Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly News - your concise roundup of the key stories shaping SEO, AI, search, digital PR, paid media, and digital strategy this week.

Co Hosts:

Amanda Walls https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

We covered the following + more:

Top Stories

We unpacked the December Google Core Update, including volatility, stronger signals around real expertise + intent matching, and why E-E-A-T now matters beyond classic YMYL.

We also discussed fresh research showing AI search usage is accelerating, with Google not losing users so much as losing clicks — as more journeys stay inside AI answers.B

uilding on that, we explored Grounding + citations research, including Dan Petrovic’s “grounding chunks” analysis — and what it suggests about ranking position, chunk size, and how sources are selected.

Finally, we covered the growing impact on publishers, with major reports suggesting news sites expect significant traffic drops as AI summaries replace click-through behaviour.

Top Videos

We reviewed key videos on:

Digital PR + journalism — what actually makes a story newsworthy today, and why survey-led campaigns are becoming essential

Local SEO + AI visibility — how LLMs cite and surface local businesses, and what drives mentions

Humanoid robotics progress — showing how quickly AI is moving from “software” into real-world capability (warehouses, factories, automation)

Top Social Posts

This week’s standout posts included:

Ads inside AI Overviews — why PPC is shifting toward intent + trust, not just auction mechanics (and why brand signals now matter more)

Google Merchant Center “AI business agent” — retailers training a virtual assistant in their brand voice to answer product questions and support conversion

January 2026 marks one of the biggest months yet for SEO, AI, and digital platforms. This episode breaks down how search, visibility, and trust are shifting as AI moves from an experiment to core infrastructure across search, shopping, health, and everyday technology.

🎬 Top Videos & Talks

This month’s videos focus on the rapid acceleration of AI and robotics, with humanoid robots learning tasks independently, predicting outcomes, and interacting with people in increasingly realistic ways. Several experiments explore what happens when large language models are embedded directly into robots, raising serious questions about autonomy, safety, and control. Alongside this, leading search and SEO voices explain how AI answers are reshaping discovery, why brand mentions often matter more than links, and how users are finding information without clicking through to websites.

📰 Top Stories

The biggest stories confirm that AI is no longer supporting search and commerce but actively replacing parts of them. Apple deepens its partnership with Google Gemini for Siri, while Google rolls out AI-powered shopping, virtual try-ons, and direct checkout directly in search. New data shows AI Overviews dominating medical queries, driving down organic click-through rates and raising concerns about misinformation and lost nuance. Google also introduces meaningful Search Console updates, including improved query grouping, Discover insights, and clearer reporting.

🌍 Other News

Beyond search, AI continues to reshape healthcare, work, and regulation. New tools analyse medical records, automation plans point to large-scale job losses, and AI hallucinations are appearing in courts and academic research. At the same time, global investment in AI infrastructure accelerates, while governments begin responding to safety concerns around children, surveillance, and AI-powered consumer products.

💬 Social & Industry Highlights

Across the industry, practitioners note that AI visibility no longer follows traditional ranking rules. Attention is spread across more sources, shorter and clearer content is often cited, informational blog content outperforms comparison pages, and social content from platforms like Reddit and X is appearing more frequently in search results.

Explore the majority of the stories covered here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vRgApI9fMAMVswEIcS8iz2HXYpWXPlA2hjHZs8B9stlS6s8mvX-cAkHydCWW2yvca6Jv2sn0xu6w4Eg/pubhtml

Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly News — your concise roundup of the key stories shaping SEO, AI, search, and digital strategy this week.

Co Hosts:

Nicola Agius - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-agius-8b330956/

Amanda Walls - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

Stanislav Farkas - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/

We covered the following + more:

Top Stories

We unpacked Google’s December core update, rolling out over three weeks just before the holidays. As always, the advice remains consistent: expect volatility, avoid knee-jerk changes, and wait until rollout completes before reacting.

We also discussed Microsoft Copilot usage trends, showing users increasingly turning to AI for health, career, and relationship guidance — highlighting how LLMs are shifting from search tools to personal decision support.

Another major theme was AI Overviews disrupting paid search, particularly on mobile, where ads are now frequently pushed below the fold — with healthcare seeing the biggest impact.

Local SEO also featured heavily, with research reinforcing how reviews, listing accuracy, and response times directly influence trust, conversions, and AI visibility.

Top Videos

We reviewed a Whiteboard Friday analysis showing AI Overviews appearing lower in SERPs more often, fuelling speculation around Google’s push toward AI Mode.

Google’s Year in Search highlighted how users are adopting longer, more conversational queries — influenced by voice search and LLM behaviour.

We also covered new product-focused AI Overviews, where Google is testing direct links to commercial pages, hinting at future monetisation strategies.

Plus highlights from the SEO in 2026 livestream and a deep conversation with Rand Fishkin on zero-click journeys, fragmented discovery, and where search is heading next.

Top Social Posts

Search Console updates stood out this week, including weekly and monthly reporting views and early AI-assisted insights.

We discussed Google’s rollout of Preferred Sources, new publisher partnerships, and the growing concern around echo chambers and source bias.

Finally, we covered the EU investigation into Google’s use of publisher and creator content for AI Overviews, alongside fresh analysis showing content length has no real impact on AI citations — relevance and clarity still win.

00:00 – Intro & show format

03:00 – Google December core update

11:00 – Core updates, volatility & expectations

18:00 – Copilot usage & AI as decision support

25:00 – AI Overviews vs paid search

33:00 – Local SEO, reviews & trust signals

40:00 – AI Overviews moving down SERPs

46:00 – Google Year in Search & changing behaviour

52:00 – Product links inside AI Overviews

58:00 – SEO in 2026 & Rand Fishkin highlights

01:04:00 – Search Console updates & Preferred Sources

01:08:00 – EU investigation, AI citations & wrap-up

View all stories + more here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRgApI9fMAMVswEIcS8iz2HXYpWXPlA2hjHZs8B9stlS6s8mvX-cAkHydCWW2yvca6Jv2sn0xu6w4Eg/pubhtml

Get curated digital marketing news and essential channel updates sent directly to you via Whatsapp - https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbB9zsvAe5VlZK5gmt1V

This December episode dives into another packed month of digital marketing, AI and search - from China’s rapidly advancing robotics, to Google’s latest Search Console upgrades, new AI shopping tools, and major shifts in how large language models cite content. We also cover the most interesting videos, discussions and social posts shaping the industry. Here’s what’s inside 👇🎬 Top VideosWe highlight a wide range of videos this month — from Vanessa Wingårdh’s critiques on society’s growing AI dependency and Amazon’s job-cut plans, to XPeng’s humanoid robot demo that was so realistic the team had to dismantle it live on stage.You’ll also see robotics tours from China, Julia McCoy’s AI-driven breakdown of the future of video creation, Stephen Fry and Yoshua Bengio discussing AI risks, Dario Amodei warning about fast, unregulated development, and John Mueller unpacking the newest Search Console features. Plus: panels on the singularity, home robotics, and deep interviews with leaders across AI. 📰 Top StoriesThis month includes Google’s rollout of AI-powered shopping and auto-checkout features, Apple planning to license Google’s 1.2T-parameter model for Siri, and a charity receiving a 27,000% traffic spike after a UK TV show mention.We also cover Microsoft’s new Copilot for Health, fresh data showing AI Overviews appearing heavily in medical queries, a 61% organic CTR drop on queries with AI answers, and Google’s addition of custom annotations, branded vs non-branded filters, and new query grouping inside Search Console.Other major updates include new Insights into Google Discover, Ahrefs research on brand mentions improving AI visibility, and surprising findings on how LLMs differ wildly from Google rankings. 🌍 Other NewsWe review projects like World — a digital identity system co-founded by Sam Altman — and explore concerns around job losses, universal basic income, and the future of work raised by Elon Musk and Amazon’s automation plans.There’s also data showing 97% of clicks still happen in Google’s top 10 results, OpenAI-related hallucination cases in courts, Google’s Project Sun Capture for space-based AI data centers, rising issues with AI-powered toys breaking safety guardrails, and several sector-specific studies on AI citations across travel and brand stability. 💬 Social HighlightsWe wrap up with standout posts from across the industry — including analyses of ChatGPT’s most common prompt types, volatility in AI-driven brand mentions, TikTok’s new local discovery and review-gamification features, and Google’s continuing rollout of new Search Console tools.The episode also features debates on AI accuracy, safety failures (like AI mistaking a bag of Doritos for a gun), creator-focused AI tools, and the real-world impacts of LLM-driven search on visibility and user journeys. 👉 Subscribe for ongoing SEO, AI and digital-marketing updates — all based on real stories, real data, and real examples from across the industry.Explore the majority of the stories covered here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRgApI9fMAMVswEIcS8iz2HXYpWXPlA2hjHZs8B9stlS6s8mvX-cAkHydCWW2yvca6Jv2sn0xu6w4Eg/pubhtmlIf you would like a copy of the slides email me at searchwithsean@outlook.com + Sorry about the laggy picture! : /

Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly News - your roundup of the biggest stories shaping SEO, AI, and digital strategy this week.

Co Hosts:Laura Iancu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-iancu-seo/

Amanda Walls - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

Stanislav Farkas - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/

We covered the following + more 👇

📰 Top Stories

This week we discussed Google’s new branded vs non-branded Search Console filter, a long-awaited upgrade that should make reporting far easier, even if handling brand variations is still unclear.

We also looked at Ofcom’s move to start tracking VPN usage in the UK using AI tools, raising serious concerns about privacy and what this means for remote workers.

LinkedIn launched AI-powered people search, shifting from rigid filters to natural-language prompts, although the platform’s feed and UI still have major issues to fix.

Microsoft’s new “Copilot for Health” came up too — an attempt to simplify medical information with cited sources, but still risky given the hallucination rates we continue to see in health-related queries.

And we discussed the unusual story of a woman in Japan marrying an AI persona she created, prompting a deeper conversation about loneliness, culture and technology shaping human relationships.

🎬 Top Videos

We reviewed Ben Smith’s BrightonSEO deep dive comparing AI Mode with traditional search, ChatGPT and Gemini, showing surprisingly high usage but much lower engagement.

We covered Dan Taylor’s explanation that blocking AI crawlers still won’t fully stop your content being used in training data because of sources like Common Crawl.

We looked at OpenAI’s new “Group Chat” feature, which could transform collaborative workflows for teams using GPTs.

And we explored the 60 Minutes interview with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, where he discussed the risks of misuse, the challenges of AI safety, and the uncomfortable reality that regulators are far behind the speed of AI development.

💬 Top Social Posts

Louise Linehan highlighted new Ahrefs research showing AI Overviews change their content every two days, swapping nearly half of their citations each time.

Chima Mmeje shared findings showing that more than half of brand mentions inside LLM answers vanish within three weeks, reinforcing how unstable AI visibility really is.

We also talked about the viral moment where someone bought perplexity.in and redirected it to Gemini, a chaotic twist in the AI search rivalry.

And we finished with reactions to Adobe acquiring Semrush for $1.9B, a huge sign that SEO and AI search are becoming central to Adobe’s long-term strategy.

Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly News - your roundup of the biggest stories shaping SEO, AI, content, and digital strategy this week.

Co Hosts:Nicola Agius – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-agius-8b330956/

Amanda Walls - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

We covered the following + more 👇

📰 Top Stories

This week we covered Google’s new tool for reporting fake negative reviews, the rise of extortion scams, and how quickly Google is now removing fraudulent ratings - a growing issue as AI-generated review spam increases.

We also looked at the surge of low-quality YMYL content appearing in Google Discover. Google has acknowledged the problem and confirmed a fix is on the way.

Another standout moment was the 27,000% traffic spike for a small UK charity after Alan Carr selected them as his Traitors donation — a real example of unexpected celebrity impact.

We explored whether ChatGPT will introduce ads, how an affiliate-style model could differ from Google Ads, and what that might mean for brands trying to gain visibility inside AI assistants.We also discussed an AI-generated music artist topping the charts, raising fresh questions about authenticity, creativity and whether audiences really care if content is made by humans or AI.

💬 Top Social Posts

Aleyda Solis’s research into zero-click searches revealed that falling clicks aren’t only caused by AI Overviews. Organic listings are now pushed down by product carousels, SERP features, and increased prominence of Google/partner properties like YouTube and Reddit.

Phil Pearce shared a breakdown of how to audit Consent Mode v2, highlighting how GA4 data can drop by ~30% when consent triggers block click IDs too early - and how to diagnose the issue with a Chrome extension.

Marie Haynes summarised Google’s new AI shopping features coming into Gemini and Search — including conversational shopping, automated store-calling, and GenAI-powered price-tracking and auto-purchase options.

And finally, new Profound research showed that 80% of buyers now rely on answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity) for at least half their purchase decisions, heavily influencing where they buy afterward.

🎬 Top Videos

Nick highlighted Lily Ray’s alligator animation breaking down SEO vs GEO vs AEO - showing how RAG powers LLM responses and why traditional SEO remains the foundation of AI visibility.

Amanda covered Neil Patel’s 2026 social predictions: on-platform conversions, long-form video returning, expert-led personal brands, and the decline of virtual influencers.

Sean explored Sam Altman’s new “World” identity project — a biometric system designed to verify real humans online — and the ethical questions it raises. He also summarised Ahrefs’ AI search myth-busting, including the lesser-known fact that some LLMs can process JavaScript.Watch / listen on Spotify - View all stories + more here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRgApI9fMAMVswEIcS8iz2HXYpWXPlA2hjHZs8B9stlS6s8mvX-cAkHydCWW2yvca6Jv2sn0xu6w4Eg/pubhtml

Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly News - your roundup of the biggest stories shaping SEO, AI, and digital strategy this week.

Co Hosts:

Nicola Agius – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-agius-8b330956/

Laura Iancu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-iancu-seo/

Harry Clarkson - Bennett - https://www.linkedin.com/in/harryclarksonbennett/

We covered the following + more 👇📰

Top Stories

This week’s headlines reveal why click-through rates are collapsing and what it means for publishers. A new study shows CTRs down over 60% - even when AI Overviews aren’t present - sparking debate over whether traffic will ever return. We also discussed how Reddit is becoming a search powerhouse, the dangers of brands misusing the platform, and whether OpenAI’s ChatGPT will soon launch ads as it races to stay profitable.

🎬 Top Videos

From SearchPilot’s “Next Trillion Searches” to Glen Gabe’s warning on black-hat tactics in AI search, the team unpacked how user behaviour, personalisation, and large language models are reshaping SEO. We compared John Lewis’s nostalgic Christmas ad to Coca-Cola’s AI-generated campaign - asking, can AI really replace emotion in marketing?

💬 Top Social Posts

On social, the conversation centred on trust, transparency, and how GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) overlaps with SEO. We explored why one GEO tool shut down after realising “it’s just SEO by another name”, new insights on grounding vs query fanout in LLMs, and early reactions to Profound’s public AI visibility index.

View all stories + more here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRgApI9fMAMVswEIcS8iz2HXYpWXPlA2hjHZs8B9stlS6s8mvX-cAkHydCWW2yvca6Jv2sn0xu6w4Eg/pubhtml

Welcome to the launch of Search With Sean: Weekly News - your new round-up of the stories shaping SEO, AI and digital strategies. Co Hosts:Amanda Walls – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/Nicola Agius – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-agius-8b330956/Stanislav Farkas – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/Harry Clarkson - Bennett - https://www.linkedin.com/in/harryclarksonbennett/📰 Top StoriesThis week’s stories reveal how fast AI is reshaping search and business strategy. Musk’s AI-powered “Wikipedia” clone and rising Discover spam highlight growing trust and accuracy problems. Meanwhile, data shows 85% of companies now invest in AI optimisation — but no one agrees whether AI traffic actually converts.🎬 Top VideosThe team discussed viral marketing lessons from the rise and fall of Lalabubus and YouTube’s new Ask Studio AI tool for creators. Google’s Liz Reid explained how “Preferred Sources” may change click-through rates, while OpenAI’s first brand ads showed what users really do with ChatGPT. We also explored how losing a single creator cut The Washington Post’s TikTok views by 85%, proving people follow people more than brands.💬 Top Social PostsAcross social, the conversation focused on reputation and accuracy in the age of AI. Research found 71% of Reddit page-one mentions about big brands are negative, and Google’s rank-tracking changes left SEOs scrambling for fixes. New studies also showed AI assistants are wrong almost half the time, while Spotify removed 75 million AI-made tracks, reigniting debate over authenticity online.View all stories + more here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRgApI9fMAMVswEIcS8iz2HXYpWXPlA2hjHZs8B9stlS6s8mvX-cAkHydCWW2yvca6Jv2sn0xu6w4Eg/pubhtml⚠️ Unfortunately, a technical issue led to some file corruption in the source footage. I've worked to restore the affected segment as much as possible.