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's Danny Sullivan and John Mueller spoke about doing SEO for AI and how it is the same as for traditional search. Google Search Console's page indexing report is finally fixed. Google is rolling out Gemini 3 Flash to AI Mode and the Gemini app. Google fixed the two-month-long reviews-disappearing bug. Google added advice on setting a canonical link with JavaScript. Microsoft is testing underlines on Bing ads snippets.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google's Danny Sullivan & John Mueller On SEO For AI: It's The Same
John Mueller from Google had Danny Sullivan from Google on the Search Off the Record podcast to talk about "Thoughts on SEO & SEO for AI." In short, they both said SEO for AI is the same as SEO for traditional search but then they got into it. -
Google Search Console Page Indexing Report Now Up To Date
After almost a month delay with the page indexing report within Google Search Console, the report is now back to its normal timeframe. This morning it was reading that the last updated date was November 21st. Now, it is reading December 14th, which is a normal delay for this report. -
Gemini 3 Flash For Google AI Mode - Now Rolling Out
Google is bringing Gemini 3 Flash to AI Mode, bringing much of Gemini 3's power without waiting too long - hence the "Flash" part of the name. Robby Stein from Google said, "Starting today, we're rolling it out globally in Search as the default model in AI Mode." -
Google Reviews Disappearing Bug Reportedly Fixed
Back in October, many businesses reported that reviews left on their Google Business Profiles were disappearing. It wasn't happening to every business, but it was widespread. Last night, I was told the bug had been fixed and that the reviews should be returning. -
Google Updates JavaScript SEO Doc With Setting Canonical URL Advice
Google updated its JavaScript SEO best practices document with a new section on how to set the canonial URL when using JavaScript. Google wrote, "The best way to set the canonical URL is to use HTML, but if you have to use JavaScript, make sure that you always set the canonical URL to the same value as the original HTML." -
Microsoft Tests Underlines In Bing Ad Description Snippets
Microsoft is also testing underlining the text of the Bing Ads search snippets and descriptions. I am not sure if those underlined words are links or not but I assume so. -
Googlers Playing Mahjong
Here is a photo of a bunch of Googlers playing Mahjong (Mahj) at the Boulder, Colorado office. It says it is the Boulder Women at Google group.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Good Morning Google Land! This is the 12/17 edition of "Core Update Notes". As of this morning, most impact has continued in the same direction across many sites I'm tracking that have been impacted, so I'm not seeing any reversals, Glenn Gabe on X
- I got to test some edge case behaviour and our infrastructure does what one would expect. This was a bit of detective work and figuring out how to test this scenario., Martin Splitt on Bluesky
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google fixed month-long delay with page indexing report
- Googlebot dominates web crawling in 2025 as AI bots surge: Report
- Proxies for prompts: Emulate how your audience may be looking for you
- LinkedIn opens up top-of-feed Reserved Ads to all managed advertisers
- Google scraps unified pricing rules in Ad Manager after antitrust pressure
- Google Search adds read more links to search result snippets
- Google adds animation and image editing tools to Merchant Center’s Product Studio
- Google rolls out Gemini 3 Flash to AI Mode in Search globally
- Google’s Danny Sullivan: SEO for AI is still SEO
- Google clarifies canonicalization with JavaScript
- How to use Google’s Channel Performance report for PMax campaigns
- How conversational AI is changing the economics of paid search
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- Apple punted on AI this year. Next year will be critical, CNBC
- Here are a16z’s ideas for Congress on AI, Punchbowl News
- With freebies, OpenAI, Google vie for Indian users and training data, Reuters
- YouTube Tests AI Chatbots Based on Popular Creators, Social Media Today
- Developers can now submit apps to ChatGPT, OpenAI
Analytics
- Avinash Kaushik: 3 Insights on Data Puking, Last-Click, and Incrementality-Centric Marketing, Measured
- UTMs in GA4, KRM Digital Marketing
Industry & Business
- Amazon AI chief Rohit Prasad leaving; Infrastructure exec Peter DeSantis to lead unified AI group, GeekWire
- Complying with the Mobile Software Competition Act, Google Blog
- Google sues Chinese scam ring over E-ZPass, USPS phishing texts, NBC News
- Google works to erode Nvidia's software advantage with Meta's help, Reuters
- OpenAI Has Discussed Raising Tens of Billions at Valuation Around $750 Billion, The Information
Links & Content Marketing
- Improve Any Link Building Strategy With One Small Change, Search Engine Journal
- How To Craft Prompts That Deliver High-Quality Content, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Google Maps isn't my navigator anymore, but I still can't remove it, Android Police
- The State of Local SEO in 2026, Sterling Sky
SEO
- Advanced SEO Guide to Rendering: How to Debug, Test & Control What Google Sees, Sitebulb
- AEO in Plain English with Lily Ray, Amsive
- Boost Author E-E-A-T: The jobTitle Schema Guide, Hill Web Creations
- LCP and INP are now Baseline Newly available, Web Dev
- Top SEO (and AI) Trends & Predictions for 2026, Ann Smarty
- Migrating more crawling documentation to a new location, Google Search Developers
- SEO and AI SEO: Stop selling it short, Grumpy Old SEO
PPC
- Demand Gen Campaigns Get Location Targeting Options, PPC News Feed
- Does AI Mean We Can Skip Keywords? [+ 5 Other Popular SEO Questions] (EP89), Compass Digital Strategies
- Google removes unified pricing rules that hit publisher ad yield, Press Gazette
- Secure Your Google Account Immediately: Phishing Attacks Are On The Rise & Able to Bypass Security Systems More Efficiently, JumpFly
- Three New Features Released In Google Merchant Center's Product Studio, PPC News Feed
- Content Targeting Now Available for Microsoft Audience Ads, PPC News Feed
- The Benefits (and Limitations) of Smart Bidding for Small Accounts, JumpFly Digital Marketing Blog
Search Features
Other Search
- Alexa Plus’ website is live for some users, The Verge
- Google adds a 'Free' content discovery tab on Android TV, 9to5Google
Feedback:
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