There's been a lot of updates and announcements in the SEO community this week. Here's what changed, why it matters, and what you need to do about it.
1. AI Mode is Becoming Dominant
Google released a report detailing how often people use AI Mode in the U.S., and the findings are significant. User queries have doubled every quarter since launch, and queries are increasingly becoming more conversational. Users are asking longer questions and relying more on voice and image search.
What This Means for Your Business
AI Mode is becoming the dominant search interface in the U.S., and the U.K. is likely following suit. This means you need to ensure you optimise for how people talk, not just the keywords they type. Your content strategy needs to encompass conversational, intent-based content that answers natural language questions.
2. Google's New Universal Cart Changes Shopping
Google announced Universal Cart at I/O, which is an AI-powered shopping experience that works across Google Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail. The cart lets users add products from anywhere, and it automatically monitors prices, deals, and inventory while suggesting alternatives and savings opportunities.
Read more about Universal Cart
What This Means for Your Business
If you're a retailer, this is critical: strong product feeds, accurate inventory data, loyalty integrations, and competitive pricing matter more than ever. Clients who have invested in quality Merchant Centre data and product information will be better positioned to win visibility across these new touchpoints. Those who haven't will feel the impact.
3. Google Redesigned the Search Box
Google has redesigned the search box, as in the literal box you type queries into, for the first time in over 25 years. It now supports longer queries, includes AI suggestions, and accepts multimodal inputs (text, images, files, videos, and Chrome tabs).
But here's what matters: What comes after users type in the box is far more important than the box itself. Search can now generate custom visual tools, simulations, dashboards, and mini-apps tailored to the user's question. Google is moving beyond just showing web results, it's generating custom experiences inside Google.
What This Means for Your Business
Your content needs to be the source Google pulls from to build those experiences, not just rank in traditional results. This is a fundamental shift in how visibility works. You're no longer competing just for ranking position, you're competing to be cited, sourced, and used to power AI-generated answers.
4. FAQ Rich Results Are Gone
Google has officially ended FAQ rich results and schema markup is under scrutiny. As of May 2026, FAQ rich results no longer appear in search results. However, schema markup still helps Google understand what your page is about, so there's still value in using it.
That said, Ahrefs released a study showing schema markup makes minimal impact on AI citations, so it’s not been the best month for schema markup and it poses the question of how necessary schema markup will be in the future.
What This Means for Your Business
For now, you should continue with implementing schema markup across your site as this is good technical practice. With that being said, the real driver of visibility will be content quality, topical authority and rate at which backlinks are secured.
5. Google's AI Optimisation Guide Reinforces the Basics
Google published a new documentation page to help websites optimise for generative AI search features like AI Overviews and AI Mode. One crucial takeaway: Google still describes AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) as SEO, emphasising the need to continue with traditional SEO to appear in generative AI results.
Read Google's AI optimisation guide
What This Means for Your Business
This is crucial: You need SEO basics in place before you can perform from an AEO/GEO perspective. If your business isn't properly implementing SEO into its strategy, expanding your investment to include AEO and GEO is the wrong move. Get the fundamentals solid first. The notion that ‘SEO is dead’ isn't correct, it's just evolving.
The Big Picture
These five updates all point to the same transformation: Search is no longer about ranking for keywords, it's about being a trusted source that powers AI-driven experiences.
This means:
- Content quality and topical authority are more important than ever
- Conversational, intent-based content outperforms keyword-stuffed pages
- Product data quality determines visibility in shopping experiences
- Being cited by AI matters more than ranking position
- Strong SEO fundamentals are the foundation for everything else
But none of this works without solid SEO first.
Ready For What’s Next?
Search is evolving faster than ever. Whether you're just starting your SEO journey or refining an existing strategy, understanding these shifts is crucial. We're tracking these updates in real-time and adapting our approach accordingly. If you'd like to discuss how they impact your business, we're here. Call us on 0161 402 3170 or fill out our online form.
