Daily Search Forum Recap: November 12, 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 Ads has a new invalid traffic overview card to show you how much you got back for fake traffic. Google is testing placing source icons in AI Overviews at the bottom. Google is expanding definition queries to show the full AI Overview by default. Google posted on how to move to a CDN without impacting Google. Google Ads disallows impersonating public figures with AI even with disclosure. Google Ads disallows targeting users based on prohibited categories. Google Ads has a found on site and more pages label. Google Ads Editor version 2.14 is out and Google Ads API 26.2 is out. Google Ads has a new data strength uplift metric. Bing is touting a way to turn off AI responses in search, but why isn't it a search setting?

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Ads New Invalid Traffic (IVT) Overview Card
  Google Ads announced a new Invalid Traffic (IVT) overview card within Google Search. Google's Keerat Sharma wrote, "We’re rolling out the Invalid Traffic Overview Card in Google Ads to give advertisers front-end transparency into how we protect their campaigns."
• Google Placing Source Icons At Bottom Of AI Overviews
  Google is testing moving the citations or sources icons to the very bottom of the AI Overviews. Previously, these icons appeared at the top of the AI Overview; now Google is testing placing them at the bottom, which may make it even harder to find the sources of the answers Google generates in these AI Overviews and could reduce clicks to your site even more.
• Google Ads API Version 26.2 Now Out Available
  Google Ads has just released a minor update to its Google Ads API - version 26.2. This update touches on assets, campaigns, reporting, and more general updates.
• Google Search AI Overview Definitions Expanded By Default
  Google is expanding the AI Overviews for definitions by default, where you no longer have to click on "Show more" to see the full version of the AI Overview. This is similar to when Google confirmed it dynamically expands some AI Overviews based on the query, but now Google is doing this for all definition searches.
• Google: How Moving to a CDN Can Accidentally Overwhelm Your Website
  Gary Illyes and Chery Prommawin released the final video in the Non-Canonical Cabinet series, this one is on CDNs, content delivery networks. They discuss why migrating a website to a CDN can suddenly increase Googlebot crawling activity, why this may overload your origin server, and how to avoid accidentally blocking Google's crawlers.
• Google Ads Disallows Impersonate Public Figures With AI Even If Disclosed
  Google Ads clarified in its unacceptable Business Practices policy that impersonating public figures using AI isn’t allowed, even if they disclose that they were generated or edited using AI.
• Google Ads Disallows Targeting Users Based On Prohibited Content Interests
  Google Ads has added a single line to the Restricted targeting in Personalized advertising policy. Google wrote, "Additionally, advertisers are not allowed to target users based on an interest in categories prohibited in Google’s ad network."
• Google Ads 'Found On Site' Icon & More Pages Label On Sponsored Results
  Google is testing a new label on its sponsored results on Google Ads named "Found on site." The label also has a text with a magnifying glass icon next to it. Next to the label is a site link that you can click on.
• Google Ads Editor Version 2.14 Is Now Available
  Google has released version 2.14 of the Google Ads Editor, which includes 10 new features.
• Google Ads Data Strength Uplift Metric Doc
  Google Ads has posted a new help document about the data strength uplift metric. This comes a month after Google posted another help document on Data Strength Best Practices. "The data strength uplift metric gives you a clearer picture of the value your first-party data setup delivers in Google Ads," Google wrote.
• Bing Touts Two Methods To Turn Off AI In Search But It's Not A Search Setting
  Microsoft announced, again, that there are ways to turn off AI features in Bing Search. We covered it twice before, but the first time we covered it, Bing had a search setting to disable AI Search (aka Copilot) from showing up in Bing. The second time, Bing removed that setting and asked people to download a browser extension or add -ai to the query to disable AI search features.
• Mesmerizing Google Staircase
  Here is a photo from the Google office in Santa Clara, California. This is a photo of the mesmerizing staircase in that office.

Other Great Search Threads:

• We really appreciate the continued effort the @bing team is putting into removing AI Frankenstein recipes @JordiRib1 and @AishwaryaNaga Attached is a side-by-side of Bing AI Mode v Google AI Mode for the query "inspired taste brownie recipe" In Google's output they..., Inspired Taste on X
• I'm curious how things around markdown will evolve. I could see value when it comes to developer facing content, where a coding agent needs to review current documentation quickly. This is a very small part of the overall pie though, and I worry that people will assume it needs to be done everywhere (which probably it doesn't). For example, if the goal of your site is to get people to implement (in code) a feature that you offer, catering towards agentic makes a lot of sense., John Mueller on LinkedIn
• Dario Amodei says cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and mental illness will be relics of the past in less than a decade, and that "we can create an age of miracles" “You know, if today we look at things like cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, mental illness, these will , Fireside Alpha on X
• Good Morning Google Land! This is the 11/11 edition of "Core Update Notes". We are less than one day into the update so there is little to report on that front, but I wanted to address the search visibility tracking situation that many will be dealing with. With Google, Glenn Gabe on X
• Demand Gen "Optimised Targeting" is changed with the attached 3 options, Arpan Banerjee on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google Ads introduces clearer audience reach controls with warnings for restricted targeting
• Google Ads introduces new ValueTrack parameter to identify AI Max traffic
• Google Ads shortens Smart Bidding learning status to 7 days
• Google SEO advice on moving to a CDN – content delivery network
• ChatGPT ads vs. Google Ads: 6 key differences to know
• How to sell upper-funnel campaigns to performance-driven clients
• How to build an SEO content roadmap around revenue
• How software buyers use AI

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• China's Singles Day shopping festival puts AI selling power to the test, Reuters
• Google’s AlphaGenome 2 zooms in on the cellular roots of disease, The Verge
• Top 10 things AI gets wrong in web development, Chrome for Developers
• Gemini Decisions API: Fast multimodal decisions, Google Blog

Industry & Business

• Anthropic IPO Draws Oversubscription as Demand Surges for Record Listing, Bloomberg
• EU Targets Social Media Addiction and Online ‘Dark Patterns’, Bloomberg
• Google Escalates Nvidia Rivalry With New Versions of Its TPU Systems, Bloomberg
• Parents rally over Google AI search changes for schools, CBS Chicago
• Setback for Google as EU Court adviser backs $1.7 billion antitrust fine, Reuters

Links & Content Marketing

• How B2B Influencer Marketing Content Fuels Repurposing at Scale, TopRank Marketing

Local & Maps

• Gemini is now available on Apple CarPlay, Google Blog
• EP 282- Small Businesses Think Google Doesn't Matter. Their Customers Disagree., Near Media
• Study: We Asked 4 AI Models About 372 Businesses — Only 21 Were Recommended by All; 77% Were Left Out Completely, Thrive Agency
• Remove Food Ordering Providers from Your Restaurant's Google Business Profile, Online Ownership

Other Search

• Google Discovers Unexpected Patterns In AI Image Generation, Search Engine Journal
• The 100 Most-Mentioned Brands in ChatGPT (November 2026), Ahrefs
• New Google Home sounds are live on Google and Nest speakers, 9To5Google
• Google Home update improves Gemini, fixes Nest camera issues, Android Authority

PPC

• AI Max vs DSA, PMax vs Shopping, tROAS vs Max Conv. Value, Smarter Ecommerce
• How to Evaluate Performance Max Beyond Conversion Volume, PPC Hero
• Microsoft Moves Auto-Generated Assets Setting to AI Max Text Customization, PPC News Feed
• Performance Max Setup and Optimization Guide (2026), JXT Group
• Google Ads Channel Priority: Change This Before February, Smarter Ecommerce
• Target Frequency Campaigns Can Mix Non-Skippable Ads With Shorts and In-Feed, PPC News Feed
• Why Good PPC Sometimes Starts Slower, PPC Live
• Performance Max Adds Household Income Exclusions, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• Bing AI Overview links users directly to AI Mode, Search Engine Watch
• AI Overviews Climb. E-commerce Sites Now Exposed. (UK Data.), SISTRIX
• Your choice: Turn AI answers on or off in Bing, Bing Search Blog
• Bing routes empty Shopping searches to Copilot, Search Engine Watch
• After the EEA Product Carousel Removal: Where Organic Product Discovery Happens Now, seoClarity

SEO

• Your Brand Is Becoming A Search Query, SEO Theory
• What to Do About Poisoned SERPs: Takeaways From Our Women in Tech SEO AMA, Nozzle
• You can't not do SEO, Jono Alderson

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