SEO & AI Search News: September 2026

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September was the month Google finally handed us some of the AI search data we have been asking for, and in the same breath gave site owners a switch to leave AI search altogether. Add a spam update, checkout inside AI Mode, and new research on how AI search splits up a query, and there is plenty here that changes what I would prioritise going into October.

Key takeaways

• AI Overviews and AI Mode performance reporting is now live in every Search Console account, with impressions but no clicks.
• Google has added a Search Console control that lets sites opt out of its generative AI features without affecting regular rankings.
• A new multimodal report shows traffic from Google Lens, image uploads, Circle to Search, and Chrome right-click searches.
• The September 2026 spam update started on 24 September, the fourth spam update of the year.
• Native checkout inside AI Mode and Gemini is switching on by default for eligible US Shopify merchants.
• ChatGPT reads your YouTube description and metadata, not your transcript.

1. Search Console Gets AI Reporting (And An AI Off Switch)

On 31 August, Google rolled out its generative AI features in Search Console to every account globally. There are two parts, and they pull in opposite directions.

The first is an AI performance report covering AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover. It shows impressions by page, country, device, and date. It does not include click data, and you cannot filter by source yet, so it tells you where you are showing up but not what that visibility is worth.

The second is a control that lets site owners stop their content appearing in, and grounding responses for, Google’s generative AI features, including AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover. Google says the choice will not be used as a ranking signal for regular search results, but sites that opt out will get no traffic or impressions from those features. Source

What I would do: Start exporting the AI report monthly now, because impressions without clicks still show which pages AI search trusts. Treat the opt-out as a commercial decision. For most brands, leaving AI search means handing that visibility to a competitor.

2. Search Console Now Reports On Multimodal Search

Google has added multimodal reporting to Search Console in response to changing search behaviour. You can now track searches that do not start with a typed query, including Google Lens, image uploads, Circle to Search on Android, and Chrome right-click searches. Source

What I would do: For ecommerce, fashion, homewares, and automotive clients, check this report first. Visual journeys are a growing share of product discovery, and image quality, alt text, and product structured data are what connect those searches to your pages.

3. Google’s September 2026 Spam Update Is Rolling Out

Google released the September 2026 spam update on 24 September. It applies globally across all languages and may take up to two weeks to roll out. It is the fourth spam update of 2026, landing only weeks after the August spam update. Source

What I would do: If your traffic held steady, there is nothing to action. If you saw a sharp drop from 24 September, compare it against the rollout window before touching anything, then audit the affected pages for scaled or thin content and any link schemes.

4. Native Checkout Arrives In AI Mode And Gemini

Google Merchant Center has been emailing eligible merchants about native checkout inside AI Mode and the Gemini app, powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). For eligible Shopify stores, products are included automatically once the store is matched with its Merchant Center account, so shoppers can buy without ever reaching your site. Merchants can switch it off under Sales channels > Agentic settings. Source

For now, it is limited to US merchants selling to US customers, so Australian retailers are not affected yet. Some tracking, including custom pixels and client-side Google Analytics, is not supported in the checkout flow.

What I would do: Australian ecommerce brands should get their Merchant Center feeds clean and complete now, because the product catalogue is the gateway to AI checkout when it lands here. Plan for how you will attribute sales that never touch your site.

5. Google Research Makes AI Search Fan-Out Faster

AI search answers complex prompts by splitting them into sub-searches, known as query fan-out. New Google Research, called Retrieve-for-Train, makes that step 12 to 20 times faster by training a small model offline to map a query to a diverse set of results at once, rather than having an LLM reason through it live. Google says the results stay grounded, diverse, and aligned with the original query. Source

The detail that matters for SEO is diversity. The system is designed to avoid near-identical sub-queries, so pages that say the same thing compete for a single slot.

What I would do: This is research, not a confirmed feature, but it points one way. Give each page a distinct facet, name your entities clearly, and use structured data so pages match specific sub-queries. Ecommerce and visual search are the areas to watch.

6. ChatGPT Reads Your YouTube Description, Not Your Transcript

Analysis of how ChatGPT handles YouTube results shows it works from the snippet it is given, not the video itself.

• Retrieved is not cited: Videos can be retrieved and scored without making it into the final citations.
• Snippet content: ChatGPT gets the metadata (title, stats, dates, and channel verification) plus the full description.
• Transcripts are missing: ChatGPT does not watch videos or process transcripts.
• Structure survives: Timecodes, chapter titles, and lists in descriptions are preserved and read.

What I would do: Treat YouTube descriptions like landing pages. Use a clear structure, chapters, and the terms your audience searches for, so ChatGPT understands what the video covers.

7. AI Mode Rolls Out Information Monitoring

On 28 September, Google announced a global rollout of information monitoring in AI Mode. Users tell AI Mode what to track, such as new restaurant openings nearby, back-in-stock alerts, or price drops, and Search keeps checking websites, forums, social posts, and the Shopping Graph for updates. It first launched for AI Ultra subscribers in June. Source

What I would do: Keep pricing, stock, and opening information accurate and crawlable. When Google is watching for changes on a user’s behalf, fresh and structured data is what gets surfaced.

8. Rapid Fire: Everything Else Worth Knowing

• Bing is testing its own AI Mode. Bing has been spotted testing an “AI Mode” tab in its search menu that may replace the Copilot tab. We could not reproduce it ourselves, but it signals a Google AI Mode competitor is coming. Source
• Profound is officially a unicorn. The AEO platform raised a $180M Series D at a $1.8B valuation, led by Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins, just seven months after its $96M Series C. Source
• OpenAI has fired quality raters for using AI. OpenAI uses contractors to review prompts and model outputs so models can be retrained on human feedback. Several have reportedly been let go for using AI to do that job, which is the snake eating its own tail. Source
• AI is now “Super Intelligence” in the US government. On 29 September, Donald Trump signed an executive order directing US federal agencies to use “Super Intelligence” instead of “Artificial Intelligence” in official documents. His reasoning: “The use of the word artificial makes intelligence sound fake… It is not fake.” Source

What I Would Prioritise In October

1. Baseline your AI visibility: Export the Search Console AI performance report and multimodal report, and set up a monthly tracking cadence.
2. Make the opt-out call deliberately: Decide on the generative AI control with commercial data in hand, not on instinct.
3. Check spam update exposure: Review traffic against the 24 September rollout window before making changes.
4. Tighten your feeds and structured data: Clean Merchant Center feeds and product schema set you up for AI checkout, multimodal search, and sub-query matching.
5. Rework YouTube descriptions: Add chapters, timecodes, and clear summaries to your highest-value videos.

The common thread this month is that AI search is becoming measurable and more structured at the same time. Google is showing us where we appear, and every system, from fan-out to ChatGPT’s YouTube snippets, rewards content that is distinct, clearly labelled, and easy to parse.

Meet Us At Zero Click Sydney

Prosperity Media is sponsoring Profound’s Zero Click Eve in The Rocks on Monday 26 October 2026, from 7pm to 10pm, the night before the Zero Click Sydney summit. It is a free evening of drinks, food, and casual networking. Register here and come say hello.

Want help turning these updates into a plan for your brand? Get in touch with the Prosperity Media team.