Judge Questions Google AI, Spam Update Fallout – SEO Pulse via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern
All Paid Media PPC News Social MediaAdvertising Video Advertising Columns Ask A PPC ExpertNEW PPC Pulse Webinar ChatGPT Ads Or GEO: What To Buy, What To Earn Audit where ChatGPT places your brand, then get the rule for when Ads win, when GEO wins, and when running both beats either one. Digital Marketing All Digital Marketing Analytics & Data Ecommerce Lead Generation Content Marketing Social Platforms Google YouTube Reddit LinkedIn TikTokNEW WordPress Other CMS Platforms Webinar ChatGPT Ads Or GEO: What To Buy, What To Earn Audit where ChatGPT places your brand, then get the rule for when Ads win, when GEO wins, and when running both beats either one. SEJ Live Webinars Rundowns PodcastNEW Ebooks All Resources Webinar Where AI Gets Its Answers In Your Industry Google rankings don't show which sources AI cites. Get the breakdown by engine and industry, plus the steps to earn a place in it. SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern 7 hours ago ⋅ 6 min read SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal Bio Follow Welcome to the week’s Pulse: a judge questioned Google’s AI content arrangement, the fallout from the spam update has brought scaled AI publishing into question., and the GEO debate picked up again. AI citation data also revealed how much recommendations can differ from links, while new ChatGPT testing added some complexity to last week’s Reddit story. A federal judge questioned whether Google’s search power gives it an advantage when using web content for AI Overviews. Key facts: During Tuesday’s hearing in Penske Media’s antitrust case, Judge Amit Mehta questioned Google’s labeling of AI Overviews as a “product improvement.” Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next, noted that Mehta described the situation as “really unfair,” adding that the improvement was being developed “on the backs of the publishers.” Mehta hasn’t ruled on Google’s motion to dismiss. This case challenges the traffic-for-content arrangement, placing it directly into the middle of an antitrust dispute. Websites feel they can’t comfortably restrict Google Search from accessing their content, especially since Google relies on that content for AI responses. “Mehta noted publishers lack control over how Google uses their content.” He later argued through Digital Content Next that opting out of Google isn’t a realistic choice for publishers that depend on search traffic. Read our full coverage: Judge Says Google/Publisher AI Situation ‘Seems Really Unfair’ Google hasn’t said that its August spam update targeted AI-generated content, but reports from affected site owners have put automated publishing in the spotlight. Key facts: Roger Montti collected examples of fully automated sites losing visibility while some sites using AI with human review held up better. These are anecdotal reports, not confirmation of what Google changed. Google researchers recently released S-CTS, a system designed to detect coordinated synthetic abuse on video platforms. The paper does not relate to Google Search and does not suggest that the system was involved in any update. AI authorship by itself does not account for the ranking loss. Google’s spam policy addresses large-scale content designed mainly to manipulate rankings, whether it’s created by a person or AI. SEO consultant Takuma Oka cautioned that his sample was small and that he wasn’t presenting the pattern as definitive. Other practitioners focused less on AI itself and more on the method and purpose behind mass production. Read our full coverage: Reports Indicate Google’s Spam Update Focused On SEO AI Content Google’s John Mueller added another entry to the SEO-versus-GEO debate this week. Key facts: Asked whether there are industries where GEO doesn’t matter yet, Mueller wrote on Bluesky: “From our POV there’s nothing really special you need to do for generative AI responses in search.” The important qualifier is “from our POV.” Mueller was describing Google Search, not ChatGPT, Perplexity, or every other AI system. If you’re already practicing SEO for Google, Mueller isn’t suggesting another technical checklist for AI Overviews or AI Mode. However, keep in mind that not all AI engines retrieve or choose sources in the same way. That may be where much of the debate eventually lands. The basics are similar, but measurement and retrieval might vary depending on the platform. Read our full coverage: Google Answers If Some Sites Can Ignore GEO And Just Focus On SEO New ecommerce data shows that getting recommended in an AI answer doesn’t mean your website gets the link. Key facts: Shero Commerce collected 1,851 citations across Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. Brand-owned pages received 2.8% of citations. When a brand was recommended by name, its own page received the citation 31% of the time. Brand visibility and referral opportunities can sometimes operate independently. If your reporting only tracks mentions or recommendations, you might miss out on seeing who actually receives the citation and the potential clicks that come with it. “Your brand can get recommended in the answer… while the citation (and the click) goes to a magazine or a marketplace.” The analysis looked at where citations appeared. It didn’t explore why AI systems selected those sources or if changing brand copy would influence the results. Read our full coverage: AI Tools Recommend Brands But Cite Other Sites, Data Shows Promptwatch data showed Reddit’s ChatGPT Search citation share falling sharply in mid-August. New testing shows Reddit is still entering ChatGPT’s retrieval process and can still receive most of the final citations. Key facts: In one query, ChatGPT specifically searched r/whatnotapp. Of 71 pages retrieved, 48 were Reddit threads, and six of eight final citations went to the subreddit. Four days earlier, Suganthan Mohanadasan found ChatGPT retrieving 84 Reddit threads for another query and citing none of them.
Source: Search Engine Journal
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