Google rankings moved hard today, plus ads in AI answers
Google started testing ads inside its AI answers that show up as plain text links, and Glenn Gabe says it could be easy for people to miss what is paid. Rankings also moved sharply on Tuesday, so check your numbers before you change anything on your site.
What changed
Google rankings moved a lot today
Barry Schwartz saw a spike in chatter among site owners Tuesday morning and called the ranking movement heated by the afternoon. Google has not named or confirmed an update, so nobody knows yet what is behind it. Rankings often keep bouncing while this kind of movement plays out.
Google Search ranking update seems to be hitting this morning - seeing a spike in chatter
Google Search ranking update heated today
Who this affects: Everyone who gets visitors from Google search.
- Open Search Console, click Performance, and compare the last 7 days with the previous 7 days so you know if you actually moved.
- Our take: hold off on big edits to pages this week until the movement settles.
Worth watching
Google is testing ads that look like normal links in answers
Google is testing sponsored links written as plain text inside AI Mode answers (Google's chat-style search results). Because they are just text, they blend in with the rest of the answer. Schwartz notes they appear to get fewer clicks than other ad formats in AI Mode.
when they are just text, it could be easy for users to not understand what's paid versus organic. This is big IMO
Not sure how much users are gonna like ads directly in their answers like this…
Who this affects: Anyone who buys Google Ads or gets clicks from Google's AI answers.
- Do nothing. It is a test, and there is no setting for you to change.
Things to do
Using more AI did not make content perform better, study finds
A new study of 1,042 content marketers by Andy Crestodina, flagged by Cyrus Shepard, found that over 92% now use AI, and that use had basically no link to better results. What did line up with strong results: original research, expert or influencer collaboration, guest blogging and plain keyword research (finding the words people actually type into Google). Marketers using six or more of those were nearly three times more likely to report strong results.
92%+ of marketers now use AI, but AI usage has basically zero correlation with better results
Original research increased the likelihood of strong results by ~50%. Yet fewer marketers are doing it
Who this affects: Anyone writing articles or guides to get found in search.
- Put something original in your next article: your own numbers, a customer result, or photos from a real job.
- Get a quote from an expert or a customer into the piece, the study's strongest predictor of success.
- Before you write, check what people actually search for and write to that.
Quick hits
Shops can lose search traffic without losing rankings
Aleyda Solis compared search results pages from September 2025 with this month and says the first page has gone from 7 to 8 normal results and 1 to 2 Google features, to 4 to 5 of each, counting AI answers, shopping packs, People Also Ask and local packs. Her point: an online shop can hold the same positions and still see year over year traffic fall.
You can now block AI training and stay in search
Cloudflare announced a Disallow AI Training setting that lets a site stay indexed for search while refusing to let the same crawler use its content for training. Glenn Gabe notes Apple, Google and Microsoft honor it or have committed to honoring it within a stated time frame.
Google ads can now send clicks to your business listing
Barry Schwartz reported a new option in Performance Max campaigns asking where people should go after clicking your ads: your website, or your Google Business Profile optimized for ads. It is a campaign setting, not a change to unpaid search results.