Google has a new Google Ads feature within Google Merchant Center feeds in AI image editor that enables you to import product images from your Merchant Center feeds into your Google Ads account. The images will then be stored and available for use in the Google Ads Asset Library. “You can leverage product images to generate new campaign images using AI-powered image editing in Google Ads,” Google added.

Google’s John Mueller repeated advice from a while ago that you should not switch your m-dot URLs to be the canonical URL, even though Google is fully switched over to mobile-first indexing. He said this is just because it is how it is done, how it was done, and switching it on Google’s end would cause many large sites issues.

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google says the next core update isn’t extremely far away…

Google’s John Mueller responded to complaints about image thumbnails still not showing up for some publishers in the search results. He encouraged a bit more patience, saying “the next one [core update] isn’t extremely far away now, so I’d recommend waiting for that.”

Google Discover is now pushing users to see AI Overviews directly in the Google Search results. As you scroll through the Discover feed on Google.com, you may see a promotion of sorts to learn more about a topic through the lens of AI Overviews.

Google has been mixing search ads into the free organic search results for several months now; Google even changed its definition of what it considers top ads in order to account for this change. New data from Semrush shows just how often Google mixes search ads into the organic results.

Google Business Profiles has a new AI feature to let you upload a photo of your menu and Google will create your menu items for your restaurant based on that photo. This is a generative AI feature and is currently considered “experimental.”

Google may be displaying the X (formerly Twitter) carousel in the search results less often for news related topics. A report from Newzdash shows the X carousel is showing up for about 12% of queries, when earlier this year it was showing for closer to 27% of queries in Google Search.

Over the past almost two weeks, we have seen consistent and ongoing ranking volatility on a daily basis. The last Google search ranking update I covered was around July 23rd, then before that was July 18th and then July 9th. But every says since around July 17th there has been high volatility with the Google Search rankings.

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

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 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.

This week…

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.

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.”

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