Industry News

Microsoft reported its second quarter 2026 earnings and it showed that its search and advertising revenue was up for 10% but growth is down over the past two quarters. The previous quarter it was up 16% and the one before that was 21% and this quarter, it is only up 10%.

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 is exploring ways to let us block our content from being used in AI search...

After three years of Yahoo dropping hints at its return to search, Yahoo has announced Yahoo! Scout - its new AI search engine feature that is embedded within Yahoo Search, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports and so on - as well as at scout.yahoo.com.

Google is testing the ability to add color to your search results page with a color palette picker. There is this palette icon at the top of the results that when clicked on says "Add a splash of color to the top of Search," and "Pick color."

Google made it official, now Google Search AI Overviews will let you do a follow up question after clicking on the "Show more" button and that follow up question will take you directly into AI Mode. This will no doubt lead to less clicks to your website and more traffic into Google AI Mode.

Google AI Overviews are now being powered by Gemini 3 globally, by default. Robby Stein, VP of Product, Google Search announced, "We're making Gemini 3 the new default model for AI Overviews globally, so you get a best-in-class AI response right on the search results page, for questions where it's helpful."

Bing is testing a new report within Bing Webmaster Tools named AI Performance. AI Performance shows you how many citations you are getting from Microsoft Copilot and partners. But while it shows you citations (i.e. impressions), it does not show you clicks from those Bing AI experiences.

Google just announced it is looking into ways to allow websites to specifically opt out of Google using its content in the Search generative AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. This comes based on UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) new requirements for Google Search.

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

Google has updated its tips to get more reviews help documentation with a new section on tips to write better review replies. This section includes how to make your replies positive and relevant and a section on giving helpful responses to negative reviews.