We’ve curated this essentials list of digital marketing updates from Q2 of 2026. You’ll find no deep dives here - just shorthand notes to get you up to speed in record time.

SEO

• May 2026 Core Update (May 21–Jun 2): Google's latest broad core update rolled out with greater volatility than March, with early signs it refined how Search interprets user intent. Read more
• June 2026 Spam Update (Jun 24–26): Google launched a two-day spam update targeting existing spam techniques rather than introducing new spam policies. Read more
• Google begins AI performance Search Console reporting: Google started rolling out AI Search and Discover performance reports, alongside a new control allowing publishers to opt out of AI features without affecting traditional Search rankings. Read more
• Microsoft Clarity adds AI visibility reporting: New AI citation reports provide referral traffic, grounding queries, citation share and page-level AI visibility metrics. Read more
• Google Business Profile insights coming to GA4: Google announced a new integration bringing Business Profile data (including calls, directions and website clicks) into Google Analytics. Read more
• UK CMA orders greater Google ranking transparency: The CMA instructed Google to provide more transparency around search rankings and give advance notice of significant algorithm changes affecting UK businesses. Read more
• Bing Webmaster Tools expands AI reporting: Bing introduced richer AI performance reporting, including search intent, topic clusters, citation share and comparison tools. Read more
• Google expands AI Overview linking: 5 new linking features encourage clicks from the AI output, potentially recovering a fraction of clicks to the open web. Read more
• AI Mode gets always-on “information agents”: Search agents can carry out search tasks continuously on searcher’s behalf. Currently a paid-for feature. Read more
• AI Mode now powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash: Upgraded AI Mode now has enhanced functionality and facilitates AI-powered multimodal capabilities in standard Google search. Read more
• Google continues integrating AI into Search experiences: New AI Mode experiences in Chrome show traditional and AI-driven search pathways are becoming increasingly connected. Read more
• Zero-click searches continue rising: New research suggests the UK now has the highest rate of zero-click searches among major markets, reinforcing concerns over declining organic traffic as AI search expands. Read more
• ChatGPT referral traffic grows significantly: Studies suggest ChatGPT is sending substantially more referral traffic to websites as it includes more brand links in responses. Read more

Paid Media

• Google expands paid ad options in AI Mode: Automated and conversational features have the potential to improve ad performance in the right hands. Read more
• Google testing healthcare ads in AI Mode: Only a small US test. Could end up being a valuable option for healthcare brands in the UK. Read more
• Google Ads becomes increasingly AI-driven: New journey-aware bidding, Prospect Mode, and automatically generated customer lists continue Google's shift towards AI-led campaign optimisation.
• Google ads uses keyword approximations in search terms report: Google has to match to intent for more complex search pathways, meaning no exact keyword matching takes place. Read more
• Google strengthens advertiser security: New account security summary encourages advertisers to take additional security measures in the wake of an increase in account hijackings. Read more 
• Google cracks down on unauthorised financial advertisers: Some financial advertisers must seek authorisation from local authorities, G2, and Google to serve ads in European markets. Read more 
• Granular Google Ads data to be deleted more frequently: Granular data will now only appear in-platform for 37 months, after which, it will be deleted. Data management needs to adapt to account for the shifting retention period. Read more
• Google Ads improves reporting: New reporting includes hosted lead performance, and unique search category insights.
• Dynamic Search Ads to migrate to AI Max: Google confirmed Dynamic Search Ads will transition to AI Max, marking another major step towards AI-first campaign management. Read more

Data & analytics

• AI traffic measurement arrives across analytics platforms: Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools all introduced or expanded AI reporting, giving marketers significantly better visibility into AI-driven search performance.
• Google Business Profile reporting comes to GA4: Local SEO reporting is becoming easier with Business Profile engagement metrics set to appear directly inside Google Analytics. Read more

Platform updates

• Google removes FAQ rich results: FAQ rich results were retired from Google Search, with Search Console reporting scheduled to follow later this year. Read more
• Google introduces Web Bot Auth: An experimental authentication protocol aims to help websites distinguish genuine search engine bots from unauthorised crawlers. Read more
• Google introduces new spam policy: New rules target back-button hijacking, where a user is directed somewhere other than the previous page when clicking back. Read more
• New restrictions for Google reviews: Google adjusts policy to restrict coordinated, quota-driven review solicitation. Read more
• Google unveiled a new multimodal search bar: The largest revamp of the main search bar since its creation. Read more

Content trends

• AI search continues changing user behaviour: Growing zero-click searches, expanding AI summaries and stronger AI referral traffic all point towards users increasingly discovering information through AI-powered experiences rather than traditional search journeys.
• Value-add content is king: Google wants highly original content that showcases expertise and experience. High quality commodity content is becoming less effective.

What we’re watching

• Google ranking revelations: The CMA has ordered Google to reveal its ranking algorithm. Full disclosure is extremely unlikely, but any new information is welcome.
• The decline of thin PPC landing pages: As search shifts from simple keywords to complex, multi-stage AI search journeys, thin, form-heavy landing pages could be losing efficacy, even if well crafted. Google’s evolving ad formats will likely favour content-rich websites that can serve users at different stages of intent.

TDMP insight - Inflated impressions in Search Console

If you notice a sudden year-over-year (YoY) drop in your search impressions over the next few months, it may not be as bad as it seems.

Google recently confirmed a long-running reporting bug in Google Search Console (GSC) that artificially inflated search impressions between May 13, 2025, and April 27, 2026. The spikes heavily coincided with Google's early AI Overviews testing.

While the calculation was corrected on April 27, Google is not retroactively fixing the historical data. So, because the baseline from last year is artificially high, YoY visibility comparisons will look skewed until roughly April 2027. 

The contrast will likely look most severe during peak 2025 spike periods (June–August and September–December). Marketers need to carefully annotate their dashboards to distinguish between this reporting correction and genuine shifts in organic performance.

Signals from Q2 2026 - Where Search is headed

The introduction of Google’s always-on "information agents" marks the beginning of a potential shift from active searching to passive delegation. Users would rely on AI bots, not to provide a quick answer, but to conduct continuous, multi-step research tasks on their behalf.

General SEO could therefore evolve to encompass B2B2C optimisation, where your content must first be structured, authenticated, and valuable enough to satisfy an autonomous AI agent filtering options for the end consumer.

Need support navigating current shifts or preparing for the future of Search? Let’s talk.