Thursday, July 23, 2026

Google's AI Max is now live with 500,000+ advertisers and is turning complex, previously unmonetized searches into ad inventory through improved intent matching.

Major publishers are considering blocking Google Search over declining traffic value while the EU fined Google $1B for DMA violations.

Major publishers including USA Today, Politico, Reuters, and others are seriously considering blocking Google Search entirely as traffic from the search engine continues to decline.

Google is rolling out structural changes to EU hotel search results, introducing a multi-provider Hotel Multi-Pack and direct hotel website module in response to Digital Markets Act compliance requirements.

Google is now notifying users when their reviews don't post and offering an appeals process, rolling out globally this week.

Google has released Ads API v25, a major update bringing new reporting features and goals support across campaigns, planning, conversions, and more.

Google is testing rounded corners and white borders on images in the Discover feed, a visual design experiment first spotted by researcher Damien Andell.

OpenAI has added tooltips to ChatGPT Ads Manager that display View-Through Attribution (VTA) and Click-Through Attribution (CTA) conversion values.

The EU fined Google €890 million ($1B) for self-preferencing its own services in Search results and restricting app steering on Google Play, with 60 days to comply or face penalties up to 5% of global turnover.

Google is restructuring search to mimic creator platforms, prioritizing influence and guided discovery over traditional rankings and clicks.