Here are the key digital marketing updates from Q4 2025, presented as shorthand essentials, so you can keep up with search without falling behind elsewhere.

SEO

• December 2025 Core Update (Dec 11–29): A fast-moving global core update that hit YMYL and news sites hardest, with major brands seeing sharp volatility. Poor UX signals appear to have been a key negative factor for smaller sites. Short-term gains by some spammy sites are expected to unwind as Google refines the update. Read more
• Google increasingly funnels users into AI Mode: New entry points from AI Overviews, Discover, and (in the US) the Google homepage search bar are pushing users away from classic SERPs. Once in AI Mode, only sites included in curated results receive engagement. Read more
• Google improves links inside AI Mode — cautiously positive: More inline links, clearer designs, and contextual explanations aim to encourage clicks. Helpful at the margins, but unlikely to reverse broader zero-click trends. Read more
• Gemini now produces rich local results: Gemini can surface reviews, photos, pricing, and Maps data for local queries. Makes Google Business Profile optimisation and review management even more critical. Read more
• Positioning for AI Mode is becoming unavoidable: With personalisation, stronger reasoning (Gemini Flash 3), and conversational upgrades either rolled out or in the pipeline, AI Mode is being actively “sweetened” to drive adoption. Read more
• Google updates JavaScript SEO guidance: Google warned against relying on JavaScript to reverse noindex tags, advised aligning canonical URLs between HTML and JS (or avoiding JS canonicals), and reiterated that slow or partial site migrations cause confusion. Read more
• EU investigates Google’s use of publisher content in AI: The EU is probing whether Google unfairly uses publisher content for AI Overviews and AI Mode without compensation. For now, most publishers still can’t afford to opt out without losing visibility. Read more
• Organic CTR continues to fall — even without AI Overviews: New Seer data shows clicks down 46% YoY on SERPs without AI Overviews, and 65% when AIOs are present. Rich results and search alternatives like ChatGPT are reducing clicks across the board. Being cited in AI summaries is increasingly critical. Read more
• Google cracks down on incentivised reviews: Reviews boosted by incentives must now be labelled using the incentivized_review attribute. Undisclosed incentivised reviews risk penalties from both Google and the UK CMA. Read more
• Google AI Mode gains agentic capabilities (US only): AI Mode can now book tickets and appointments on a user’s behalf. Signals a future where optimising for AI actionability becomes as important as discoverability. Read more
• Position 1 losing clicks on branded searches: CTR for position 1 is declining, with clicks shifting to positions 2–6. Users want immediacy, not homepages. Reinforces the importance of sitelinks and owning multiple branded SERP positions. Read more
• llms.txt shows no meaningful impact: Large-scale analysis found llms.txt currently has little to no effect on how AI systems access or use content, with no visibility or citation upside. For now, effort is better spent on AI visibility rather than blocking. Read more
• Chrome to warn users about HTTP-only sites: Chrome will default to “Always Use Secure Connections” from October 2026, warning users before loading non-HTTPS pages. Likely to increase abandonment and make HTTPS migration non-negotiable. Read more
• Google voice search upgraded with Speech-to-Retrieval (S2R): Google removed the text-conversion step in voice search, improving accuracy and pushing search further away from keyword matching toward intent understanding. Reinforces the need for conversational, intent-led content. Read more
• AI Mode expands to 40+ new countries and 35 new languages: Google’s AI Mode now supports 43 languages and is available in dozens more regions, accelerating the shift toward AI-led discovery globally.
• Why Search Console can flag “Bad” LCP despite fast pages: Google clarified that slow, low-traffic, uncached pages can drag down overall LCP scores even if core URLs perform well. Highlights the importance of testing uncached performance. Read more
• Google explains how optimising for AI search differs from SEO: While fundamentals overlap, AI search is driven by broader, more conversational use cases. Marketers need to study how user behaviour changes between classic search and AI tools. Read more

Paid Media

• Ads are coming to ChatGPT: OpenAI confirmed ads will eventually launch within ChatGPT. With high trust and rich conversational context, the platform could become a powerful intent-driven paid channel. Read more
• Google Ads plans “Journey Aware” bidding (2026): A new Smart Bidding type aims to better model multistep journeys without relying on micro-conversions. Promising for long sales cycles, but will require clean conversion architecture. Read more
• Microsoft ended Ads for Social Impact grants (Dec 2025): Nonprofits had to spend remaining funds by January 2026 and pause campaigns to avoid charges. Google’s ad grant remains unaffected. Read more
• Google may delete Ads accounts with no campaigns after 6 months: A now-removed help doc suggested inactive accounts could be deleted after 6 months, with a 30-day warning. Unconfirmed, but worth monitoring if you rely on dormant accounts. Read more
• New verification rules for Google Ads message assets (Oct 30): Message assets must now be verified and directly tied to the business, or they won’t serve. Advertisers using messaging need to review assets urgently. Read more
• Google Ads launches “Text guidelines” for AI-generated copy: Advertisers can now set campaign-level guardrails to steer AI-written ads toward brand-safe, compliant messaging. Read more
• Google Ads reporting gets more granular: New asset segmentation, improved Performance Max reporting, and added ROI diagnostics give advertisers clearer insight into what’s driving results. Read more
• AI Max broadens Exact & Phrase match keywords: Early analysis shows AI Max expanding reach beyond traditional match boundaries, increasing impressions but often diluting intent. Best suited to discovery, not tightly controlled campaigns. Read more
• ChatGPT ads move closer to reality: Reports suggest OpenAI is actively exploring ad formats, including late-conversation placements and side panels. Still early-stage, but intent-rich environments could deliver high-quality leads. Read more
• Gemini ads: off for now, but not forever: Google briefly denied reports that ads were coming to the Gemini app, though signals suggest conversational AI and advertising will eventually converge. Read more
• Microsoft clarifies Exact Match priority: Microsoft confirmed that exact match keywords override Ad Rank when a perfect match exists, ensuring precise ad delivery, but conversational AI queries will still skew toward Broad and PMax. Read more
• Microsoft increases Performance Max theme limits: PMax campaigns now support up to 50 themes (up from 25), improving contextual signals, speeding optimisation, and enabling more complex campaign consolidation. Read more
• Microsoft Advertising adds quality-of-life updates: Asset-level disapprovals reduce downtime, and new conversion lag reporting helps advertisers avoid premature optimisation decisions. Read more

Data & Analytics

• Search Console may integrate social reporting: Google is testing social impressions, clicks, and trends directly inside GSC. If rolled out fully, it could simplify reporting and clarify search–social relationships. Read more
• EU may temporarily ease cookie consent rules: Proposed GDPR changes aim to reduce banner fatigue and shift some controls to browser settings. While compliance may become easier, overall consent rates and available data could decline. Read more
• Asset- and channel-level reporting improves in Google Ads: Advertisers can now segment performance by device, time, conversions, and network, improving optimisation and accountability across automated campaigns. Read more

Platform Updates

• Google adds “Read more” jump links to organic results: Some blue links now include anchors that jump users directly to the most relevant section of a page. Minor, but potentially click-positive for well-structured content. Read more
• Google adds “Learn more” cards to ads on SERPs: Advertisers can now view topline performance metrics and make light edits directly from the SERP, enabling faster tweaks without entering Google Ads. Read more
• ChatGPT introduces local knowledge panels: Businesses can now surface key details via expandable panels in ChatGPT, reinforcing the need for consistent, machine-readable business data across the web. Read more
• Copilot launches live search with prominent citations: Microsoft introduced a search experience that clearly surfaces and explains source websites, making click-throughs more accessible than in most AI search UIs. Read more
• Cloudflare outage causes temporary site disruptions: A 24-hour outage affected major and SME sites globally. No lasting SEO or PPC impact expected where issues were resolved quickly. Read more
• Bing adds full support for data-nosnippet: Site owners can better control what content appears in search previews and AI responses, helping protect paywalled content and improve snippet quality. Read more
• OpenAI launches Atlas web browser: OpenAI entered the AI browser race with Atlas, offering summarisation, task completion, and in-browser AI agents — another platform designed to reduce clicks to external sites. Read more

Content Trends

• Optimising for AI action, not just AI discovery: With agentic search, local rich results, and conversational interfaces expanding, on top of being informative, content increasingly needs to be clear, structured, and actionable.
• Higher-funnel content hit hardest by CTR decline: Simple, informational queries are losing the most clicks. More specific, lower-funnel, conversational content is proving more resilient in both classic and AI-driven search.
• Mobile conversion gap persists: Unbounce data shows desktop still converts ~8% better than mobile, largely due to poor mobile optimisation. Highlights ongoing opportunity in mobile UX, speed, and simplified journeys. Read more

Signals from Q4: Where search is headed

Search is rapidly shifting from a click-driven discovery model to an AI-mediated, intent-led experience, where visibility, trust, and actionability inside AI interfaces are pulling focus away from raw traffic alone. However, as organic rankings increasingly underpin presence in AI-driven search, they remain as critical as ever.

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