#google-search

#google-search

Google users can now describe their next trip to its AI Mode in search and select the option to "Create with Canvas," which will build out an itinerary in a side panel complete with data on flights and hotels. The document it puts together can lay out potential plans, with suggestions based on the user's inputs, as well as photos and reviews from Google Maps.

There have been several complaints over the past week about Google showing searchers its old Google Search design. Some of those search results seem to lead to a broken interface, while others just look like they are from a decade or so ago. This seems to be impacting both mobile phones and tablets, from what I can tell. This was first reported on PiunikaWeb who attributed it to Google simplying its search results but that is not it.

BRUSSELS (AP) European Union regulators said Thursday they're investigating whether Google is unfairly demoting some content from media publishers in search results under a policy the company says is aimed at combating scammers. Brussels moved forward despite the risk of incurring the wrath of President Donald Trump, who has lashed out at the 27-nation bloc's digital regulations and vowed to retaliate if American tech companies are penalized.

Google is adding a new feature to its mobile app that could potentially challenge Pinterest in becoming users' first stop for inspirational imagery: a dedicated images tab. The company announced on Wednesday it is introducing a new "Images" icon at the bottom of Google's Search app for iOS and Android devices that will display images personalized to the user's interests.

The bloc's executive arm announced the move after monitoring found that certain content created with advertisers and sponsors was being given such a low priority by the US tech giant that it was effectively no longer visible in search results. European Commission officials said this potentially unfair loss of visibility and of revenue to media owners may be as a result of an anti-spam policy Google operates.

Google is testing a tinted brownish/yellowish background color for the search results page. It turns the white background into a brownish/grayish/yellowish background and then the gray boxes into a darker color. This was spotted by Khushal Bherwani who posted some screenshots on X - here is one of those screenshots: This is how it compares to the normal background color: The test kind of makes it look like your monitor colors are broken...

Reddit announced earnings late last week and it boggles me how people love this stock. I am not a financial expert of analysis but Reddit has been saying for some time that 50% of its traffic comes from Google Search. Reddit also said on this Q3 earnings call that its search traffic is flat and that AI is not a traffic driver, at least not yet.

The ad itself does not feature an AI label, with Google believing that consumers don't care whether an ad was generated. However, the YouTube upload to Google's channel does have the platform's "Altered or synthetic content" disclosure. This ad was created by the Google Creative Lab, with the internal marketing group coming up with the concept "before deciding to create it with Veo 3 and other AI tools."

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 confirmed testing AI-generated snippets but the missing AI label is a bug. Bing is testing an animated Copilot response. Google Business Profiles tests a Get Google QR code button. Google Business Profiles also tests related to your search section. Google local listings for hotels has track price changes by email. And I posted the weekly SEO video recap.

Google may be testing displaying different-sized cards for recipe results in the Google Search results. The cards show large and small graphics that make the results look misaligned. I am guessing it is a bug, because I cannot replicate it for all my recipe searches. I spotted this via Inspired Taste on X and I cannot replicate it for any other recipe search outside of [gravy recipes].

Tim Higgins: Today on Bold Names, Liz Reid. She oversees Google Search and is something of a Google lifer. Having been there more than 20 years, she has seen some of the biggest moments for this company.

Google is tweaking how sponsored results will appear in Search. Going forward, it will group any text ads on the Search page into a "Sponsored results" section that will appear at the top of the screen. The size of the ads is unchanged and Google says there will never be more than four ads in a grouping. Once you scroll past the section with ads, you can click a button to hide all sponsored results.

Google Search has an ongoing serving issue since late Friday. There is also a bug with events not serving in Google Search. Google is testing the show more button on AI Overviews, it goes directly to Google AI Mode. The new Bing Places is now rolling out. Google is testing AI-generared search snippet descriptions again. Google revealed the dates for when call ads will be sunset. Microsoft will discontinue the Microsoft Advertising ads grant program.

Google is testing another variation to the title links in the Google Search results - a light gray effect. So when you hover your mouse cursor over the snippet, the title link turns grayed and washed out. This was spotted by Sachin Patel who posted some videos of this on X - here is an image from that video: Here is a GIF

Google is testing having the citations stick to the top (of the AI Overview section only) as you scroll down past the AI Overview. This keeps those citations more in view, as you scroll over the AI Overview. This was first spotted by SERPAlerts on X who wrote, "Google is testing out a sticky citations format on desktop for AI overviews, making it so the first citation stays with the user on scroll. Normally, AI overview citations remain stationary and will be scrolled out of view."

Since the bulk of the company's revenue comes from advertising fees tied to search, any erosion in Google's market share seemingly poses an existential threat to Alphabet's financial engine. On the surface, this bearish narrative is compelling. But the reality is far more nuanced. Alphabet's financial resilience, strategic partnerships, and product evolution suggests that the company is not only prepared to defend its turf but may also emerge stronger in the face of rising competition.

Media companies have filed so many lawsuits against AI companies over the past two years that the act has become routine. When I report on these in The Media Copilot newsletter, they're often digest items, adding to the pile of publishers who want fair compensation for the content AI labs have ingested to create large language models (LLMs). There are so many that elaborate infographics are required to keep track of them all.

Google seems to be testing renaming the Shopping tab in Google Search from Shopping to "AI Shopping." Maybe the results in the new AI Shopping tab are more AI-driven? This test was spotted by Sachin Patel who posted some screenshots and a video on X - here are some of his screenshots: Here is a GIF of it in action: