In this month’s Round-Up episode, we cover the most important developments in SEO, AI, search, and digital marketing.

Hosted by Sean Barber, alongside co-hosts Amanda Walls (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/), Laura Iancu (https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-iancu-seo/), and Stanislav Farkas (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/), we look at the May 2026 Core Update, Google's latest AI announcements, ChatGPT advertising expansion, AI citation research, local search developments, and what these changes mean for marketers moving forward.

Key Themes:

Google Search & Core Updates

Google's May 2026 Core Update launched alongside Google I/O, making ranking fluctuations difficult to attribute. Early observations suggest a renewed emphasis on traditional SEO fundamentals, intent alignment, and content quality, while AI Mode has now surpassed 1 billion monthly users.

Google I/O & The Future of Search

Google unveiled some of its biggest search changes in years, including Gemini 3.5 Flash becoming the default AI Mode model, background information agents, universal shopping carts, and Generative UI experiences that can build tools and applications directly within Search. The updates continue Google's shift from a search engine to an answer and action platform.

AI Search & Citation Research

New research revealed that only 11% of domains are cited consistently across major AI platforms, highlighting the importance of tracking visibility beyond a single model. Product pages, comparison content, and listicles continue to perform strongly, while AI citations are becoming increasingly disconnected from traditional top-ranking organic results.

ChatGPT Ads & Paid Media

OpenAI's self-serve Ads Manager is now expanding internationally, with ChatGPT advertising launching in markets including the UK. The team discusses early adoption, reporting challenges, attribution concerns, and how AI advertising could reshape paid media strategies over the coming years

.Technical SEO & Search Tools

Google officially retired FAQ rich results, although FAQ content remains valuable for users and AI systems. The episode also covers WordPress 7.0 security concerns, Search Console reporting changes, and Google's testing of conversational AI search experiences within YouTube.

Local SEO & AI Discovery

Ask Maps is now becoming a mainstream experience, while Google Business Profiles, reviews, and local business data are playing a bigger role in AI-generated recommendations. The discussion explores how local SEO is evolving as AI becomes increasingly embedded into discovery journeys.

Search Advertising & Attribution Challenges

Google is now placing ads directly within AI Overview responses, while advertisers face new questions around broad match targeting, measurement, and maintaining high-intent traffic. The panel discusses what these changes could mean for both advertisers and agencies.

Google Antitrust & Search Competition

The team examines Google's ongoing antitrust challenges, including proposed search engine choice screens and the potential impact on market share. Alternative search platforms such as DuckDuckGo also feature in the discussion as competition continues to grow.

AI's Impact on Society & The Future of Search

From Pope Leo XIV's warnings about AI to Gartner's prediction that organic search traffic could decline by 50% by 2028, the episode closes with a broader discussion on how AI is changing user behaviour, search habits, and the future of the web.

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