Barry Schwartz

Apple has launched a public beta version of Apple Maps on the web after launching the mobile app back almost 12 years ago on September 19, 2012. "Apple Maps on the web is available in public beta, allowing users around the world to access Maps directly from their browser," Apple wrote.

On July 1, 2024, Reddit updated its robots.txt file to prohibit most search engine and AI crawlers from accessing its content - including blocking Microsoft Bing. Reddit did not block Google Search, which we covered here a few weeks ago.

Google said it again, it will soon test ads within its AI Overviews . Philipp Schindler, senior vice president and chief business officer for Google, said this in the earnings call on Tuesday night. He said, "soon we'll actually start testing search and shopping ads in AI Overviews for users in the U.S."

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...

Google is testing showing a related images carousel right below an images box in the mobile search results. As you scroll through the search results, you are presented with an images box and if that is not enough for you, Google Search shows you a related images carousel right below that.

Google seems to be testing a new option for the Book Online call to action option that does not use an online booking service but rather lets you call the business directly. The button says "call business" and then will dial the business from your mobile phone.

OpenAI has announced SearchGPT, its AI search tool that looks and feels a lot like ChatGPT but gives you more sources and answers through links. OpenAI wrote, "We're testing SearchGPT, a temporary prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources."

Google's John Mueller said on LinkedIn he does not recommend you use LLMs (AI tools) for SEO advice. He wrote, "please don't use LLMs for SEO advice." "They learn from all the bad SEO information out there," he added.

Google pushed out a large update to Gemini (formerly known as Bard) and this update includes more links to both related content and also links to verify the content that Gemini is responding with.

— This week, we covered yet again more Google Search ranking volatility. Microsoft is testing its new Bing generative search experience.