Daily Search Forum Recap: September 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 updated the page experience documentation to add the new CrUX ad metrics data. UK's CMA wants Google to make it easier to choose an alternative search engine on Chrome and Android. New data shows that Google is showing far more external links in its AI Overviews than before. Google Merchant Center is opting retailers into UCP native checkout. Google Ads is expanding access to AI Briefs and also added new AI Max reporting. Google Ads added new help documentation on how to test AI Max against Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) by using experiments. Microsoft is testing placing favicons on the Bing shopping ads, product results, carousel. Google has updated the localized versions of your page help document to change all the hreflang examples from lowercase codes to uppercase codes. Google updated its help document to clarify that you have four days to reject a user suggested edit to your Google Business Profile. Google AdSense has lowered the identity verification threshold from $10 to $0, according to an update to the help documentation.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Page Experience Docs Adds CrUX Ad Metrics
  Google has updated the understanding page experience in Google Search results help document to add the new CrUX ad metrics which launched last week. To be clear, Google did not say this is a specific ranking signal for search, the CrUX ad metrics line was added to the "Page experience resources" section of the document.
• Google AI Overviews With Way More External Links; Report
  New data shows that Google is showing far more external links in its AI Overviews than before. A jump from close to 0% of AI Overviews containing external links to over 25% of AI Overviews containing external links.
• CMA: Google Should Make It Easier To Choose Other Search Engine On Android & Chrome
  The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed new measures to force Google to make it easier for users of Google's Android and Chrome to use an alternative search engine or AI platform. This is "designed to give millions of Google Android and Google Chrome customers in the UK greater choice and more control over the search services they use," the CMA wrote.
• Google Merchant Center Auto Enables Native Checkout: Buy On AI Mode & Gemini
  Google is sending email notifications to Google Merchant Center users if their e-commerce platform supports Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and if so, telling them that "your products are now eligible for native checkout." This means that your eligible products are automatically included, so if you don't want people buying directly on Google, and you want them to buy on your site, then you need to turn it off.
• Google Ads New AI Max Reporting & AI Brief Expands To More Countries
  Google Ads is expanding access to AI Briefs and also added new AI Max reporting. Google said AI Brief audience targeting works now in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. Plus, there is a new AI Max reporting feature for looking at the Search Ads journey.
• Test Google Ads AI Max Against Dynamic Search Ads
  Google Ads added new help documentation on how to test AI Max against Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) by using experiments. Google posted two options within Google Ads experiments including (1) custom experiments and (2) the experiment template.
• Bing Tests Favicons On Shopping Ads Carousel
  Microsoft is testing placing favicons on the Bing shopping ads, product results, carousel. Normally, this ad unit just shows the site name but Bing is testing adding favicons in front of the site name.
• Google Hreflang Examples To Uppercase Codes - But It Doesn't Matter
  Google has updated the localized versions of your page help document to change all the hreflang examples from lowercase codes to uppercase codes. It doesn't matter because the hreflang value is case-insensitive; Google accepts lowercase and uppercase codes.
• Google Business Profiles Gives You Four Days To Reject User Edits
  Google updated its help document to clarify that you have four days to reject a user suggested edit to your Google Business Profile. If you do not reject the edit within four days, Google may apply that edit to your Google local listing.
• Google AdSense Drops Identity Verification Threshold To $0
  Google AdSense has lowered the identity verification threshold from $10 to $0, according to an update to the help documentation.
• Google Fun Event Of Sorts
  Google had this event where they had these blow up toys like massive dart boards, jumping things and so on. Plus a juggler and more all dressed up.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Since the entry threshold was 10k, I built a treemap visualization tool that tracks and maps the search profiles claimed by creators and publishers. I can filter by followers, and we can see that the search profile with the most followers is Miley Cyrus with 341M. We also see, Damien Andell on X
• 5 reasons why I'm so skeptical of the entire AI tracking industry: 1) We know that AIs give different answers every time they're asked the same question. Different brands, different order, different…, Rand Fishkin on LinkedIn
• A friendly reminder that @MSFTAdvertising has served ads since 2024 and empowers brands to sell their products through Copilot Checkout. Free product listings serving ahead of ads with clear labels = better customer experience., Microsoft Ads Buddy on X
• In the last 2 years, web traffic to news sites has fallen by about 28%., Paul Graham on X
• Google adds a "read more" link to the description of long "search profiles" to allow users to see more information. I'll post a video in the comments showing how it looked before this "read more" link., Damien Andell on X
• That's correct. The update didn't affect budget-limited campaigns that weren't using a target., AdsLiaison on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• CrUX ad metrics added to the page experience SEO documentation
• Google opens native AI checkout to eligible Shopify merchants
• Google AI Overviews now appear in 39% of U.S. desktop searches
• Google Ads reframes Smart Bidding learning around 50 conversions
• Google Analytics adds hostname allowlists to fight spam traffic
• Google Ads to test gun accessory ads on Search in the U.S.
• How to use kill criteria to make better SEO decisions
• Display ad costs fall ahead of the holiday shopping rush
• SEO attribution is still broken. Stop trying to make it perfect.
• Crawl budget: What you need to know in 2027
• Pagination and SEO: What you need to know in 2027

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Claude Opus 5.5 delivers Fable 5.1 performance - and costs 40% less, ZDNET
• Comscore's Latest AI Intelligence Report Shows Competition, Global News Wire
• Ex-Google safety chief warns AI could harm children more than social media did, Reuters
• Introducing Claude Opus 5.5, Anthropic
• OpenAI Will Allow Third-Party Groups to Assess AI Model Safety Earlier, Bloomberg
• Trump says US is officially renaming AI ‘super intelligence’, The Verge
• Algorithms Don't Just Happen to Us — We Train Them., SparkToro
• Google's robotics unit Intrinsic open-sources its foundational infrastructure for intelligent robots, SiliconANGLE
• Google.org supports Jigsaw’s Sensemaking AI, Google Blog
• Jev introduces a new shape of LLM—System One, aka Decision Models, Simon Willison

Analytics

• Introducing Page Classification in Clarity Bot Activity - Understand your customers, Microsoft Clarity Blog
• How to Declutter Google Tag Manager for Better Data, KRM Digital Marketing

Industry & Business

• Google Appeals $425M Privacy Verdict, MediaPost
• Google faces UK push to put AI assistants on Android, Chrome choice screens, Reuters
• Apple challenges OpenAI’s forensic analysis in trade secrets case, 9to5Mac
• Google’s ad tech remedies arrive as the platform battle moves to AI, Digiday

Links & Content Marketing

• The Always-On PR Report, Finchling
• Content Planning: How to Identify and Analyse Sector-Leading Content Using SISTRIX and Screaming Frog, SISTRIX

Local & Maps

• Google Maps glitch causes traffic chaos on single track road, BBC
• Android Auto rolls out game support, no longer in beta, 9To5Google
• Apple Maps blurring alleged detention centers in China, Apple Insider
• Google Business Profile Quirks, Loopholes and Unintended Consequences, Online Ownership
• What's The Difference Between Google Maps And Google Earth?, BGR
• You Can Change Your Google Maps Car Icon Without Even Touching Your Phone, BGR

Other Search

• DOJ says sponsored bank links on Google and Bing helped scammers steal $14.6 million, The Cool Down
• Global AI Glasses Shipments Surge 263% YoY in H1 2026, with Display-less AI Glasses Accounting for 96% of Total, Counterpoint

PPC

• Offline Uploads Can Now Fill Missing User Data in Tag Conversions, PPC News Feed
• Google Updates Bid Strategy Learning Period to Around 50 Conversions, PPC News Feed
• Update to Legal Requirements Policy (September 2026) Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, and South Africa, Google Advertising Policies Help
• Comparing Broad Match, AI Max & Smart Bidding Exploration on Google Ads, JumpFly
• Google Ask Advisor Can Pause Campaigns, Change Budgets and Appeal Ads, PPC News Feed
• Search Terms View Renamed to Search Terms and Ad Combinations, PPC News Feed
• Google Ads for BFCM 2026: What 4,200+ Accounts Reveal, Optmyzr
• Microsoft Simplifies US Social Casino Ad Rules to Three Excluded States, PPC News Feed

SEO

• Do schema and structured data really matter for AI search?, Oncrawl
• If you can summarize your job in bullets, you're replaceable, SEO For Lunch
• Your AI SEO Needs "Value First" Strategies and Reporting, Joe Hall
• The Perfect Optimized Page For AEO (With Supporting Data), Nectiv
• Your Google Search Console queries need context, Suganthan

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.