Search News Buzz Video Recap: Unusual Google Search Ranking Volatility, Ad Tech Monopoly Remedies, AI Contribution Publisher Payouts & More

Sep 18, 2026 - 8:01 am 0 by

For the original iTunes version, click here.

This week we covered the first week or so of Google’s unusual ranking volatility only to see things spike up in a big way this week as well - something is up. Google’s remedies are out for its ad tech monopoly ruling. Google has an AI contribution pilot for paying publishers for using its content in Gemini, AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google Search Live is powered by the new Gemini 3.8 Live. Google Search profiles has a new design, easier account management, reduced follower requirement and new badges. Google local knowledge panels are turning into AI Overviews. Google updated its Chrome user experience report to add four ad metrics. Google Search Console’s page indexing report is missing a chunk of data. Google Search Console position reporting in the performance report may evolve over time. Google supports local business queries in the aggregator and supplier units. Google says e-commerce sites need to label adult products in its feeds. Whatever happened with Google Discover not showing on desktop. Google Ads has a new spend benchmark report to compare you to competitors. Google Ads has product value optimization beta. Google AI Mode is testing text link ads. Google product listings are linking directly to the merchant’s site in a new test. Google Merchant Center’s AI performance report is live, easier UCP integration was announced and more. Google Ads August 17th bidding update finished on August 27th and we have some data from Mike Ryan. OpenAI is teasing Sponsored Agents ads on ChatGPT. Bing is testing a shopping filter on the left side. And there are now dashboards for Google Analytics. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Sponsor: Yahoo Scout is an AI answer engine designed to help you get answers quickly and confidently. Explore news, local insights, entertainment, technology, and more with clear responses that include cited sources and visuals to help you better understand the information. Powered by 30 years of Yahoo search expertise. Try it today at Scout.com.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast player to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed:

Search Topics of Discussion:

Please do subscribe on YouTube or subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Unusual Google Search Ranking Volatility, Ad Tech Monopoly Remedies, AI Contribution Publisher Payouts & More

Sep 18, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google

Google May Be More Successful In Blocking Scrapers & Tracking Tools

Sep 18, 2026 - 7:55 am
Google

Google Search Bar Results Page Testing AI Mode Button

Sep 18, 2026 - 7:51 am
Bing Search

Bing Also Asking To Verify You Are Human Before Showing Search Results

Sep 18, 2026 - 7:41 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Commerce Audience Sharing Help Document

Sep 18, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Ads

Google Merchant Center API Now Supports Product Reviews

Sep 18, 2026 - 7:21 am
Previous Story: Google May Be More Successful In Blocking Scrapers & Tracking Tools