Daily Search Forum Recap: November 11, 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 has begun the rollout of the November 2026 core update, it should end right before Thanksgiving/Black Friday. OpenAI has released its ChatGPT business hub with analytics, insights and even click data. Yahoo announced Yahoo Scout is out of beta and it has released Pivot Search. Google released Gemini 4 Carbon within AI Mode and Search. Google lost another legal battle against SerpApi. Crawled/Discovered - Currently Not Indexed means you have a quality issue with your site. Google Ads posted a new help document about customer journey insights. Google Ads is also adding the Visit site link in the mobile ad descriptions for search ads. Google has posted new eligibility requirements for the merchant loyalty program. Google Ads has updated its Page feeds section for Performance Max campaigns to help advertisers understand how it works. Google updated its About brand settings for Search and Performance Max help document to clarify how to manage brands within your brand list.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google November 2026 Core Update Is Rolling Out
  Google officially announced the rollout of the November 2026 core update just now, on Tuesday at around 1:07 pm ET. This core update is expected to take about 2 weeks to roll out. Google said, "This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites."
• Businesses in ChatGPT Business Hub Live With Click Data
  OpenAI has just announced the ChatGPT Business Hub, Businesses in ChatGPT. This business hub offers analytics on mentions, profile views, and, you guessed it, clicks to websites! Yes, OpenAI is showing us how many people click from ChatGPT to our website.
• Gemini 4 Carbon Available In Google Search AI Mode
  Google released Gemini 4 Carbon, its "strongest model with frontier performance in cybersecurity capabilities and long-horizon agentic workflows across complex knowledge work, software engineering, and scientific reasoning," and it is now available in Google Search via AI Mode for subscribers.
• Google Loses Another Round in Legal Battle Against SerpApi Over Scraping
  Google has lost again in SerpApi's scraping legal fight in court, with the court giving Google 21 days to amend its complaint. But this is a major win for SerpApi and this case seems like it might be coming to a close soon.
• Yahoo Search Launches Pivot Search, Yahoo Scout App & More
  Yahoo announced updates across Yahoo Search and Yahoo Scout including that Yahoo Scout is now out of beta and Yahoo Search added Pivot Search. Plus, Scout has now processed over 3 billion answers since it launched earlier this year.
• Google Crawled/Discovered - Currently Not Indexed A Site Quality Issue
  This is not new, but hey, John Mueller from Google said it again, getting a status of Crawled/Discovered - Currently Not Indexed within Google Search Console's page indexing report may be a sign that Google doesn't think your site or those pages are high-quality enough to index.
• New Google Ads Overview Page: Customer Journey Insights
  Google Ads posted a new help document about customer journey insights. "Customer Journey Insights is a new Google Ads Overview page reporting card pilot for eligible advertisers. It provides transparency into how your campaigns move users across conversion journey stages," Google wrote.
• Google Ads Visit Site Link In Mobile Search Ad Description
  Google Ads is also adding the Visit site link in the mobile ad descriptions for search ads. We saw them on the desktop ads with a Visit site button and also on organic results search and now also as a plain text anchor link in the mobile ad descriptions.
• Google Merchant Loyalty Program New Eligibility Requirements
  Google has posted new eligibility requirements for the merchant loyalty program. As a reminder, Loyalty is an add-on feature in the Merchant Center for merchants with an existing loyalty program who want to showcase its benefits on Google.
• Google Ads Performance Max Page Feeds Updated
  Google Ads has updated its Page feeds section for Performance Max campaigns to help advertisers understand how it works. These changes look like they should make it easier for advertisers to know which pages to feed to the ad algorithms.
• Google Ads Brand Lists Global Brand Library
  Google updated its About brand settings for Search and Performance Max help document to clarify how to manage brands within your brand list. Specifically, Google said, "Google's brand library uses single, global canonical brands rather than individual localized or regional variants."
• John Mueller In Kermit & Cookie Monster Obscure Muppet T-Shirt
  Here is a random photo John Mueller of Google where he is wearing an obscure muppet t-shirt that has Kermit the frog and Cookie Monster together.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Has anyone looked into the paid side of these click spikes? Did advertisers see a big spike in clicks on Google ads on 11/3? We've all been focusing on the organic side, but click fraud could have been insane that day as well. Just thinking out., Glenn Gabe on X
• GSC is unusable right now. Yes, all this data is fake., Joy Hawkins on X
• Are the immediate AI-generated captions being created when a Google Local Guide adds a photo to a Google Business Profile on Google Maps, David Hills on X
• If you don't want something indexed, then noindex is fine. It also allows people to find the content within your site when they manually browse, which can be helpful in understanding what people like., John Mueller on Bluesky
• For 190 days I checked Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to understand which LLMs leave a trace. Here is what I learned: Google AI Overviews & AI Mode trigger impressions in both the..., Malte Landwehr on LinkedIn

Search Engine Land Stories:

• ChatGPT Business Hub is now live
• Google November 2026 core update rolling out now
• Google Ads gives Performance Max page feeds a makeover with clearer URL controls
• Google AI Mode for subscribers gains Gemini 4 Carbon
• Google Ads rolls out new pay-per-lead terms requiring advertiser opt-in
• The IKEA effect in SEO: You built it, you love it, but Google doesn’t care
• Yahoo Scout out of beta and Yahoo adds Pivot Search
• ChatGPT ads: Advertisers surge, average spending falls, and big spenders dominate
• When Google stops sending traffic, paid search picks up the slack
• Why Google’s YouTube push matters for your search strategy
• ChatGPT visual ads are rolling out
• The drivers of local AI visibility for multi-location brands

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Fable 5.2 and Jagged AGI, Ethan Mollick
• A New AI Tool From Google DeepMind Proved the Signal Protocol Is Secure, Wired
• Gemini 4 Carbon is now available, Google Blog
• Google Cloud Gemini for healthcare: AI workflow automation, Google Blog
• Grok Build coding agent leaks oodles of confidential info, some belonging to SpaceXSI, Ars Technica

Industry & Business

• Anthropic IPO to raise as much as $64.4 billion, latest draft prospectus shows, Reuters
• Anthropic Unveils Office Tools Ahead of IPO, Taking on Microsoft, Bloomberg
• Anthropic bankers prepare to increase IPO valuation to $1.5tn or more, Financial Times (Sub)
• Anthropic Co-Founders Set for $1.75 Billion Cash-Out as IPO Nears, Bloomberg
• Anthropic Discloses Over $10 Billion in New Deals with Microsoft, Google; Says Lambda Deal May Be Cancelled, The Information
• Anthropic launches roadshow for proposed initial public offering, Anthropic
• OpenAI Continues to Suffer Heavy Losses as Revenue Rises to $10 Billion, Wall Street Journal
• OpenAI Revenue Jumps to $10 Billion in Third Quarter, The Information
• Google agrees to additional privacy protections in Spirit Airlines data sale, Reuters

Links & Content Marketing

• 2027 B2B Marketing Budgets: No One's Funding Team Skills, Content Marketing Institute
• Stop Building Links, Start Building Distribution, Joe Hall
• A blog doesn't have to be a blog, Ilana Davis

Local & Maps

• Apple Maps will know how you walk to work after parking, Apple Insider
• Waze and Garmin cycling alerts for safer roads, Google Blog

Other Search

• Brave user numbers rise 29% as search volumes jump 56%, Martech 260

PPC

• Prisma integration expanded for the Microsoft Advertising Platform, Microsoft Advertising
• Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode: How to Adapt Your PPC Strategy, Brainlabs
• Bing tests large image ad in the center of the SERP, Search Engine Watch
• Google Updates Smart Bidding Learning Status and Triggers, PPC News Feed
• How to Set Up a Google Ads Account: The Step-by-Step Guide, WordStream
• Lifting the Veil on Google Search Partners: How to Finally Audit Your Low Quality Traffic, ZATO Marketing
• The Google Ads Developer Blog is moving!, Google Ads Developer Blog
• When hitting the KPI hurts the business, DAC
• New {search_term_matchtype} ValueTrack Parameter Isolates AI Max Traffic, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• Bing shows flashing black square effect on product search results, Search Engine Watch
• Google could bring Search AI Overviews into Chrome’s side panel, Search Engine Watch
• Retiring Advanced and Standard Voice, ChatGPT Release Notes

SEO

• Most major UK news publishers saw Google search visibility fall in 2026, Press Gazette
• Prompt tracking methodology to measure AI visibility, Semrush
• Stop Fighting Over SEO and GEO, Grumpy Old SEO
• Where Does ChatGPT Get Its Information? 4 Sources, Explained, Ahrefs
• What's the difference between SEO and AI search optimisation?, Hallam

Feedback:

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