Daily Search Forum Recap: November 3, 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 is testing removing the AI Mode button from the main search bar. Google is moving the AI Overviews for brands to the right side of the search results page. If your homepage is only indexed, Google says that might be a sign of a quality issue. Google Ads Performance Max campaigns may also filter out navigational or brand-specific search queries. Google Ads asset scheduling has new advanced options to let you group days. Google AI Mode seems to only link to Google Flights. Google's John Mueller also explained how to ensure pop-ups are not indexed by Google. Google also said it will turn off Google Search in schools K-12.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Tests Removing AI Mode Button From Search Bar
  Google is supposedly testing removing the AI Mode button from the Google Search bar. I cannot replicate this, but it doesn't surprise me that Google would test removing the AI Mode bar for a tiny subset of searchers to compare how it performs versus when the AI Mode button is available.
• Google AI Overviews For Brands Moved To Right Column
  Google has moved the AI Overviews for many brand-related keywords to the right-hand column of the search results page. Previously, they appeared at the top or middle of the main search results section.
• Google Will Turn Off Google Search For K-12 Schools & Testing Learning Beta
  Google announced it will "entirely" turn off Google Search, along with Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Gemini in Classroom for K-12 schools. "Access to these products will be entirely off for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly turn them on," Google wrote.
• Only Home Page Indexed? Might Be A Google Search Quality Issue
  Is your home page the only page indexed by Google Search? Were other pages of your site previously indexed and are no longer showing up in Google's index? Well, that might be a Google Search quality issue with your website.
• Google Ads PMax Campaigns May Filter Out Navigational & Brand Queries
  Google Ads updated its How Performance Max interacts with other campaigns in your account help document to add a new section on how "Performance Max campaigns may also filter out navigational or brand-specific search queries to prioritize serving them through dedicated Search campaigns."
• Google Ads Asset Scheduling With Day Grouping (Weekends/Weekdays)
  Google Ads improved the asset scheduling advanced options to let you group days, such as weekends versus weekdays and more. This can be found under the advanced options within asset scheduling in Google Ads.
• Google AI Mode Biased: It Only Shows Links To Google Flights
  Over the weekend, I tested out using Google AI Mode to get flight information and 100% of the time, the only links available within the AI Mode responses were to Google Flights. I am sure the Digital Markets Act (DMA) folks in Europe are going to like this.
• Google On How To Block Popups Using Robot.txt In Search
  Google's John Mueller explained how to prevent pop-up dialogs on your website from appearing in Google Search using the robots.txt file. He mentioned how to do this if you are using JavaScript for the pop-up.
• Sleigh The Season With Google Event
  Google held an event named Sleigh the Season with Google a week or so ago in the London office. You can see Google made cookies, a Christmas tree and more with that slogan - Sleigh the Season with Google - on it.

Other Great Search Threads:

• (Sudden total traffic drop in Google Search Console (as if the site was deindexed), BlackHatWorld
• Google is testing adding emojis in the “More trending discussions” on Google Search., Radu Oncescu on X
• Welcome to the SEO & AI Search Horror Stories 2026 Edition: Real Nightmares with practical escapes, Aleyda Solis on LinkedIn
• Ahead of Anthropic's IPO: Worldwide traffic to Claude's upgrade page rebounded in September, nearly returning to its May and June levels. May: 18.6M June: 18.6M July: 16.8M August: 14.7M September: 17.6M Download our full report here, Similarweb on X
• Why is a basic blog category page suddenly getting thousands of Google Search impressions but zero clicks?, Reddit
• Hola Barcelona! The grand finale of the #PESummit26 world tour is here...bienvenidos to our European Product Experts! What sights have you checked out so far? Share below, Google's Product Experts Program on X
• Take a photo or video. Ask Gemini to post it. Done. Add photos, videos, or images created right in Gemini to refresh your gallery or publish a post to Search and Maps in seconds. Try asking: "@Google Business Profile create a post for our weekend special using this photo., Google Business Profile on X
• Today’s officially my last day at Google DeepMind. I joined nearly 12 years ago to help understand intelligence and to build AGI. My view is that we now know how to build AGI, even if we don’t fully understand it yet. Next week I’m hopping over to @DiscoLoopAI to start pointing, Ali Eslami on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• ChatGPT ads generate 64% less revenue per visit than Google Search: Study
• Beyond demand capture: Why performance marketers need brand marketing
• Every AI follow-up question is another SEO opportunity
• How to build an action-oriented second brain for SEO
• The quiet click: Why people read AI answers and click anyway

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Behind the Curtain: OpenAI's post-election power play, Axios
• The Impact of AI Agents on the Digital Economy (2026), Maltel Landwehr
• Anthropic confirms new Claude Code limits to prevent game cloning — users report Opus 5.5 is also actively blocking reverse engineering tasks, Tom's Hardware
• Sparks of Weight-Space Programming: LLMs can natively read & write neural network weights, Rikiya Takehi
• When You Should—and Shouldn’t—Use AI to Search the Web, Wired
• Why Publishers Are Adding Invisible Ads for AI Agents, The Information
• Google’s space AI is online and writing poetry, The Independent
• OpenAI is finally merging ChatGPT's chat and Work tabs, TechCrunch

Industry & Business

• Google Energy Chief: Space Data Centers Cost Up to 100 Times More Than Those on Earth, The Information
• EU fines Google €1.49bln for blocking advertising rivals, Reuters
• New York Times sues maker of Brave web browser over copyrights, Reuters
• Google Lets Trade Unions Into UK Offices to Recruit Staff, Bloomberg
• Introducing the Grid Protectors Program, OpenAI
• Anthropic releases amended IPO prospectus with third-quarter financials, CNBC
• Alphabet kicks off €6 billion bond sale, tests appetite for tech debt, Reuters

Links & Content Marketing

• 7 Content Marketing Case Studies that Created Real Impact, Simplilearn
• 20 Zero Click Marketing Questions Everyone's Asking, SparkToro

Local & Maps

• If you use public transit, this app blows Apple Maps and Google Maps away, Washington Post
• I replaced Google Maps with this open-source alternative and I barely miss it, XDA Developers
• iPhone Update Makes Google Maps and Waze More Difficult To Use on CarPlay, Autoevolution
• GBP Website URL Field: How a Strong Real Estate Website Helps with Local SEO, SEO Savvy Agent
• Google Maps is built for driving, so I ditched it for this transit-focused app, Android Police

Other Search

• HomeView OS tour shows settings, CarPlay usage, Liquid Glass, Apple Insider
• Inside Apple’s Slog to Create Its First Robot, The Information
• Google apps get new icon designs, Google Blog

PPC

• How AI Overviews and AI Mode are changing search habits, Google Blog
• 6 Hidden Settings to Check in Your Google Ads Account Right Now!, WordStream
• Google AI Mode now showing four ads at the bottom, Search Engine Watch
• In-Stream Ads And Bumpers Now Run on YouTube Playables, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• Zelda: Ocarina of Time Google Easter Egg Revealed, IGN
• Google search ads get a new Visit site link, Search Engine Watch
• Google tests removing other tabs from AI Mode header, Search Engine Watch

SEO

• International SEO Architecture: Hreflang, Canonicals & Geotargeting Guide, Liz Bower
• AI Visibility: Find the right queries to track with AlsoAsked, AlsoAsked
• "SEO Torture" Tornoe Cartoon - November 2026, Editor and Publisher
• Google-Extended: The Google AI Crawler That Isn’t Actually a Crawler, Search Engine World

Feedback:

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