Spam update over, now the wait for a core update
Google's September spam update took about two weeks instead of the usual couple of days, and it is finally finished. One SEO's read on what changed: Google stopped caring how you make content and started caring whether you checked it.
Read the whole week in one goSpam update done, penalties up, trackers unreliable
Why your traffic moved
Spam update is done, next question is the core update
Google's September 2026 spam update (a ranking change aimed at sites breaking its spam rules) is done rolling out, so rankings should stop moving because of it. Barry Schwartz, who reported the finish, is now asking site owners how it treated them and when they expect the next core update (a broad ranking change). Nothing new has been announced.
Who this affects: Everyone with a website.
- Our take: compare the last two weeks in Search Console.
- Do nothing else yet, let rankings settle.
Getting into AI answers
Claude is told to search the web when its facts age
Anthropic's new Claude model, Haiku 5.5, is told by its published system prompt to point users toward web search when its own knowledge may be out of date. Its knowledge cutoff is June 2026, and Anthropic's documentation says Claude searches for current prices, recent information and details about organizations that may have changed.
AI visibility partly depends on being there when the model decides it needs current information.
Who this affects: Small businesses whose prices, services or locations have changed this year.
- Check your pricing and locations pages are public and current.
- Our take: say when a change happened, in plain text.
Do not do this
AI articles can still rank if a person checks them
One SEO says the new rule is about whether you checked your content, not how you made it. Julian Goldie says the spam update targeted AI spam, yet sites he watches went from zero to 79 clicks a day through it.
Google no longer cares HOW you make content. It cares if you checked it.
Who this affects: Anyone using AI to help write articles for their site.
- Fact-check and read every AI draft by hand before publishing.
- Add your own test, result or customer story to each article.