Daily Search Forum Recap: November 13, 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 says it has pushed its biggest model update to Google Search yet with Gemini 4 Hydrogen - yes, during a core update. Google Search Console's Search Console Generative AI performance report has a data bug between November 9 and 11, yes, during a core update. Google is bringing back AI-generated image generation in AI Overviews. Google has published a new help document named Identify Google Search traffic in your web analytics or server logs. OpenAI sent its weekly ChatGPT Ads update email announcing several updates. The Internet Licensing Collective launched with Yahoo Scout a way to pay publishers for their content being used in AI. Google has updated the editorial requirements for Merchant Center titles saying you can no longer "include dates in any format" within the title of the listing in the redemption section. Google has dropped the "experimental" label from the Deal Ends annotation for Google Merchant Center Product Listing Ads. Google Ads updated its Conversion Lift help documentation primarily to provide more detailed technical requirements and troubleshooting guidance. Google has added a section to the mobile version of Google Shopping (maybe desktop as well) named "Highlighted on the web." And I posted my weekly video recap, it was a busy week, so might be worth watching.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Search Gets Massive Upgrade With Gemini 4 Hydrogen
  Google Search has received a "massive upgrade with Gemini 4 Hydrogen," said Nick Fox of Google. "The biggest model upgrade to Search yet has landed," said Robby Stein of Google. It is super fast, has better understanding, improved query fan-out and linking, more visual responses and richer language understanding.
• Google Search Console Generative AI Performance Report Data Bug Nov 9 - 11
  Google has confirmed a data logging bug in the Search Console Generative AI performance report in Search between the dates of November 9 and November 11, 2026 which resulted in a decrease in impressions.
• Google AI Overviews AI-Generated Images Have Returned For Some
  Google seems to be bringing back the ability for Google Search to generate images on the fly within Google Search. Google initially announced this back in July of this year and then paused the test the next month after some controversy. Now, it seems to be coming back for some searchers.
• New Google Help Doc Explains How To Identifying Traffic From Google Search
  Google has published a new help document named Identify Google Search traffic in your web analytics or server logs. This document explains how to see if Google Search is sending you traffic in your own web analytics system or server logs by inspecting the HTTP Referer header.
• OpenAI ChatGPT Ads Updates: Intelligent Bidding, New Cost Targets, Geo-Flexibility & Product Set Filters
  OpenAI just sent out its weekly ChatGPT Ads update email announcing a number of updates including intelligent bidding, new cost targets in Ads Manager, more geographic flexibility for product feed campaigns and more flexible product set filters.
• Yahoo Scout To Pay Publishers Through The ILC For Using Content In AI Answers
  The Internet Licensing Collective, a nonprofit, publisher-led licensing collective for Internet publishers and creators, launched the other day with Yahoo Scout as its first commercial partner. Yahoo Scout, through the ILC will pay publishers for using their content in its AI responses.
• Google Merchant Center Promotions Titles Now Disallows Redemption Dates
  Google has updated the editorial requirements for Merchant Center titles saying you can no longer "include dates in any format" within the title of the listing in the redemption section. Previously, the document allowed some date formats, I believe.
• Google Merchant Center Deal Ends Annotation No Longer Experimental
  Google has dropped the "experimental" label from the Deal Ends annotation for Google Merchant Center Product Listing Ads. Google has also said this feature is no longer available in India; previously, it was.
• Google Ads Updates Conversion Lift Set Up Documentation
  Google Ads updated its Conversion Lift help documentation primarily to provide more detailed technical requirements and troubleshooting guidance for advertisers setting up incrementality studies. There are a lot of changes to the document but here are the big ones.
• Google Shopping Section Named Highlighted On The Web
  Google has added a section to the mobile version of Google Shopping (maybe desktop as well) named "Highlighted on the web." I can see this section when I search for product in Google Shopping on mobile, but I do not see it on the desktop interface.
• Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google November Core Update Is Here, ChatGPT Business Hub Gives Us Clicks, Yahoo Pivot Search & Google Ads Invalid Traffic
  Google has begun the rollout of the November 2026 core update. Google also had search ranking volatility on November 8th and 9th. Google released a major update to Google Search with Gemini 4 Hydrogen days after Gemini 4 Carbon came out. And to top all of that off...
• Google Research Speaker Podium
  Here is a photo of a speaker podium at the Google office that is for the Google Research team. This is from the GooglePlex office in Mountain View, California.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Anthropic's policy against 'deceptive campaigns or artificial activity' is supposed to go into effect today, 11/12/26. Will be interesting to follow to see if sites engaging in risky tactics to game Claude visibility get impacted. Stay tuned., Glenn Gabe on X
• First look at the ChatGPT agent builder: pretty cool - it pulls a lot of recommendations out of your website so it’s pretty low-effort to get it set up. These are its initial suggestions. (Of course, I’d recommend customizing and optimizing it as needed!), Lily Ray on X
• Podcast Video Clips in YouTube Studio, Google YouTube Community
• When it comes to AI images & products, the only guidelines I'm aware of from our side are from merchant center: - in short you need to include metadata in the images indicating that they're AI generated., John Mueller on Bluesky

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Dreambeans: Google turns your private life into personalized content
• Google Search Console performance report data bug Nov 9 -11
• ChatGPT Ads adds Target CPA and CPC bidding, expands product campaign controls
• Google Search gets major upgrade with Gemini 4 Hydrogen
• How to build content clusters around bottom-of-funnel pages
• Google Ads details new Data Strength Uplift metric
• Are we chasing AI visibility at the expense of business results?
• Google Ads clarifies AI-generated public figure impersonation is banned, even with disclosure
• Google Ads Editor 2.14 rolls out with AI Max defaults and new retention controls
• After the lift test: Make incrementality part of weekly PPC reporting
• Google Ads launches Invalid Traffic Overview Card
• Let’s stop hiding. Become transparent about your AI usage.
• Connecting with shoppers when the buyer Is not human

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• 2025 - ChatGPT named 21 competitors & us 0 times 2026 - Them 0, us 65%, Seer Interactive
• AI Traffic Reaches Nearly 80% of Websites: November 2026 Study, SE Ranking
• ChatGPT Ads UX Study: Findings from Real AI Search Sessions, Seer Interactive
• Which News Sites Can AI Read, and Which Does It Cite?, Five Blocks
• AI chatbots are recommending fake retail websites, study finds, The Verge
• 239,266 brands, ranked by authority in Gemini 4 Hydrogen, Google's new AI search model, DEJAN
• OpenAI launches security products, tells orgs they’re doomed if they don’t use them, The Register

Industry & Business

• 2026 Google PhD Fellows: $13 million in research funding, Google Blog
• Google EU Fine of $1.65 Billion Should Be Reconsidered, Court Advisor Says, Wall Street Journal
• Privacy protections for intelligent eyewear, Google Blog
• OpenAI Backs US Legislation to Restrict China’s Access to AI Chips, Bloomberg
• Nonprofits sue Anthropic, Google, and other tech giants to freeze the AI arms race, POLITICO

Links & Content Marketing

• 4 Blogging Practices Losing Ground That Deserve a Comeback, Content Marketing Institute
• The Hidden Costs of Rushing Content Production, JumpFly

Local & Maps

• Local Search Grid now uses Google Maps data, BrightLocal Help Center

Other Search

• Intelligent eyewear collections with Gemini features, Google Blog
• Google search gone wrong: Pleasanton woman out $14K after scammers impersonate foreign airline TAP Air Portugal, ABC7 San Francisco
• Use Gemini in Chrome to get quick answers, Google Blog

PPC

• Microsoft PMax Controls and Their Availability, PPC News Feed
• Your Brand Traffic Is Flattering Your Google Ads Results, PPC Hero
• Microsoft Messaging Guidelines May Not Work as Hard Rules, PPC News Feed
• Bulk Editing for Customer Retention Settings in Google Ads, PPC News Feed
• Manage responsive YouTube ads with Display & Video 360 API v5, Google for Developers
• Visual Guidelines for Performance Max AI Images, PPC News Feed
• Google Ads MCP Now Allows Asset Creation, PPC News Feed
• 2026 Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards: EMEA and LATAM winners announced, Microsoft Advertising
• Google Merchant Center now requires a conventional payment, Docs Watch

Search Features

• Brave Search to encrypt result links after Google’s scraping crackdown, Cyber Insider
• SearchResearch (11/13/26): New series on "Getting the most out of your AI-powered searches" - #1 - Be careful of those summaries, SearchReSearch
• Google promotes Chrome’s floating search bar with AI Mode, Search Engine Watch

SEO

• 13 Things Google Search Console Ranking Data Says, iPullRank
• AI traffic quality: Look past the industry benchmarks and measure ROI, Semrush
• Reddit's Traffic Is Down 13%, Thanks to AI Overviews, Business Insider
• Introducing the Cross-Origin Storage API, Chrome for Developers

Feedback:

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