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 AI Overviews is testing AI-generated summary snippets. Google Search does not support JPEG XL image format. Google Business Profiles is testing a completely revamped performance report section. Google is also rolling out, slowly, Google Business Home for Business Profiles. Google Ads is testing a scrolling marquee on some of the sponsored results within Google Search. Google Ads has added a new "Sourced videos" on/off toggle setting to the asset optimization section. Google updated its AdSense Video inventory restrictions policy to remove the placement requirement and the scroll-to-sticky requirements yesterday, October 22nd. Yes, the Google Universal Cart is live in the US. And I posted the weekly SEO video recap on zero sleep - have fun with that.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Search Chatter, PHP Exploit, AI SEO Worthwhile, Google Local, Google Ads, ChatGPT Ads & More
This week, yes, we saw even more Google search ranking volatility chatter but still no official core update. Google shared how to handle Google Search if you need to take down your site for the PHP exploit fix. There are three new... -
Google AI Overview Citation Cards With AI-Generated Summary Snippets
Google seems to be testing or rolling out AI-generated summaries within AI Overviews citation cards. So the cards on the right (or bottom) of the AI Overviews within Google Search can now show AI summary snippets/descriptions. -
JPEG XL Image Format Not Supported By Google Images & Google Discover
John Mueller at Google recently confirmed that Google Image Search and Google Discover don't yet support the JPEG XL image format. He said this on Bluesky recently, "FWIW if you're hoping to get images shown in Google Images & as previews in Discover, etc - JPEG-XL is currently not supported." -
Google Business Profiles Tests New Advanced Performance Reports
Google is testing a completely revamped performance report section within Google Business Profiles that includes metrics on engagement, reviews, search trends, audience and more. It also includes top recommendations and a more broken-out reviews detail view. -
Google Business Home - New Google Business Profiles Home
Google has launched a new "home" for Google Business Profiles named Google Business Home. It is a beta, but I just received an email with access to the new Google Business Home. Google wrote, this beta experience... -
Google Universal Cart In Search Is Live, Yep
Last week, we reported that Google was launching its Universal Cart in the United States after demoing it at Google I/O in May. And yes, a few days after Google announced it, it was rolling out. I think most people started to see it show up in Google Search and Gemini starting on Friday and over the weekend. -
Google AdSense Videos Placement & Sticky Requirements Removed
Google updated its AdSense Video inventory restrictions policy to remove the placement requirement and the scroll-to-sticky requirements yesterday, October 22nd. Google removed this line from the policy, "For In-stream or Accompanying Content placements that transition to a sticky placement, the video player must start in the main content and only transition as a user scrolls the video player off the page." -
Google Ads Tests Scrolling Marquee Style For Ratings/Reviews & Underlines
Google Ads is testing a scrolling marquee on some of the sponsored results within Google Search. Google will load in the reviews/ratings, number of visits and a visit site link in one of these tests. In the other test, Google underlines the domain name in the ad snippet. -
Google Ads Asset Optimization Sourced Videos On/Off Toggle
Google Ads has added a new "Sourced videos" on/off toggle setting to the asset optimization section. This uses Google AI to identify relevant videos from your approved sources and add them to your campaign automatically. -
Google Umbrella in Bangalore
Here is a photo from the Google office in Bangalore of a Googler holding a white Google umbrella. That is all.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Interestingly, Google is changing the documentation for Tailor Your Feed on Google Discover: The title, "Get started with Tailor your feed in Google Discover," is now "Add topics to your Discover feed using your own words." So the term "Tailor Your feed" is no longer used., Damien Andell on X
- Custom feeds, new subs feed location, new Live mini-feed right in the top bar!, YouTube Creator Insider on X
- You’ll soon need a passkey for Merchant Center, Menachem Ani on X
- Just got a proposal from a Google rep to increase a client's investment by 300% overall and one campaign by 1,900%. Sure buddy, let me open my checkbook..., Melissa Mackey on X
- Google indexed my website under an FTP subdomain. The developer has removed it from the server, but the URLs still appear in SERPs. What should I do?, Reddit
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ads adds new image and video sourcing options to Performance Max
- SMX Advanced San Diego 2027 speaker pitches are now open
- Google AI Overviews nearly double for commercial keywords: Study
- AI brand recommendations vary by platform and week: Study
- When a key search team member leaves: How to maintain continuity
- Why the order of technical SEO fixes matters
- Google Merchant Center’s 6 conversational attributes explained
- Google Ads expands customer acquisition and retention controls
- Build something so valuable that Google looks stupid for not ranking it
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- AI safety group METR finds flaws in OpenAI’s internal monitoring system, Reuters
- Introducing Claude Duet, Claude by Anthropic
- Making It Possible for Agents to Shop on Behalf of Customers, Walmart
- Microsoft declares a step toward ‘medical superintelligence’ with Diagnostic Orchestrator , The Verge
- Same Prompt, Different Data Structure: ChatGPT's Search Data Keeps Changing, Seer Interactive
- Is AI Visibility a Marketing BoonDoggle?, SparkToro
- Empires of AI: The Rise and Fall of a New Global Order, Foreign Affairs
- Powering the Agent Development Lifecycle with any framework, from ADK to LangChain and beyond, Google Developers Blog
- Query Fan-Out: How AI search breaks one query into many, Blue Array SEO
Analytics
- We Tested Microsoft Clarity’s AI Visibility Features, Brainlabs
- Google Ads Updates Data Manager Policy on Hashed Customer Data, PPC News Feed
Industry & Business
- Google and Voltus to build 1-gigawatt virtual power plant, Google Blog
- OpenAI nears funding round at $1.25T valuation led by UAE investors, CNBC
- Moz & Profound Partner to Connect SEO and AI Visibility, Moz
- Google To Pay Homes and Businesses To Curb Energy Usage, The Information
Links & Content Marketing
- Digital PR vs Traditional Link Building: Which Is Better?, The Upper Ranks
- Headless Content Marketing: A New (Old) Strategy for Search, Ahrefs
- Why AI Answer Engines Keep Leaving Your Brand Out, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Gemini app expands Personal Intelligence Google Maps integration, 9To5Google
- Trump says he called Google to rename Atlantic Ocean, CNN
Other Search
- Most readers label Google Gemini a 'downgrade' versus Assistant, Android Authority
PPC
- 2026 Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards: APAC winners announced, Microsoft Advertising
- AI Won’t Save You Time. Not at First. A PPC Experts AI Journey, PPC Hero
- Announcing beta launch of Display & Video 360 API v5, Google Ads Developer Blog
- Explore new ways to drive your best ROI with the first Google Marketing Platform Drop., Google Blog
- Image Extraction to Be Enabled by Default in Performance Max, PPC News Feed
- Using AI in PPC Responsibly (Mitigating Risks), PPC Live
- Demand Gen Now Accepts HTML5 Ads for the Display Network, PPC News Feed
- Google Ads in AI Overviews: All You Need to Know, PPC News Feed
- Smart Bidding Exploration Expands to Performance Max and Shopping, PPC News Feed
- Google Shopping Canada: The New Warranty Attribute and Quebec’s Bill 29, FeedArmy
Search Features
- Google Search quietly removes a useful AI Mode feature, Android Authority
SEO
- 3: Your First SEO API Call Without Writing Code | SEO APIs, Search Engine World
- AI Search Is Not a Distraction, It's a Branding Channel, iPullRank
- Citation Worthiness: Which GEO Tactics Hold Up Across 96,418 URLs, SISTRIX
- Schema Markup for SEO: How It Actually Works (And Why Most Sites Get It Wrong), BlackTruck
- Google Discover cards in 2026 carry one entity per reader, Google's topics and new related-feed signals, 1492vision
- Google Plays Dumb, Nozzle
- An update on Google's poisoning of search results, Ahrefs
Feedback:
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