Urban Each month, we host the SEO update by Yoast covering the latest in search and AI. In this edition, Carolyn Shelby and Alex Moss discussed Google’s evolving stance on AI-driven search, publisher controls in the UK, and how to navigate visibility in an era where traditional SEO tactics are being reconsidered.
Watch the full recap on YouTube to dive deeper into these topics, hear some examples, and hear the answer to audience questions.
Remembering Bruce Clay
In this month’s SEO Update, we honor Bruce Clay, who recently passed away. He was a pioneer in SEO whose work shaped the industry. His mentorship and leadership left a lasting impact on professionals worldwide.
Google warns against manipulating brand mentions for AI
Google issued a clear warning: stop manipulating brand mentions to game AI systems. This includes tactics such as paying for unrelated brand citations, think dog food brands mentioned on sports betting sites, to artificially inflate perceived authority.
Why it matters:
Google’s message is simple: if your brand mentions are irrelevant or forced, they won’t help your authority. Worse, they might backfire as AI systems get better at detecting manipulation. Focus on earning genuine mentions from relevant sources instead.
Actionable takeaway:
- Avoid paid or spammy brand mentions.
- Build authority through contextually relevant citations.
- If your mentions feel unnatural, they probably are.
UK forces Google to give publishers control over AI use
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) struck a deal with Google, requiring the company to let publishers block their content from being used in AI features, without hurting their standard search rankings.
Why it matters:
Publishers can now opt out of AI training data, but there’s a catch. If you block Google’s AI from using your content, you might lose citations in AI overviews, even if you rank well in traditional search. Users will instead see synthesized answers from other sources.
Actionable takeaway:
- If your content is truly unique and proprietary, blocking AI access might make sense, but only if you have a monetization strategy beyond search traffic.
- For most sites, allowing AI access is better for visibility. Ensure your content is structured and crawlable so AI systems can cite you accurately.
- If you block AI access, provide a teaser, like Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature, to encourage clicks.
New AI visibility insights in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
Both Google and Bing rolled out new reporting features to help you understand how your content appears in AI-driven search.
Google Search Console grounding queries
Google now shows grounding queries, the specific searches where your content was cited by AI. This helps you see which topics are driving AI visibility.
Why it matters:
Grounding queries indicate that AI systems are using your content to generate answers. If you’re not seeing citations, your content might not be structured or visible enough for AI to reference.
Actionable takeaway:
- Check Search Console weekly for grounding queries.
- Focus on visible, structured content, so avoid hiding key info in accordions or tabs.
- Use this data to refine your content strategy, so double down on what’s working or fix what’s not.
Bing Webmaster Tools: AI performance reports
Bing’s new reports include intents, topics, citation share, and performance comparisons for AI-driven search. This gives you a clearer picture of how your content performs in Bing’s AI experiences, like Copilot.
Why it matters:
Bing’s AI integrations, such as Copilot in Windows, reach millions of business users. Ignoring Bing means missing out on a growing segment of AI-driven traffic.
Actionable takeaway:
- Set up Bing Webmaster Tools if you haven’t already.
- Compare Bing’s data with Google’s to spot gaps or opportunities.
- Use LLMs like ChatGPT or Claude to analyze exports from both tools for deeper insights.
Google’s new publisher profiles and business data integrations
Google introduced publisher profiles and enhanced business data integrations, giving creators and businesses more control over how their content appears in search.
Why it matters:
These tools help you fill out your knowledge graph, which improves visibility across Google’s ecosystem, including Gemini. Think of it as Google+ for publishers, but with a focus on entity authority rather than social networking.
Actionable takeaway:
- Create or update your publisher profile in Google Search Console.
- Ensure your Google Business Profile is complete and accurate.
- Use structured data to connect entities such as authors, brands, and products to your content.
Google updates SEO guidance: Don’t blindly trust AI or SEO tools
Google’s latest guidance warns against blindly following AI-generated SEO advice or third-party tool recommendations. The example? An AI suggested changing “consultant” to “advisor” for a site, only for the site to start competing with financial advisors instead of its actual audience.
Why it matters:
AI and SEO tools can misinterpret context. Always verify recommendations before implementing them.
Actionable takeaway:
- Trust but verify, so use AI and tools for ideas, but apply critical thinking.
- Check multiple sources, so compare Google’s data with Bing’s, or use tools like Semrush/Ahrefs for cross-referencing.
- Prioritize human judgment, because if a recommendation feels off, it probably is.
Schema.org usage stats reveal underutilized opportunities
Schema.org released data showing that 95% of websites use only 12 of the 958 available schema types. Meanwhile, fewer than 1,000 sites use 485+ schema types.
Why it matters:
Schema helps search engines understand your content, but most sites aren’t leveraging its full potential. Using more schema types can improve visibility in AI-driven search and rich results.
Actionable takeaway:
- Audit your current schema usage to identify any missed opportunities.
- Explore less common schema types, like
FAQPage,HowTo, orEventto stand out. - Use Yoast SEO’s schema blocks to simplify implementation.
German court rules Google liable for false AI overview claims
A German court ruled that Google can be sued for false claims made in AI overviews. This sets a precedent for holding AI systems accountable for inaccurate information.
Why it matters:
If Google’s AI cites false or harmful information about your business, you now have legal recourse in Germany. However, prevention is better than litigation.
Actionable takeaway:
- Monitor AI overviews for inaccuracies about your brand.
- Publish accurate, crawlable content to counteract misinformation.
- If you find false claims, correct them at the source, such as on Reddit or in forums, and report them to Google.
Google’s open knowledge format: A new way to structure content
Google introduced the Open Knowledge Format (OKF), a way to catalog site content in markdown for AI consumption. This is part of Google’s push for structured, AI-friendly content.
Why it matters:
While Google’s search team advises against duplicate markdown versions of pages, the engineering team is building tools like OKF. This suggests structured content will play a bigger role in AI-driven search.
Actionable takeaway:
- Wait and watch, as OKF is new, and adoption isn’t urgent yet.
- Focus on structured content, like schema, clear headings, visible text.
- Avoid gating critical information behind interactive elements, such as accordions and tabs.
Yoast news: Performance upgrades and new features
We rolled out performance improvements in versions 27.8 and 27.9, of Yoast SEO, including:
- Faster admin pages and post editor for large sites.
- Speed boosts for SEO analysis. For instance, a sitemap query on a 2M-page site dropped from 300 seconds to 25 milliseconds.
- Yoast Duplicate Post plugin upgrades, including improved Rewrite and Republish functionality for easier content repurposing.
Sign up for the next SEO Update by Yoast
The next SEO Update by Yoast is on August 25, 2026, at 4:00 PM CET (10:00 AM EST). Sign up to join live!
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