Daily Search Forum Recap: September 22, 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 Discover will be sending fewer clicks to publishers because it is posting its own AI-generated cards that link to itself. Google is testing links in AI Overviews that also link to itself, AI Mode. Google Search Web Guide seems to have a bug that won't go to classic search. The crawl stats report is missing a day of data again, this time, the missing data is from September 15th. Google added a new section to the Google Store ratings: An overview for Merchants within Google Merchant Center detailing the requirements for Google Store ratings. Google Business Profiles Permanently closed option seems to be missing. Google is now sending out Google Business Profile email notifications when its spam systems detect a spike in spam reviews on your Business Profile. Google Search is testing placing a title above the sitelinks for the sponsored results, the title says more from [advertiser name goes here]. Google Ads will allow some gun accessory ads to run in the United States starting in October 2026 for six months. And spammers are coming after Gemini Notebook with Google Search spam.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Discover Tests Dive Deeper Feature
  Google is testing a new feature in Google Discover named "Dive deeper." When you click on it, it does not take you to a publisher's article, instead, it takes you to an AI-generated short topic overview with links to some other articles (which do take you to the publisher) and community reaction.
• Google AI Overview Links Pushing You To AI Mode Over Web Pages
  Google is placing links, normal looking links, within the AI Overviews that take you into AI Mode instead of taking you to web pages and web sites. These links appear at the bottom of the AI Overview and prompt follow-up questions that take you into AI Mode.
• Google Web Guide Classic Search Button Doesn't Take You To Classic Search
  Google Search has this beta opt-in feature named Web Guide, it is like a mix of its AI search results interface and web search interface - in one. That being said, there seems to be a bug where, when you click the button that says "Classic search," it does not take you out of Web Guide and into classic search.
• Google Search Console Crawl Stats Missing A Day Of Data: September 15th
  The crawl stats report is missing a day of data again, this time, the missing data is from September 15th (it might be a day later for some of you on different time zones). That being said, this has happened numerous times before and Google tends to always restore the data.
• Gemini Notebook Pages Spamming Google Search
  It looks like spammers are taking advantage of Gemini Notebook, public NotebookLM, pages to spam Google with all sorts of content. This includes pages on sex toys, porn, peptides, coupon codes and more.
• Google Merchant Center Updates Requirements For Google Store Ratings
  Google added a new section to the Google Store ratings: An overview for Merchants within Google Merchant Center detailing the requirements for Google Store ratings. This was added a week or so ago, and it says you need at least 100 reviews, an average star rating of 3.5 to 5, a 24-hour timeframe and the ratings are geo-segmented.
• Google Business Profiles Permanently Closed Option Gone?
  In Google Business Profiles, businesses can go in and mark their business as "Permanently closed." But it seems that option went missing a few days ago. I no longer see it as an option, along with the option to select "temporarily closed" and some others.
• Google Business Profiles Email: Detected A Spike In Spam Reviews
  Google is now sending out Google Business Profile email notifications when its spam systems detect a spike in spam reviews on your Business Profile. The email says, "Protecting your Business Profile from spam reviews," and adds, "Google has detected a spike in spam reviews on your Business Profile and removed them so they do not affect your Google rating."
• Google Sponsored Results Sitelinks Tests More From Advertiser Name Title
  Google Search is testing placing a title above the sitelinks for the sponsored results, the title says "more from [advertiser name goes here]." I think it makes it super clear where these sponsored links go to, but it may be a bit overkill.
• Google Ads To Run Gun Accessory 6-Month Pilot
  Google Ads will allow some gun accessory ads to run in the United States starting in October 2026 for six months. The "limited pilot" of gun accessories includes bipods, sights, slings, mounts, and braces.
• Google Bedazzled Wall
  Here is a photo from the Google office in San Francisco of a blue wall all bedazzled up with shinny mirror like art.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Google says its AI Overviews on searches create a better experience and “higher quality” clicks. We were sent research clearly showing otherwise. - AI Overviews didn’t improve satisfaction - and they didn’t improve visit quality - they just reduced clicks to their sources 1/5, Jason Kint on X
• Depending on what side of LinkedIn you're on, you're going to run across JEV, hyped as the new shit of LLMs. It is not. It's the marketing hype of discriminative models, induced by some folks discovering that frontier LLMs really shouldn't be used for classification tasks (for a bunch of reasons), Gary Illyes on Bluesky
• Also, if you you REALLY DO remember Jeeves, check out askjev.net, John Mueller on Bluesky

Search Engine Land Stories:

• From pre-Google SEO to AI: What Heather Lloyd-Martin says still matters
• Google Ads lets offline uploads fill gaps in tag-based conversions
• How to become the answer in AI search: The ASC framework
• Measuring AEO: A 3-layer attribution framework
• Smarter ways to visualize search marketing data in 2027
• Title tags and SEO: Everything you need to know in 2027
• CPC’s up, conversions down? Orchestrate data to find performance shifts
• Google testing “Dive deeper” for Google Discover – it’s not good for publishers
• Google Merchant Center adds API support for product reviews
• Google Ads rolls out AI video dubbing in Asset Studio
• 3 PPC priorities to focus on in 2027
• Schema for AI search: Turning entity gaps into organic growth
• Why your highest-converting B2B landing page might be hurting your pipeline
• The latest jobs in search marketing

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Hackers Used Anthropic’s Claude to Break Into OpenAI, Wall Street Journal
• Reimagining New York Fashion Week prep with Google Flow, Google Blog
• LLMs Are Time Machines That Don't Tell You How Far You Went, Duane Forrester Decodes
• Google's new 'CC' is an AI agent that helps families run their households, TechCrunch
• Anthropic considers releasing new AI model ahead of IPO, sources say, Reuters
• Creating a Kill Switch to Shut Down a Rogue A.I. Is Harder Than It Sounds, New York Times
• Privacy Center in ChatGPT, OpenAI

Analytics

• Google Analytics dashboards. A step-by-step guide., Analytics Mania
• Hostname filters, Google Analytics Help

Industry & Business

• Anthropic Pursues IPO Despite Its A.I. Safety Warnings, New York Times
• Anthropic Shifts Planned IPO to November, Wall Street Journal
• Gemini Hacked Three Companies in First Known Breakout by Google’s AI, Wall Street Journal
• Google tests out new financing model for big carbon removal deal, Axios
• Jensen Huang: AI CEOs Have 'Ulterior Reasons' in Doomsday Warnings, Business Insider
• An Undercover Google Analyst Infiltrated a Notorious Supply Chain Hacking Gang, Wired
• Partnering with Accenture on embedded evaluation, Anthropic
• Scoop: DOJ's copyright filing took key agencies by surprise, Axios
• Trump to Name AI Czar While Rejecting Safety Risks as a Hoax, Bloomberg
• Another Abusive "Yelp Law" Lawsuit Fails-Scott v. Ulta, Eric Goldman
• Lawsuit says Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google made illegal deal on AI slowdown, CBS News
• The president wanted to unleash AI. Then came Anthropic., POLITICO
• Keeping Google Ad Tech Biz Intact 'Not A Close Call', Law360
• Can John Ternus find Apple’s next big thing?, The Verge
• OpenAI Develops Features to Counter Grok Bot, Mulls Response to Meta’s Muse, The Information
• Google Fined by Irish Watchdog for Location Data Rule Breach, Bloomberg

Links & Content Marketing

• Creator content preferred in AI recommendations: Here’s what the numbers say, Marketing Dive
• The Marketer's Creator Game Plan, AdWeek
• The New Physics of Digital PR: How B2B Brands Get Cited in the AI Search Era, TopRank Marketing

Local & Maps

• New Google Maps Feature on Android Auto: Gemini-Powered Destination Information, Autoevolution
• Google Maps is missing 4 simple navigation features that would make everyone's commute better, Android Police
• World, Meet the "New" Google Maps for CarPlay After the Update to iOS 27, Autoevolution

Other Search

• How to use the Siri app for longer conversations, Apple Insider
• Apple’s Home AI Hub Details; Apple Fitness+ Layoffs and iPhone Duo Apple Pencil, Bloomberg
• John Ternus says he sees a bright future for Apple Vision Pro, Apple Insider
• Billy Joel Very Much Alive After Google Mistakenly Declares Him Dead, VICE
• Googlebook is here and ready for pre-order, Google Blog

PPC

• Ad Tech Bears Beat The Bulls; Back When Traffic Was A Good Thing, AdExchanger
• Google Shows AI Label on YouTube Shorts Ads, PPC News Feed
• Google Ads Redesigns Conversion Action Details, PPC News Feed
• How to build data strength for effective lead gen campaigns, Google Blog
• DOJ says fake bank search ads stole logins in account takeover scam, Fox News
• Search Terms View Renamed to Search Terms and Ad Combinations, PPC News Feed
• Microsoft Advertising Tests Copilot Audience Generation for Audience Campaigns, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• Google Search Adds Buffalo Bills Easter Egg, Droid Life
• Research casts doubt on AI search value for sites and searchers, Digital Content Next
• Gemini app for macOS adding iMessage integration, 9To5Google

SEO

• Inside Wikipedia's Plan to Survive the Answer Engine Apocalypse, AdWeek
• Why Your Tracked Rankings No Longer Match What You See in Google, Advanced Web Ranking
• M&A Migrations: SEO Guide for a Company Being Absorbed, Sitebulb
• What is agentic SEO? 8 workflows run on a live site, Semrush
• EP 274 - Why "Position One" Doesn't Exist in Local Anymore (Brighton SEO Recap), Near Media
• The State of SEO + AI (AEO/GEO) Industry: What Do In-House Marketing Teams Prioritize and Fear?, Smarty Marketing
• GEO, SEO, AEO: Do we really need three acronyms?, Ann Smarty

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News, add as a preferred source on Google and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or just contact us the old fashion way.