SEO updates you need to know
Marius Smit
Head of Marketing - Helping B2B businesses grow with strategy and automation
AI is reshaping search across multiple platforms, with Google and YouTube both testing AI-powered discovery features. Meanwhile, ChatGPT enters the product recommendation space, creating new implications for ecommerce visibility.
GA4 levels up
GA4 has rolled out two updates worth noting: snapshot templates and improved attribution using aggregate identifiers.
The new pre-built report templates cover key areas like user behaviour, sales, and marketing performance, giving you faster access to insights without the usual time spent customising reports. The updated card library also makes it easier to find and add the metrics that matter.
On the attribution side, GA4 will now use aggregate identifiers to better connect the dots between Google Ads and user actions, even when individual-level data is harder to track (for advertisers).
💡 These updates mean faster access to meaningful data and more accurate campaign performance reporting. Less time wrangling reports, more time making decisions.
YouTube's AI search revolution
YouTube is testing AI-generated Overviews in search results, a move that could reshape how users discover content.
The feature pulls highlight clips from relevant videos and displays them in a carousel, aiming to give users quicker answers for queries like product reviews or travel ideas. It's currently being tested with a small group of US-based Premium users on select English-language searches.
🔎 You've seen Google's AI Overviews affect website traffic, will YouTube's version impact video views for creators and brands? This experiment could change how content is surfaced, and how much exposure your videos get.
For now, it's just a test but it's one to watch closely, especially for marketers using YouTube as part of their strategy.
Google's EEAT crackdown
Google has updated its Search Quality Raters Guidelines again—this time putting deceptive content, design, and fake EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) practices under the spotlight.
The update expands section 4.5.3, sharpening the focus on pages with misleading intent—think fake product tests, fabricated author bios, and dodgy UI tactics like deceptive buttons or bogus "store" claims. It's a clear message: authenticity isn't just encouraged, it's expected.
🔍 While these are rater guidelines, not ranking factors, they often signal where Google's algorithm is headed. Relying on gimmicks or manufactured credibility could backfire, especially if Google starts automating the detection of these patterns at scale.
Bottom line: Real people, real expertise, and honest design will always win in the long run. Build trust, not tricks.
ChatGPT goes shopping
OpenAI is introducing improved shopping experiences directly within ChatGPT, now available to most users, including Free and logged-out sessions. When a query shows clear buying intent, ChatGPT will now surface product options in rich, swipeable carousels, complete with summaries, links, and pricing from third-party sources.
Unlike traditional ads, these product recommendations are independently generated based on user intent and contextual clues like budget, tone, and even preferences stored in memory. GPT-4o and 4o-mini are powering the roll out, making the experience feel more tailored, intuitive, and visually helpful.
📦 This update signals an evolution in how AI platforms may influence purchase decisions, without being ad-driven. For ecommerce brands, it's a compelling reason to optimise product feeds, metadata, and third-party reviews, since these factors directly affect visibility in AI-generated results.
Marketers, take note: The line between conversational AI and commerce is blurring fast. If your product data isn't structured, accessible, and trustworthy, it may not even show up in the first place.
Google's AI search evolution
Google is deepening its AI integration with two major updates to Search.
First, it's expanding AI Overviews already used by over a billion people by rolling out Gemini 2.0 in the U.S. This upgrade delivers faster, more advanced responses to complex queries like coding challenges, higher-level maths, and multimodal questions. The feature is also becoming more accessible: teens can now use it, and sign-in is no longer required.
Second, Google is testing a new AI Mode in Labs, an experimental version of Search that uses a custom Gemini 2.0 model to handle deeply layered, exploratory queries. Users can ask multifaceted questions (e.g. "Compare smart rings vs smartwatches vs tracking mats for sleep") and receive structured, AI-powered responses enriched with web links, real-time data, and follow-up capabilities.
🧠 This marks a clear pivot from keyword-based search to intent-driven, conversational discovery. AI Mode blends Google's massive data infrastructure with next-gen reasoning to help users navigate complex topics more naturally without the friction of multiple traditional searches.
For marketers and SEOs, this shift underscores the need for structured, high-quality content that AI models can surface, summarise and link to. If you're not optimising for AI discovery yet, now's the time to start.
Your action plan for May
What SEO update are you finding most challenging to adapt to? Let me know in the comments!