This month, we bring you some exciting developments and updates from the world of search, including new studies and industry developments.
Google is blurring the lines between web and social, with Search Console Insights now pulling in performance data from social channels like TikTok and YouTube. This move to provide a “unified view” of your brand’s reach is a major win for holistic digital strategies. Additionally, the reporting experience is getting faster with the addition of “Read More” anchor links in organic snippets and interactive management cards for Google Ads.
Accessibility and convenience are also taking centre stage as Google tests audio “Read Aloud” buttons for AI Overviews, moving search further toward a hands-free, multimodal experience. Finally, Google has reaffirmed its commitment to the wider web with its new partnership pilot programs, aiming to balance AI-generated answers with the need to drive traffic back to original creators.
We’ll explore these updates and more in detail in the article below.
Allow our traffic light system to guide you to the articles that need your attention, so watch out for Red light updates, as they’re significant changes that will require you to take action. In contrast, amber updates may make you think and are worth knowing, but aren’t urgent. And finally, green light updates, which are great for your SEO and site knowledge, but are less significant than others.
Keen to know more about any of these changes and what they mean for your SEO? Get in touch or visit our SEO agency page to find out how we can help.
In this post, we’ll explore:
Google is running a new experiment that brings social channel performance directly into the GSC Insights report. For the first time, you can see a unified view of how people are discovering your brand across YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, all alongside your traditional website metrics. The report highlights total reach (clicks and impressions), trending content, and the specific search queries that are surfacing your social profiles.
This new addition acknowledges that your search footprint isn’t just your website anymore. By seeing which social posts are ranking for brand terms, we can better align our cross-channel strategies and identify which content formats are winning the battle for visibility on the SERP.
Google is making search results feel more like an interactive app with two new clickable features:
- “Read More” Links in Snippets: Some organic results now feature a “Read more” link at the end of the meta description. Clicking this doesn’t just open the page; it anchors and highlights the specific section of the page that contains the answer.
- Google Ads “Learn More” Cards: For advertisers, Google is rolling out “summary cards” that appear when you search for your own campaigns. These cards let you see real-time stats (impressions, cost, etc.) and even offer a “Fix it” or “Edit” button to tweak headlines or URLs directly from the search result page.
For SEO, the “Read More” links reward well-structured content. It increases user confidence before the click, which usually leads to higher-intent traffic and lower bounce rates. For PPC, the new ad cards make campaign management more agile, allowing for quick “on-the-go” adjustments without diving into the full Google Ads interface.
Google is testing a speaker play button at the top of AI Overviews in the US. This “Read Aloud” feature allows users to hear the AI-generated summary rather than reading it. While we’ve seen voice search before, this is the first time the generated summary itself has a dedicated “play” button for desktop and mobile users to consume content hands-free.
As search becomes multimodal, the “Listen” feature reinforces the need for clear, concise content. If the AI is narrating your information, your brand authority is being communicated through a “voice-first” experience. It’s another signal to optimise for featured-snippet-style answers that are easy for AI to parse and read back.
In a major blog post, Google detailed its latest efforts to support the “web ecosystem” amidst the AI shift. Key updates include the global launch of Preferred Sources (letting users prioritise their favourite outlets in Top Stories) and a new pilot program with news publishers to explore how AI can drive more engaged, loyal audiences. They are also adding more inline links within AI Mode to ensure traffic still flows back to original sources.
By giving users more control over their favourite sources and being more transparent with citations in AI Mode, Google is trying to prove that AI search won’t kill the “open web.” For us, it means that building a recognisable, “preferred” brand is becoming a primary ranking factor.
Keep an eye on our blog for the latest Google Algorithm updates, or get in touch if you want to discuss your digital solutions, such as SEO, for 2026 and beyond.
