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 continue to shift click-through rates down, which is not a good thing. Google is testing a new version of AI Mode. Google Merchant Center promotion section added a top performing products option. Google is testing review summary box updates. Google AI Mode added three new agentic capabilities.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Report: Google AI Overviews Continue To Drive CTR Downwards
Earlier this year, we covered that Google's AI Overviews are killing click-through rates from the Google Search results. Well, Seer Interactive updated the numbers and that CTR decline has continued to decline and get even worse. -
Google Tests A New Version Of AI Mode
Google is testing a new version of AI Mode responses in the wild, directly in the Google Search AI Mode interface. Google even tells the searcher, "You're giving feedback on a new version of Al Mode. Which response do you prefer?" -
Google Merchant Center Adds Promotions For Top Performing Products
Google added a new promotion method in Google Merchant Center for Top-performing products. This lets you just promote your best performing products in Google Shopping and Google Search. -
Google Reviews Updates Services Summary Box
Google is testing an update to the reviews services summary box. We know Google does ask for services attributes and other attributes from both the business owner and reviewers but this review box seems newish. -
Google AI Mode Gains 3 New Agentic Capabilities
Google's Robby Stein announced three new agentic capabilities within AI Mode - (1) booking event tickets (2) booking beauty appointments and (3) wellness appointments. -
Googleween - Videos & Photos From The Google Halloween Party
Here are some photos and videos I found on Instagram from the big Google Halloween Googleween party. I'll just embed them below.
Other Great Search Threads:
- For quite a while, broad match was the thing everyone avoided. But Google’s changed how it works, and it’s finally getting better at understanding what people mean, not just what they type. That doesn’t make it, Menachem Ani on X
- Let's hear it for lead gen! I got to chat with agency experts Pauline Jakober @GrpTwentySeven, Patrick Ortenzio @Tinuiti and Grace Mante @KeplerGrp about their top strategies for generating high-quality leads. * How to adapt tactics for, AdsLiaison on X
- Okay, heads up to those who are interested - Search Central Live is coming to Zurich again On December 9!, Martin Splitt on Bluesky
- [New data]: Traffic from ChatGPT keeps growing every month, while traffic from Google keeps falling. [Based on data from ~67k websites connected to @Ahrefs’ free Web Analytics product → chatgpt-vs-google(DOT)com] Don't g, Tim Soulo on X
- Strategic inputs are definitely important to optimize toward the conversions you deem valuable to your business. As Patrick says, "good data in, good data out" and Grace underscores the impo, AdsLiaison on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- YouTube locks sidebar on mobile ads, removing close option
- Google AI Overviews drive 61% drop in organic CTR, 68% in paid
- GEO startup Lorelight shuts down: ‘The problem didn’t need solving’
- Google’s “Smart Cropping” may be trimming your Shopping Ad images
- Aja Frost on AI search, content strategy, and AEO success metrics
- Social and UGC: The trust engines powering search everywhere
- 5 Google Ads tactics to drop in 2026
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- Introducing MAI-Image-1, debuting in the top 10 on LMArena, Microsoft AI
- Introducing voice in Microsoft 365 Copilot: a more productive way to work on the go., Microsoft Community Hub
- People Inc. IAC Google AI Overviews Microsoft, Digiday
- The Nonprofit Feeding the Entire Internet to AI Companies, The Atlantic
- Shopify says AI traffic is up 7x since January, AI-driven orders are up 11x, TechCrunch
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Alphabet Sells $25 Billion of Corporate Bonds in US, Europe, Bloomberg
- Amazon Demands Perplexity Stop AI Agent From Making Purchases, Bloomberg
- Google transfers ownership of new aquifer storage and recovery facility to The Dalles, Columbia Gorge News
- Google: DOJ bows to industry with “unprecedented” breakup demands, Global Competition Review
- Perplexity AI accuses Amazon of bullying with Comet legal threat, CNBC
- The DOJ And Google Sharpen Their Remedy Proposals As The Two Sides Prepare For Closing Arguments, AdExchanger
- Epic and Google agree to settle their lawsuit and change Android’s fate globally, The Verge
- Google Clears DOJ Antitrust Hurdle for $32 Billion Wiz Deal, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
- How Moorings Park Used AI and SEO to Strengthen Content Strategy, seoClarity
- GitHub Cracks Code With Fresh Twists for Corporate Blog, Content Marketing Institute
- Why student influencers are reshaping brand marketing, Content Grip
Local & Maps
- Google Maps Alternative Gets Big Update With Three New Features, AutoEvolution
- Google Maps, Polestar introduce live lane guidance, Google Blog
- Some Android Auto users report issues after updating to Android 16, 9to5Google
SEO
- Duplicate meta titles or meta descriptions in Shopify, Ilana Davis
- Is Schema Any Good for SEO? (And Why), Sara Taher
- Managing faceted navigation at scale, Oncrawl
- Rethinking YouTube SEO: Winning Visibility in Google’s AI Overviews, JumpFly
- How LLMs Learn from Structured Data – and Why Schema.org Matters for AI SEO, GPT Insights
PPC
- Merge Google Ads Campaigns for Better ROAS, Practical Ecommerce
- The Difference Between Search and Display Campaigns (and Why It Matters), JumpFly
Search Features
- Google's Search Live could soon stop listening when you want it to, Android Authority
Other Search
- Alexa+ comes to the Amazon Music app, TechCrunch
- Exploring a space-based, scalable AI infrastructure system design, Google Research Blog
- Goodbye, Assistant: Google prepares to make Gemini your only option, Android Authority
- Google Removed 749 Million Anna's Archive URLs from its Search Results, TorrentFreak
- How Does Social Media Traffic Compare to Organic and AI in 2025?, SE Ranking
Feedback:
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