Daily Search Forum Recap: September 17, 2025

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 is testing AI-generated summaries for search result snippets. A Google bug overwhelmed the search results with ads. Google said searchers want AI summaries over links to publishers. Google Merchant Center has a new video verification process. Google local Q&A feature may be going away, the API is. OpenAI improved ChatGPT search. Google Discover is testing showing X posts from people you follow.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Tests AI Generated Search Snippet Summaries
  Google is testing placing AI-generated search result snippet summaries. Under each Google search result, there is a thing bar, followed by the Gemini logo and then a short AI-generated summary of the page.
• Google: Searchers Want AI Summaries Over Links
  Markham Erickson, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google told The Verge that searchers want AI Overviews, "contextual answers and summaries," over links to publishers. But to help the ecosystem and the value exchange, Google will continue to provide links.
• Google Search Bug Leads To Search Results Overwhelmed With Ads
  A Google Search bug from this morning led to the search results being overwhelmed with just ads. This is obviously a Google Search serving bug where Google had a glitch and was unable to serve the proper amount of organic/free results.
• Google Business API Q&A Feature Going Away November 3 (Changes Coming?)
  Earlier this year, we saw some signs that the Google local Questions and Answers feature seemed to be slowly going away, not just in India but other places. Well, now, Google sent out an email saying it will "be discontinuing the My Business Q&A API."
• New Google Merchant Center Suspension Video Verification
  Google is testing a new way to lift a suspension within Google Merchant Center. Some can now do video verification, the same way they can with verifying their Google Business Profiles.
• OpenAI Updates Search In ChatGPT: Factuality, Shopping & Formatting
  OpenAI announced it made improvements to search in ChatGPT. The company said the results are more accurate, reliable, and useful. The update touches on factuality, shopping and formatting.
• Google Discover Tests Showing X Posts From Just Your Followers?
  Google Discover may be showing X posts (formerly Twitter tweets) from accounts you follow and not from other accounts that you do not follow. Discover has shown X/Twitter posts for a while now, on occasion, but I didn't know Google could show X posts from only accounts you follow.
• Google Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) Sweatshirt
  It looks like Google printed some Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, aka Nano Banana, swag. This sweatshirt has the Gemini logo in yellow banana color with a banana printed on the inside.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Bing testing a organic result "info boxed module" for hotel branded queries to promote... Tripadvisor, not the official web of the hotel., Lluc B. Penycate on X
• How to use AI to write SEO content (without getting caught by Google), Natia Kurdadze on Bluesky
• The Google Discover tool is @1492_Vision . And the page for the graph is available here: https://t.co/r3BnXTxwNh However, the graph here is only in French. We have a more compl, Damien (andell) on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• ChatGPT search update focuses on quality, shopping, format
• Meta expands WhatsApp Status ad options
• Reddit debuts 6-second video ad views goal
• Can small businesses compete on Google Ads anymore?

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• E-commerce Analytics Market Is Booming So Rapidly Growth by CAGR, OpenPR

Industry & Business

• Canadian watchdog steadfast in Google case amidst US pushback, Global Competition Review
• How Google Paid the Media Millions to Avoid Regulatory Pressure, TechPolicy Press
• Microsoft trumps Google with $30 billion investment in the UK, The Verge

Links & Content Marketing

• Storytelling Leads Myrtle Beach in New Era of Marketing, Content Marketing Institute
• Firm Marketing: 7 Tax Planning Content Marketing Ideas for Q4, CPA Practice Advisor

Local & Maps

• Local SEO: Your GBP Updates are a Not-So-Hidden Conversion Tool to Get New Customers, Eric Hebert
• Shaboozey partners with Google Maps, Google Blog
• How to Claim, Verify, and Manage Google Business Profiles at Scale, Moz

Mobile & Voice

• Announcing Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), Google Cloud Blog
• Gemini on Google Home needs changes to be successful, Android Police
• iPhone 17 launch should have been Apple Intelligence's time to shine — so what happened?, Tom's Guide
• Siri just got five surprise iOS 26 features, here’s what’s new, 9to5Mac

SEO

• AI or Human: Google Expands Rules on Low-Value Content, Semrush
• AI Search and Syndicated Content: How syndicating content can impact visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini, GSQI
• Scaling SEO with AI responsibly (even on a tight budget), Oncrawl
• The Complete AI Visibility Guide for SEOs, Marketers, and Site Owners, Ahrefs

PPC

• The complete match types data study, Adalysis
• How Google is responding to advertisers’ concerns about AI Max, Digiday
• How to show Google Ads in AI Overviews & AI Mode, Browser Media
• Setting the Right Expectations for Paid Search in 2025, PPC Live

Search Features

• Google app for Windows experiment in Labs launches, Google Blog
• Google's new open protocol secures AI agent transactions - and 60 companies already support it, ZDNET

Other Search

• OpenAI new ChatGPT for teens aims to limit safety risks, Axios
• Teen safety, freedom, and privacy, OpenAI

Feedback:

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