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 AI Mode and AI Overviews gain preferred sources…

The six-mode taxonomy maps almost exactly onto the split between execution-layer and judgment-layer work. Most practitioners are living in the execution layer

Google is officially rolling out preferred source labels within AI Mode and AI Overviews and adding a new carousel to AI Mode and AI Overviews, as well. Plus, Google said the highly cited label is expanding to more search results (which is not specific to AI Mode and AI Overviews).

Gary Illyes from Google reportedly said at the Search Central Live Shanghai 2026 event on May 15th that he and Google strongly warns against buying or manipulating mentions brand mentions to try to show up in the AI responses, AI Overviews and AI Mode.

Google is testing shifting the sitename and favicon in the search results around, where it is on one line with the favicon, then a bold sitename and then the URL, followed by the rest of the snippet; the title and description and sitelinks. Typically, the favicon spans two lines covering the sitename one the first line and URL on the next line.

OpenAI sent out an email to some early advertisers offering them early access to conversion-optimized campaigns. Conversion-optimized campaigns are going to be available to some advertisers starting on June 5, 2026.

As you know, Google updated its Google Ads data retention policy recently, which changed how long it will store some of its shorter-term performance data. Specifically, the data hourly, daily, and weekly reporting data…

Google is rolling out a new AI performance report within Google Merchant Center named AI performance insights. Google said the “AI performance insights can help provide you with a view into your brand’s performance on AI surfaces and how you can optimize your product data to improve your performance on these AI powered experiences.”

Machines writing for machines is a race to the bottom. Here’s how to reintroduce human thinking before your brand disappears into the wallpaper.

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