Digital Industry Updates
At Embryo we keep a log of key industry updates within the digital marketing landscape. The updates cover changes with Google and algorithms and platforms that affect SEO, PPC, as well as social platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
If you would like to contribute, then please contact h.middleton@embryo.com or e.murray@embryo.com.
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Google Search IO 2026
Google Search IO 2026 highlights a continued shift toward AI driven search, with Gemini powering a more interactive and agent based experience. Search is moving beyond traditional listings, allowing users to ask complex questions, use multimodal inputs, and complete tasks directly within the search interface.
Key updates include expanded AI Overviews, a stronger AI Mode, and new agent style features that can help users take actions such as planning or booking. This signals a move from search as a list of results to search as an AI assistant that helps complete tasks.
For SEO, the focus should shift toward topical authority rather than isolated keywords by building strong content clusters that fully cover a subject. Content should be clearly structured so AI systems can easily interpret and reuse it, supported by strong internal linking to reinforce relationships between pages. There is also increased importance on informational content that directly solves user problems, alongside consistent brand and entity signals to strengthen Google’s understanding of site authority. Overall, optimisation should prioritise intent completion rather than rankings alone, especially as more queries are handled through AI driven results.
Read moreAI-generated video creation spotted in Performance Max
How it works:
Google has begun rolling out AI-powered videos inside Performance Max campaigns. Advertisers can automatically generate video creatives from existing assets and campaign content using Gemini-powered tools.
What’s the benefit:
This lowers the barrier to creating video ads and could help more advertisers access YouTube and video inventory without needing dedicated creative resources.
May 2026 core update
Yesterday, Google announced the rollout of the May 2026 core update.
Google have said ‘This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites.’
The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete.
Check status dashboardPerformance Max – Search Partner & Display exclusions
How it works:
Google is rolling out new exclusions within Performance Max campaigns, allowing advertisers to exclude the following directly within campaign settings:
- Search Partners
- Display Network placements
What’s the benefit:
This gives advertisers more control over where Performance Max ads appear, helping reduce wasted spend and improve placement quality in automated campaigns.
Google launches site visits asset for Search & PMax
How it works:
Google has rolled out the new Site Visits asset for Search and Performance Max campaigns. The feature displays a non-clickable badge underneath ads showing how many visits a website has received, using labels such as “10K+ visits last month” or “1M+ visits.” The data combines both paid and organic traffic signals.
What’s the benefit:
This adds a layer of social proof directly into ads, which could help improve trust and click-through rates. Larger brands with strong traffic volumes may especially benefit from increased credibility in competitive auctions.
Google’s linking improvements in AI search
What’s changed?
Google has recently announced an update to the way it links to sources and information within its AI overview and in AI Mode.
It will now link directly within the AI response next to the relevant text, rather than linking a cluster of sources towards the end of the information provided.
It’s also introduced a new feature, giving users the ability to preview a website when hovering over the inline link on desktop.
Why it matters
The more relevant placement of links will help with further exploration on a subject, rather than AI responses being a ‘dead end’ to the search.
The new preview feature will help a user decide whether to click through to a site, with Google saying “We’ve seen that people might hesitate to click a link if they’re not sure exactly where it leads — so this update will help people feel more confident about visiting helpful websites.”
Read hereGoogle to stop FAQ rich results
On 7th May 2026, Google released an update stating that FAQ rich results will no longer show in search and the Search Console features will go away.
Google will no longer support FAQ rich results as of May 7, 2026. This means you will no longer see FAQ rich results in the Google Search results going forward. These features previously helped gain a larger share of the SERP through expandable drop downs for organic listings. We have seen this reduce significantly over the last 3 years, but the official announcement now confirms that FAQ rich results will no longer appear in the SERPs.
We believe there’s no concern or urgency to remove any FAQ structured data already in place, and other search engines may continue to process it and use it for their own purposes.
Read from GoogleAI search is splitting user behaviour
Google is not putting every AI experience in one place. Search, AI Mode and Gemini are being used in different ways, with Google’s VP of Search Liz Reid saying people often move between them depending on what they are trying to do.
Search and AI Mode are more likely to be used for informational queries, while Gemini leans more towards writing and creative tasks. AI Mode also appears to be where longer, more complex and conversational questions are happening.
For brands, that makes authority and clarity even more important. If people are asking different types of questions across different Google tools, brands need to be clearly associated with the topics they want to be found for. Digital PR can support this by building trusted coverage, expert commentary and consistent mentions across the wider web, helping search engines and AI tools understand who the brand is, what it knows and when it should be surfaced.
Read moreGoogle adds real-time policy reviews in ads advisor
How it works:
Google has added real-time policy review features to Ads Advisor. The system can now automatically monitor accounts, detect policy issues, and suggest fixes 24/7 to prevent campaigns from being unexpectedly paused or disapproved.
What’s the benefit:
This helps advertisers resolve policy problems faster and avoid downtime. PPC teams may spend less time troubleshooting disapprovals and more time focusing on performance and optimisation.
Google introduces seasonal theming for Performance Max assets
How it works:
Google has introduced seasonal creative theming for Performance Max campaigns. This allows advertisers to align messaging and visuals with seasonal events (such as sales periods or holidays) within the same campaign, without creating entirely new campaigns.
What’s the benefit:
This saves time and helps ads stay relevant during key seasonal moments. PPC teams can maintain performance during busy periods while reducing the need for manual campaign changes.
