September delivered another busy month across SEO, AI search and Google Ads, with Google continuing to reshape both organic and paid search around artificial intelligence.
For businesses, the bigger picture is becoming increasingly clear: traditional SEO remains critically important, but visibility can no longer be measured purely through conventional rankings and organic clicks. AI Overviews, AI Mode and other generative search experiences are increasingly sitting between the searcher and the website, while Google Ads continues moving further towards automated campaign management and machine-learning-led bidding.
Here are five developments that caught our attention during September.
Google launches another spam update
Google released its September 2026 spam update on 24 September, with the rollout expected to take approximately two weeks and apply globally across all languages.
It follows Google’s August spam update and continues a particularly active year for Google’s spam-fighting systems. For website owners, the important point is not to react hastily to short-term ranking fluctuations while an update is still rolling out. Sites focused on useful, original content, genuine expertise and sustainable SEO practices remain far better positioned than those relying on shortcuts or content created primarily to manipulate search rankings.
Read the full article on Search Engine Land
Google AI Overviews are appearing in almost 40% of US desktop searches
New Comscore data reported by Search Engine Land found that Google AI Overviews appeared in 39.4% of US desktop searches in June 2026, up from 25.8% in July 2025.
Although the data is US desktop-specific and shouldn’t automatically be applied to every market, the direction of travel is significant. AI-generated results are rapidly becoming part of the normal Google search experience rather than a separate feature used by a small audience.
For SEO strategies, this reinforces the importance of creating content that does more than simply target a keyword. Brands increasingly need authoritative, well-structured content that search engines and AI systems can understand, extract information from and potentially reference within generated answers.
Read the full article on Search Engine Land
Study finds Google AI Mode significantly reduces website clicks
One of September’s more interesting studies examined how Google’s AI Mode changes search behaviour.
In a randomized experiment involving 1,100 Google users, searches conducted through AI Mode resulted in substantially fewer visits to external websites. The share of searches producing an external website visit fell by 18.8 percentage points compared with traditional Google search. The research also found lower levels of user trust and satisfaction amongst participants using AI Mode.
For publishers and businesses that depend on organic traffic, this illustrates why SEO reporting needs to evolve. Search visibility may increasingly influence customers without producing an immediate website click, making metrics such as brand visibility, AI citations, assisted conversions and branded search demand increasingly valuable alongside traditional organic sessions.
Read the full article on Search Engine Land
Generative Engine Optimisation moves further into the mainstream
Search Engine Land published an extensive guide to Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, during September, examining how businesses can improve their chances of being mentioned or cited by platforms including Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity.
GEO shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a replacement for SEO. Much of the underlying work remains closely connected: strong technical foundations, authoritative content, clear entities, reputable third-party references and content that genuinely answers the questions people are asking.
The difference is that businesses now need to consider visibility across a broader search ecosystem. The objective isn’t only to rank a webpage; it is increasingly to ensure that a brand is recognised as a credible source when AI systems construct an answer.
Read the Generative Engine Optimisation guide on Search Engine Land
Google clarifies how long Smart Bidding may need to learn
On the paid-search side, Google updated its guidance around Smart Bidding learning periods.
Google now says automated bid strategies may require approximately 50 conversion events or three conversion cycles to properly calibrate following certain campaign or bidding changes. Campaigns with substantial historical conversion data may stabilise more quickly.
This is particularly relevant when assessing Google Ads performance after making significant campaign changes. Advertisers can sometimes make further adjustments too quickly when results fluctuate, unintentionally restarting or disrupting the learning process. The updated guidance provides a useful reminder to allow sufficient conversion data to accumulate before drawing conclusions about automated bidding performance.
Read the full article on Search Engine Land
Search continues to change, but the fundamentals remain
The common thread running through September’s developments is Google’s continued transition towards an AI-driven search environment.
For businesses, this means SEO can no longer be viewed purely as a competition for ten traditional blue links. Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini and other generative platforms are creating additional places where potential customers discover brands, products and information.
That makes comprehensive, genuinely useful content more important rather than less important. Websites need sufficient depth and authority for traditional search engines to rank them, while also providing the context and expertise AI systems need to understand and reference them.
At iMod Digital, this is increasingly how we approach organic search: combining traditional SEO with AEO and GEO principles to build visibility across both conventional search results and the emerging AI search ecosystem.
