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 said non-200 status code pages may not be rendered by Google if using JavaScript. Google has a bug with product retailer reviews that is kinda shocking. Google Search released some new sports search features. Google Ads video assets within Merchant Center. Google Business Profiles updated the verification issue form. Plus I posted the weekly SEO video recap.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Core Update Status, Gemini 3 Flash In AI Mode, Optimizing For AI Search & Bug Fixes Galore
This week, we have a status update on the ongoing Google December 2025 core update. Google also said it does not pre-announce core updates or quality updates. Gemini 3 Flash now powers Google AI Mode. Google Search... -
Google JavaScript Doc Now Says Non-200 HTTP Status Code Might Not Be Rendered
Google updated its JavaScript SEO documentation for the third time this week, this time to say that "while pages with a 200 HTTP status code are sent to rendering, this might not be the case for pages with a non-200 HTTP status code." -
Google Product Reviews Bug On Product Detail Pages
Google reportedly has a bug that displays incorrect product reviews in Google Search for a retailer. It is now pulling from text on the page that includes the Google Business Profile reviews, despite the product reviews not being there and not being marked up on the page. -
Google Business Profiles Verification Issue Support Form Updated
Google has updated the Google Business Profiles verification issues support form. This makes it easier to pick a specific issue you had when trying to verify a business within Google Business Profiles. -
Google Ads Tests Video Assets From Merchant Center
Google Ads recently added a beta to bring in videos from your social campaigns into your ad campaigns. And now, Google is testing bringing in videos in Merchant Center. -
Google Search Testing New Sports Features
Google is testing a number of new sports-related search features within Google Search. These include a "What's new" section, "Discover more" section, a Play-by-play section, What people are saying and more. And some of these features, when clicked, take you into AI Mode. -
Dog In Nano Banana Costume
Googlers love their dogs but they also love Nano Banana. So why not have both? Here is a photo of a Doogler in a Nano Banana costume. This was back during Halloween but hey.
Other Great Search Threads:
- SEO Predictions and expectations of +20 SEO specialists for 2026, Aleyda Solis on LinkedIn
- Thanks for bringing this up. We've introduced three modes in Gemini 3 to help you pick the right tool for the job. Fast is for quick answers, Thinking helps solve compl, Gemini on X
- To be fair people have been manually writing a ton of low effort junk too, but I'm always a bit shaken when I see sites publish this and act like it's good ("2-3k words! Unique!"). Building a business on a mountain of toxic content is not going to be stab, John Mueller on Bluesky
- My team is hiring a Senior Product Manager - MAI Platform to help drive the next generation of AI capabilities that power products and experiences used across Microsoft., Krishna Madhavan on LinkedIn
Search Engine Land Stories:
- New AI Visibility Awards spotlight brands thriving in AI-generated search results
- Google adds location targeting controls to Demand Gen campaigns
- AI Overview fan-out rankings boost citation odds by 161%: Study
- Google explains JavaScript execution on non-200 HTTP status codes
- How Bayesian testing lets Google measure incrementality with $5,000
- Apple will add more App Store search ads
- Why SEO annual plans fall apart – and how to build one that holds up
- How to use AI to diagnose and improve search intent alignment
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- AI Release Notes podcast: Gemini 3 and Gen UI in Google Search, Google Blog
- Browser extensions with 8 million users collect extended AI conversations, Ars Technica
- Firefox is adding an AI kill switch, Coywolf
- GEO Metrics: How to Measure Visibility, Trust, and Brand Presence, Foundation Inc
- Introducing GPT-5.2-Codex, OpenAI
- Verify Google AI-generated videos in the Gemini app, Google Blog
- We Let Anthropic’s Claude AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars., Wall Street Journal
- Which News Sites Block AI Crawlers in 2025? [New Data], BuzzStream
- With new Alexa website, Amazon's consumer AI vision finally comes together — and it's actually useful, GeekWire
- Sam Altman on OpenAI’s Plan to Win, AI Personalization, Infrastructure Math, and The Inevitable IPO, Big Technology
- Scraped AI Answers vs. API Results from LLMs. Is There a Difference? [AI Search Study], Surfer SEO
Analytics
- GA4’s Advertising Snapshot shows why last-click attribution no longer fits AI-led journeys, MarTech
- Why Marketers are Shifting From Google Analytics to Independent Tools, Technology Org
Industry & Business
- How OpenAI’s Organizational Problems Hurt ChatGPT, The Information
- Pa. high court rules that police can access Google searches without a warrant, The Record
- Schools Ink ChatGPT, Copilot Deals With Students Embracing AI, Bloomberg
- Why Google’s AI Weakness Turned Out to Be a Strength, The Information
- OpenAI on Track to Top $13 Billion in Revenue, The Information
Links & Content Marketing
- Ecommerce Marketing amid AI 'Slop', Practical Ecommerce
- Four content marketing shifts brands need to prepare for in 2026, Marketing Mag
- Blogging Is Dead. Long Live the Blog., Web Designer Depot
Local & Maps
- How Does Yelp’s Review Solicitation Enforcement Work? (2025 Update), Sterling Sky
- I recently discovered this hidden Google Maps feature, and now I use it every day, Android Police
- How to Diagnose and Fix Google Maps Ranking Drops, Moz
SEO
- How Are Brands Preparing for AI SEO?, BruceClay
- How to Do Content SEO Analysis in 5 Quick Steps, Search Atlas
- The Convergence of Brand Authority and Search AlgorithmsThe Structural Architecture (The "Where"), Advanced Web Ranking
- When SEO Lives Only in Marketing, Rankings Eventually Pay the Price, Search Engine World
- AI Search & SEO: Strategic Framework 2026, I Love SEO
- An introduction to CDNs: SEO benefits, SALT agency
- Goal and OKR setting for 2026, Product Led SEO
- How LLMs and RAG Systems Retrieve, Rank, and Cite Content, Visively
- How to Optimize for AI Mode: Google Visibility Matters 3x More Than Content, SE Ranking
PPC
- Microsoft Rolls Out Asset-Level Editorial Review, PPC News Feed
- The Hidden Power of Audience Segmentation in PPC Campaigns, PPC Hero
- Why Google Ads Makes Bad Recommendations: 7 Reasons, MarlinSEM
- Will Apple increase the number of ads on the App Store?, AppleInsider
- Ads in AI Overviews Now Live in 12 Countries, PPC News Feed
Other Search
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