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

Google is now sending out notifications when a review is not posted after a user tries to submit a review on a Google local business profile. The notice says “review not posted,” and adds “Our automated systems removed this content because it seems that the content may not follow our Maps content policies.”

Google has released version 25 of the Google Ads API, this is a major release with dozens of updates. This update includes changes to campaigns, planning, reports, conversions, and more. Google now breaks down the change log based on breaking changes, features and updates (that do not break anything) and more.

Google is testing using rounded corners for the stories and cards that show up in the Google Discover feed. Google normally shows the images for the stories as rectangles but now we are seeing Google round out the corners and add white borders to the edges of the images.

Several large publishers are strongly considering blocking Google Search entirely after clicks from Google Search have continued to decline, and the exchange of value in having Google consume its content is no longer translating into enough clicks from Google Search.

Google may be rolling out updates to its hotel search results based on the European Commission’s requirement for Google to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Despite Google not being a fan of the requirement, it seems Google needs to make changes to its search results as a result.

Google reported its earnings today, its Q2 2026 earnings report showed search ad revenues up by 14.5% at $81.6 billion and overall revenue was up 24% at $119.8 billion. As you know…

Another day, another bug with Google local, specific with reviews. Today’s bug is that the review replies are not showing up for many. This is a new widespread bug, that seems to be impacting all Google Business Profiles.

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 Search is now using Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite…

Google Ads has moved the formerly known as “Missed Growth Opportunities” from Labs into the official Recommendations tab and under the new name of “Missed Opportunities.” This shows you your missed clicks, conversions and conversion value metrics.

Google Search said it is now using the latest Gemini model named 3.5 Flash-Lite. It is being used for agentic search experiences, but also likely for Google AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google wrote, “3.5 Flash-Lite is also rolling out in Google Search,” on the company news blog.

Google has updated its Optimize your crawl budget page, it said to “improve clarity, terminology consistency, and flow.” One thing that is new in the document is that Google said that “Every site starts with the same default, conservative crawl capacity limit.”

Both Google AI Mode and OpenAI ChatGPT results are testing placing the citation cards on the bottom. AI Mode is doing this thing that anchors you to the bottom of the answer, directly to the citation card. ChatGPT is doing this thing that loads a citation box overlay on click.

Last December, Google sued SerpApi over scraping its search results, and now a court has granted SerpApi’s motion to dismiss the case. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed these claims with leave to amend, giving Google 21 days to refile its complaint if it can demonstrate authorization from copyright owners.

Google Ads updated its appeals guidelines and documentation yesterday afternoon to say you can no longer appeal a Google Ads violation if that violation is older than 6 months. Google wrote, “Starting July 21, 2026, the option to appeal a policy decision directly from your Google Ads account will not be available for policy decisions […]