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<\/a><\/p>\nBizScoreAI has the free listing check scores how visible a business is to AI search and shows what its listing looks like to the engines people ask. Open the free listing check<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Search marketers got a clearer read this week on how the Google September 2026 spam update is shaking out, with two distinct impact waves landing on daily passes by Tuesday of September. The same stretch brought fresh movement on Google AI Overviews, several notable bugs in Google Maps and Google Local Service Ads, and a long list of smaller tests across Google and Bing search.<\/p>\n
The Google September 2026 spam update produced two visible waves of ranking volatility during the week. The first impact arrived over the weekend, and a second impact wave showed up on Wednesday, September 30. That kind of two-phase rollout is consistent with how Google has rolled out past spam actions: an initial shake, a short pause, then a second pass to catch what the first pass did not reach.<\/p>\n
Following the earlier AI contribution report, a new write-up reports that Google is paying roughly 100 publishers under that pilot, and the total works out to about 0.1% of their ad revenue. The figure gives publishers and benchmark concrete a rough sense of how Google is currently valuing third party content in its AI systems, and it lines up with the broader pattern that AI licensing deals are producing payments that are small relative to publishers’ core ad businesses.<\/p>\n
Google AI Overviews are now appearing again for many large brand name queries, after a period in which Google had pulled them back from those searches. AI Overviews are also showing up for team roster searches, where Google is composing answers about player lists and lineups directly in the search results. The expansion signals that Google is regaining confidence in the answers it can generate for high-profile entities.<\/p>\n
After Google’s loss in the EU’s Digital Markets Act mandate to share its search data, a senior leader at Google said he feels sad and terrible for European searchers because of how the ruling may reshape their search experience. Separately, Google has now appealed the EU DMA mandate to share its search data, opening a new legal track on top of the original decision.<\/p>\n
A lawsuit filed by Penske against Google over AI Overviews was dismissed for lack of an agreement with the publishers named in the case. The dismissal removes one of the more closely watched US legal challenges to AI Overviews, and it underlines how plaintiffs need a clear contractual relationship with Google to keep these cases in court.<\/p>\n
Google AI Overviews is once again testing citation cards placed at the bottom of the answer instead of the right side, reviving a layout that earlier experiments had moved away from. Google is also testing replacing the standard Show more button on AI Overviews with a Loading label, which changes how users anticipate the rest of the answer arriving. On the AI Mode side, Google rolled out monitoring capabilities globally, giving users a way to keep tabs on ongoing AI Mode tasks.<\/p>\n
Google Maps now requires a sign in before a user can read all reviews on a listing, which limits how anonymous visitors can browse business reputation. A separate Google Maps bug has been placing some map pins in the middle of the ocean, putting businesses at coordinates that do not exist on land. Google Business Profiles has also added a new policy covering misuse of support channels, giving the platform a clearer rule to point at when publishers and benchmark sites abuse contact paths.<\/p>\n
Google Local Service Ads had a bug that served advertisers in locations they do not actually service, which can quietly route leads to the wrong providers. Google Local Service Ads also began hiding the phone number by default and then showing it later in the flow, which changes how quickly a caller can reach a business from the ad. Alongside those bugs, Google is testing a sponsored products grid in search that looks similar to the organic product grid, blurring the line between paid and unpaid results for shoppers.<\/p>\n
Microsoft Advertising rolled out optimization experiments globally, letting advertisers test campaign changes against live traffic. Bing is testing sponsored ads with a one line consumer review extension, putting a short review snippet directly into the sponsored unit. OpenAI released several ChatGPT Ads updates, including bulk product creation and a new product review status, which moves the ads product closer to hosting.<\/p>\n
Google is testing dropping the I’m Feeling Lucky button from the search bar, removing a long-standing shortcut from the homepage. Google also celebrated its 28th birthday over the weekend with a doodle that takes visitors into a Google AI Mode quiz. The October 2026 Google Webmaster Report was also published during the week, summarizing the broader set of search updates for the month.<\/p>\n
The Google September 2026 spam update produced two visible waves of ranking volatility. The initial wave landed first over the weekend, and a second impact wave hit on Wednesday, September 30.<\/p>\n
Google is paying roughly 100 publishers under the AI contribution pilot, and the total comes out to about 0.1% of their ad revenue. The share gives a rough baseline for how Google is valuing third party content inside its AI systems.<\/p>\n
Google Maps had a bug that placed some map pins in the middle of the ocean, and Google Local Service Ads had a bug that served advertisers in locations they do not service. Google Maps also began requiring a sign in before users can read all reviews on a listing.<\/p>\n
BizScoreAI has the free listing check scores how visible a business is to AI search and shows what its listing looks like to the engines people ask. Open the free listing check<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n