# September 2026 Google Webmaster Report > Source: > Published: 2026-09-01 11:11:00+00:00 It is time for the monthly Google webmaster report, where I recap the larger stories from the past month, specifically related to Google SEO, search, and webmaster/site owner topics. If you took a vacation, some days off, or if you just want to make sure you didn't miss anything important on this topic, keep reading. This month we had the [Google August 2026 spam update](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-august-2026-spam-update-41895.html) that started on August 18th and completed on August 21st. We had unconfirmed updates before and after the spam update as well. Google also updated its [site reputation abuse policy to not impact searchers in the EEA](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-site-reputation-policy-eea-41968.html), which is weird but legal. Google also spoke about when/why it announces search updates, which sums up the past month pretty nicely. Google started to [push AI Mode into AI Overviews](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overviews-push-ai-mode-responses-41974.html) within Google Search, which is pretty wild. Google AI Mode can now show [link carousel cards](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-link-carousels-41947.html) for developing stories. Google tested [AI-generated images in AI Overviews](https://www.seroundtable.com/ai-generated-images-google-ai-overviews-41872.html) but paused the test shortly after. Google AI Mode is partially powered by [Gemini 3.7 Flash](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-gemini-3-7-flash-41879.html). Google Search is rolling out new [goto URL parameters](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-goto-tracking-41957.html) for search result URLs to "protect" its search results for third-party tools, probably mostly SerpAPI which [Google is still fighting](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-amends-lawsuit-against-serpapi-41860.html) in court. - don't worry, the tools have fixes for this change already. Google updated its home page to [test new AI buttons](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-home-page-ai-features-41842.html). Google improved the [preferred sources button](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-preferred-source-button-update-41912.html) for publishers and [lowered the subscriber requirement](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-profiles-lowers-subscriber-requirements-41866.html) for search profiles. Google fixed a [bugs with favicons and crawl stats](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-fix-favicon-crawl-stats-41928.html) data, which may have led to [Google updating its favicon help documentation](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-favicon-docs-file-formats-41970.html). Google said [Reddit gets no special preference](https://www.seroundtable.com/reddit-no-special-preference-google-41818.html) in Google Search and there is [nothing to do for generative AI responses](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-generative-ai-search-responses-todo-41916.html) in Search. Google started to temporarily show [fewer PDFs](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-fewer-pdf-files-41946.html) in search and the [IRS website dropped](https://www.seroundtable.com/irs-website-drops-google-search-41967.html) heavily in Google, but it is back now. Google Search Console's new [generative AI reports expanded](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-ai-report-live-41850.html), but the [report had a bug a couple of weeks ago](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-performance-reports-drop-41884.html). On the local side, Google is [aware of missing reviews](https://www.seroundtable.com/reviews-missing-google-business-profile-reinstatement-41927.html) for reinstated Google Business Profiles. And Google had some big [AI leadership changes](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-leadership-shuffle-41824.html) this month. If you missed last month, you can read the [August 2026 Google Webmaster Report](https://www.seroundtable.com/august-2026-google-webmaster-report-41804.html). Here are the important headlines from the past month on this topic: Google Search Updates [Google August 2026 Spam Update Has Been Unleashed](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-august-2026-spam-update-41895.html)[Google August 2026 Spam Update Has Finished Rolling Out](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-august-2026-spam-update-done-41906.html)[Google Search Ranking Volatility Continues Post Spam Update](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-continues-41952.html)[Google Search Ranking Volatility Spikes On August 12-13](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-spikes-41869.html)[Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Into August 5th & 6th](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-heated-41830.html)[Google Won't Enforce Its Site Reputation Policy Manual Actions In Europe](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-site-reputation-policy-eea-41968.html)[Why Google Announces Some Search Updates But Not All](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-announces-some-updates-41903.html)[Google Announces Search Updates For Transparency, Actionable Updates Get Blog Posts](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-announces-search-updates-41969.html)[Google: We Do Not Roll Out Updates Prior To The Announcement](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-rollout-search-updates-announcement-41901.html) [Google AI Overviews Pushing Searchers Into AI Mode, Drops Show More Button](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overviews-push-ai-mode-responses-41974.html)[Google AI Mode Also Gains Link Carousels For Developing Topics](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-link-carousels-41947.html)[Google AI Overviews With AI-Generated Images In The Wild (Test Paused)](https://www.seroundtable.com/ai-generated-images-google-ai-overviews-41872.html)[Google Search Using Gemini 3.7 Flash In AI Mode](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-gemini-3-7-flash-41879.html)[Google AI Overview Local Results Pulling From Low-Quality Listicles](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overview-local-results-listicles-41854.html)[Google AI Mode Asking Searchers To Sign In](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-sign-in-41962.html)[Google AI Mode Adds Flight Price Tracking, Mile Rates & Hotel Booking](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-travel-updates-41956.html)[Google Shows AI Overviews Above Stock Charts For Stock Price Queries](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overviews-stock-price-queries-41934.html)[Google Copyable Emojis In AI Overviews](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-copyable-emojis-ai-overviews-41929.html) [Confirmed: Google Search Rolling Out google.com/goto Tracking Parameters](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-goto-tracking-41957.html)[Google Home Page Create Images, Ask About Files & Brainstorm Buttons](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-home-page-ai-features-41842.html)[Google Preferred Source Button Improved For Publishers](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-preferred-source-button-update-41912.html)[Google Lowers Subscriber Requirements For Search Profiles](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-profiles-lowers-subscriber-requirements-41866.html)[You Can Now Edit Your Handle On Google Search Profiles](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-profiles-edit-your-handle-41886.html)[Google Search Video Carousel Showing Less Often](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-video-carousel-drops-41894.html)[Google Tests Pink Highlights In Featured Snippets](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-pink-highlights-featured-snippets-41926.html)[Google Discover Feed Can Be Tailored By Words](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-discover-tailored-feed-by-words-41911.html)[Google Assistant Shutting Down On Mobile Devices On September 4](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-assistant-shutting-down-41822.html) [Google Fixed Favicon Bug & Crawl Stats Missing Data](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-fix-favicon-crawl-stats-41928.html)[Spike In Complaints On Favicons Disappearing From Google Search](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-favicons-breaking-41904.html)[Google: Reddit Gets No Special Preference In Google Search Rankings](https://www.seroundtable.com/reddit-no-special-preference-google-41818.html)[Google: There Is Nothing Special To Do For Generative AI Responses In Search](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-generative-ai-search-responses-todo-41916.html)[Google Search Now Lists The Supported Favicon File Formats](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-favicon-docs-file-formats-41970.html)[Google Search Showing Fewer PDF Files. But Why?](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-fewer-pdf-files-41946.html)[IRS Website Drops Heavily In Google Search](https://www.seroundtable.com/irs-website-drops-google-search-41967.html)[Google Crawlers Send HTTP Requests: HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, PATCH, DELETE](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-crawlers-head-options-put-patch-delete-41833.html)[Google Search Will Eventually Support HTTP QUERY Method](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-support-http-query-method-41882.html)[JSON-LD Extraction For Googlebot Now Does One Pass Of HTML Unescaping](https://www.seroundtable.com/json-ld-extraction-googlebot-41921.html)[Google: Hreflang URLs Not Indexed In The Proper Sense](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-hreflang-urls-not-indexed-41838.html)[Google Says Google's Crawlers Don't Parse JSON](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-crawlers-dont-parse-json-41936.html)[Misconfiguring Cloudflare Can Hurt Your SEO Badly](https://www.seroundtable.com/misconfigure-cloudflare-seo-41865.html)[Googlebot Say They Are Coming From California But Might Not](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-crawlers-location-googlebot-41874.html) [Google Search Console Generative AI Performance Report Expands To More](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-ai-report-live-41850.html)[Google Search Console Shows AI Mode Queries, Not In Generative AI Reports](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-ai-mode-queries-41821.html)[Google Performance Reports Drop In Impressions/Clicks ~August 12](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-performance-reports-drop-41884.html)[Google Search Console Crawl Stats Missing Two Days Of Data](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-crawl-stats-missing-41923.html)[Google Search Console Sends New Owner Email Notifications - Bug?](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-new-owner-emails-41932.html)[Spammy Google Selected Canonical In Search Console](https://www.seroundtable.com/spammy-google-selected-canonical-41863.html) [Google Aware Of Reviews Missing After Google Business Profile Reinstatement](https://www.seroundtable.com/reviews-missing-google-business-profile-reinstatement-41927.html)[Google Bringing Back Google Posts Insights (People Viewed)](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-posts-insights-views-41913.html)[Google Business Profiles Testing Revamped Q&A Feature](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-revamped-qa-41896.html)[Google Local Disallows Repeated Bilingual Names & Transliterations](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-disallows-repeated-bilingual-names-41839.html) [Google AI Leadership Changes: Jeff Dean Leaves, Demis Hassabis Change & More](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-leadership-shuffle-41824.html)[Google Amends Lawsuit Against SerpApi Over Licensed Content](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-amends-lawsuit-against-serpapi-41860.html)[SEOs Taking Over Expired Google X Accounts](https://www.seroundtable.com/seo-expired-google-x-accounts-41844.html) Forum discussion at [WebmasterWorld](https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/5133446-2-50.htm).