Daily Search Forum Recap: September 8, 2026

Google has rolled out its Digital Markets Act changes in Europe, calling them the "largest reduction in quality" in the 29-year history of Google Search, according to a Google official speaking to Reuters. The company is also testing several new features, including a thinner AI Overview citations panel, paginated follow-up responses in AI Mode with a skip button, and AI dashboards in Google Ads, while Google Business Profiles insights data for September 2026 is missing and the Search Console link report has not updated in a month.

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable https://www.seroundtable.com and other search forums on the web. Google has rolled out its Digital Markets Act changes in Europe and called it the "largest reduction in quality" in the life of Google Search. Google is testing a thinner design for the citations/link panel on the right side of the AI Overview. Google is testing a new form of responses in AI Mode that offers paginated follow-up questions and responses, with a skip button to skip them. Google Business Profiles insights report is missing data for all of September. Some advertisers are starting to see the new AI dashboards within Google Ads. Google is showing the number of sold items for a specific product in the Google Shopping Ads format. The Google Search Console link report has not been updated for a month. Google is sending out Google Business Profiles notifications to business owners asking if the user-suggested edit or update is correct or not. Search Engine Roundtable Stories: - Google: EU DMA Changes Resulted In Largest Reduction In Search Quality https://www.seroundtable.com/google-eu-dma-largest-reduction-quality-42042.html Google has rolled out its Digital Markets Act changes in Europe and called it the "largest reduction in quality" in the life of Google Search. "The changes mark the largest reduction in quality of service 'at the world's most popular internet search engine in its 29-year search history," Google official told Reuters. - September Data In Google Business Profiles Insights Missing https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-insights-missing-42033.html Google Business Profiles insights analytics report is missing data for the whole month of September 2026. Normally these reports can be a few days delayed but now we 8 days into the month and I still do not see any data. - Google Ads AI Dashboards Live For Some Advertisers https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-dashboards-live-42031.html Some advertisers are starting to see the new AI dashboards within Google Ads. As a reminder, Google showed off these Gemini-powered Google Ads dashboards last May and then in August said they would roll out soon and I guess now some advertisers are seeing it. - Google AI Mode Tests Paginated Follow Up Responses With Skip Button https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-paginated-responses-skip-42029.html Google is testing a new form of responses in AI Mode that offers paginated follow-up questions and responses, with a skip button to skip them. - Google Search Console Links Report Not Updated In A Month https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-links-report-delayed-42034.html The Google Search Console link report has now not been updated for a month. The last time the report was updated with fresh link data was around August 8, 2026 - a month ago. - Google Tests Thinner AI Overview Citations Panel https://www.seroundtable.com/google-thinner-ai-overview-citations-panel-42040.html Google is testing a thinner design for the citations/link panel on the right side of the AI Overview. The citations panel is noticeably thinner and may be less noticeable to searchers, maybe leading to fewer clicks? - Google Business Profiles Email: Does This Look Right To You https://www.seroundtable.com/gbp-does-this-look-right-to-you-email-42030.html Google is sending out Google Business Profiles notifications to business owners asking if the user-suggested edit or update is correct or not. The email says, "Does this look right to you?" and then it shows the suggested update to your business, which you can mark as correct or incorrect. - Google Shopping Ads With Number Sold Last Week https://www.seroundtable.com/google-shopping-ads-sold-last-week-42039.html Google is showing the number of sold items for a specific product in the Google Shopping Ads format. The ad has an extension added on it that says "200+ sold last," or whatever number it might be. - Google Seattle Office Adds Security Film To Windows https://www.seroundtable.com/photos/google-office-security-window-film-41995.html Google added safety and security window film to some of the windows in the Google Kirkland, Seattle office. Here is a photo from a video of the film being applied to the windows. Other Great Search Threads: - Gen AI website traffic share update - August 2026 12 months ago: ChatGPT: 73.3% Gemini: 12.9% DeepSeek: 4.0% Grok: 2.6% Copilot: 2.0% Perplexity: 2.0% Claude: 1.9% 6 months ago: ChatGPT: 56.7% Gemini: 25.4% Claude: 6.0% Grok: 3.7% DeepSeek: 3.4% Copilot: https://t.co/7pywSjOgqP" https://x.com/Similarweb/status/2096878021378466096 , Similarweb on X - SerpApi quietly built its own search index. Public in alpha since February, now in preview. 3.2B pages, small, no Google or proxies at query time. Went finally public because its Reddit counterclaim says the Reddit–Google deal blocks it from competing in search https://x.com/natzir9/status/2096832377397932125 , Natzir on X - In August, ChatGPT ran at least 20 A/B experiments on shopping. I found them in its SSE stream. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tomekrudzki in-august-chatgpt-ran-at-least-20-ab-experiments-activity-7502693389927346177-dSE9/ , Tomek Rudzki on LinkedIn - In mid-August, I shared that ChatGPT was hiding "view sources" behind the overflow menu. Well, now I'm seeing a different treatment in the free version of ChatGPT. It's much better and sources are visible by default and named just "Sources". But in my paid account, I still see https://x.com/glenngabe/status/2096944402404983009 , Glenn Gabe on X - @inspiredtaste I don't disagree. I know they've turned it off and have a strict AI for my kids at their schools. I'm not sure what the set up might be at your kid's school. https://x.com/salgar/status/2097047683865420117 , Satyajeet Salgar on X Search Engine Land Stories: - Why growing restaurant chains win at local search and AI visibility https://searchengineland.com/why-growing-restaurant-chains-win-at-local-search-and-ai-visibility-486656 - AI Overviews may be affecting Shopping ad CTR and impressions https://searchengineland.com/ai-overviews-may-be-affecting-shopping-ad-ctr-and-impressions-487265 - Google tests traditional Search campaigns in AI Mode https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-traditional-search-campaigns-in-ai-mode-487199 Other Great Search Stories: AI & LLMs - Google, Cathay Use AI to Curb Aviation’s Overlooked Climate Headache https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-07/google-cathay-use-ai-to-curb-aviation-s-overlooked-climate-headache , Bloomberg - Google tests proper Projects for the Gemini desktop app https://www.testingcatalog.com/google-tests-proper-projects-for-the-gemini-desktop-app/ , Testing Catalog - Import AI 472: DeepMind's cheating math agents; populist AI policies; and Forethought theorizes a nightwatchman https://importai.substack.com/p/import-ai-472-deepminds-cheating , Import AI - OpenAI and the Wiki Incident https://thezvi.substack.com/p/openai-and-the-wiki-incident , Zvi Mowshowitz - He’s Letting AI Agents Invest His Money. They Even Have Names. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-ai-shift-turning-everyday-investors-into-mini-quant-funds-ebe4d45f?st=CnE73f&reflink=desktopwebshare permalink , Wall Street Journal Analytics - GA4 tips to help SEOs https://krmdigital.uk/blog/ga4-tips-seo/ , KRM Digital Marketing - I Connected Claude to My Tag Manager and Found 3 Containers Nobody Knew Existed https://measureu.com/gtm-container-audit/ , MeasureU Industry & Business - Google-backed Indian space startup raises $100 million in latest funding round https://www.reuters.com/science/google-backed-indian-space-startup-raises-100-million-latest-funding-round-2026-09-07/ , Reuters - Google layoffs 52 people in Kirkland, Redmond, and Seattle https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/google-layoffs-52-people-kirkland-redmond-seattle/FLGGRSWLMFFC7IECN7WQBYZC2A/ , KIRO 7 News Seattle - Apple to Make First Big Change to iPhones in Years https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/technology/apple-iphone-event.html , New York Times Links & Content Marketing - Show off your knowledge and expertise https://www.ilanadavis.com/blogs/articles/show-off-your-knowledge-and-expertise , Ilana Davis - SaaS Link Building Strategy That Works in AI Search https://www.advancedwebranking.com/blog/saas-link-building-strategy , Advanced Web Ranking Local & Maps - Hiker found after being lost overnight in NC gorge, SAR says https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article317154006.html , Charlotte Observer Other Search - ChatGPT built its own search index https://peec.ai/blog/chatgpt-built-its-own-search-index , Peec AI - Key App Developers Have Yet to Embrace Apple’s New Siri A.I. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/technology/apple-siri-ai.html , New York Times PPC Search Features - Some Google Home devices are refusing to answer basic queries https://www.androidauthority.com/google-home-devices-refusing-answers-bug-3708429/ , Android Authority SEO - AI chatbots talked 57.5% of AI users out of buying https://www.semrush.com/blog/ai-chatbots-talk-ai-users-out-of-buying/ , Semrush - Search Central Live is coming to Bogota and Ciudad de México https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/09/search-central-live-mexico-and-colombia , Google Search Central Blog - The financial impact of technical SEO on your ROI https://www.oncrawl.com/technical-seo/financial-impact-technical-seo-5-step-roi-framework/ , Oncrawl - 245+ SEO Terms You Should Know: A Comprehensive Organic Search Glossary https://www.jumpfly.com/blog/245-seo-terms-you-should-know-a-comprehensive-organic-search-glossary/ , JumpFly Feedback: Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick https://twitter.com/rustybrick/ or @seroundtable https://twitter.com/seroundtable , on Threads https://www.threads.net/@rustybrick , Mastodon https://c.im/@rustybrick and Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/rustybrick.com and you can follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/seoroundtable and on Google News https://news.google.com/publications/CAAiEGcxG7fAnv8WVJaUn-8kyrcqFAgKIhBnMRu3wJ7 FlSWlJ vJMq3?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen , add as a preferred source on Google https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=seroundtable.com and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/rustybrick?sub confirmation=1 channel, Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id284443003 , Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4tFYPk3RmdTfMKG6u074TS , or just contact us the old fashion way https://www.seroundtable.com/contact.php .