Search Engine Journal reported in early October that Google’s Gemini assistant has started adding tracking parameters, known as UTM tags, to links it sends people to. That means visits from Gemini are easier to identify in analytics tools, rather than disappearing into vague “referral” or “direct” traffic.

Google hasn’t documented the change yet, so it isn’t clear exactly when the tags are added. But it’s a welcome step at a time when businesses are trying to work out how much AI tools are really sending them.

A myth to ignore

In the same week, a screenshot circulated showing a tracking tag apparently added to links inside Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode. It looked like the start of proper AI reporting from Google. It wasn’t: the person who spotted it later confirmed it was being added by a browser extension, not Google. For now, clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode still count as ordinary Google search traffic in most analytics tools.

Where you can see AI activity today

• Google Search Console: its AI performance report, available worldwide since the end of August, shows how often your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode. It shows appearances, not clicks.
• Your analytics: visits from tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini can show up as their own source, often under referrals.
• Your enquiries: the simplest method of all. Ask every new customer how they found you, and record the answer.

What it means for your business

AI is becoming a real source of customers, and the tools to measure it are finally catching up. Make sure you can see where your enquiries come from, so you know whether the effort you put into being visible in AI search is paying off. If your current setup can’t tell you, that’s worth fixing before the next budget decision.

Meta first announced embedded appointment booking for Facebook lead ads in June, with full global availability expected in October. Here’s how it works and why it matters for businesses that rely on consultations, quotes and site visits.

How it works

Normally, someone fills in a lead form on Facebook and then waits for a call or email to arrange a time. With embedded booking, a scheduling calendar appears on the thank-you screen straight after the form is submitted, so the person can pick a slot there and then. The details they’ve already entered are passed across automatically, so there’s nothing to type twice.

• Booking tools: it launched with Calendly and HighLevel, with more scheduling partners planned.
• Setup: Meta says no coding is needed. You add your scheduling link and choose a “Book time” style button.
• Where it works: the embedded version is for Facebook placements. On Instagram, people see a button that opens the booking page instead.

Why it matters

Interest is highest the moment someone fills in your form. Every hour between that and a follow-up call is a chance for them to go cold or book a competitor. Letting them choose a time immediately removes that gap.

What it means for your business

If you sell services that start with a conversation, this is worth testing. Use qualifying questions in the form so the slots go to the right people, and make sure your calendar is accurate and someone shows up prepared. Booking the appointment is only half of it: what wins the job is how quickly and professionally you follow through.

OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT in the US in February 2026, opened a self-serve Ads Manager to US businesses in May, and switched ads on in the UK in early June, making Britain its first European market. A self-serve beta for UK businesses began rolling out shortly afterwards, though OpenAI describes the rollout as gradual and some advertisers still need to register interest first.

How ChatGPT ads work

• Ads appear beneath ChatGPT’s answers and are clearly labelled.
• Only Free and Go users see them. Paying Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users don’t, and OpenAI says ads aren’t shown to under-18s.
• No traditional keywords. Advertisers describe the kinds of conversations they want to appear alongside, and OpenAI’s system matches ads to the topic being discussed.
• Buying options include paying per thousand views or per click.
• OpenAI says ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives.

Should you test it?

It’s early. Agencies running tests report that clicks currently cost more than on mature platforms like Google and Meta, and the reporting tools are still developing. For businesses already stretching their Google Ads budget, it’s probably not the place to start. For businesses with budget to experiment, an early test can show whether your customers are asking ChatGPT about your type of product or service.

The free step everyone should take

Before spending anything, ask ChatGPT the questions your customers would ask, such as “best [your service] in [your town]”, and see what it says. If your business doesn’t appear, or the details are wrong, that’s an SEO and reputation job worth fixing first, because those organic answers are free.

Chartbeat’s 2026 Publisher Playbook, reported by Search Engine Journal in late September, found that Google Search traffic to publishers across its network fell 40.2% between July 2025 and July 2026. The year before, the drop was 21.9%, so the decline has nearly doubled.

Google Discover, the article feed on phones, followed the same pattern, with its decline widening from 6.6% to 34.3%. Meanwhile, the share of visits arriving directly, from people who already know the site, grew from 13.5% to 15.9% over two years.

Traffic from AI chatbots grew eightfold over the same period, but from such a small base that it remains a tiny fraction of the total. AI tools are not yet replacing the clicks Google used to send.

A note on the data

Chartbeat’s figures skew towards news and media websites, and Chartbeat sells analytics tools to publishers. It’s a strong signal of direction rather than a forecast for your site specifically.

Why clicks are falling

Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode now answer many questions directly on the results page. If someone asks how often a boiler should be serviced, they may get the answer without visiting any website at all.

What it means for your business

• Purely informational content is most exposed. General how-to articles lose clicks first.
• Searches with intent still drive action. People searching for a service in their area still need to pick a business and get in touch.
• Your Google Business Profile matters more than ever, because local results and AI answers draw on it heavily.
• Build an audience you own. Repeat customers, email lists and people searching your brand by name are the channels that grew in this data.

The goal is shifting from chasing traffic to being the business that gets chosen, whether the customer finds you through a click, a map listing or an AI answer.

Google began rolling out its September 2026 spam update in late September. It applies worldwide and in every language, and Google says it could take up to two weeks to finish. It’s the fourth spam update of 2026, following others in March, June and August.

As usual, Google hasn’t said exactly what this update targets. Earlier spam updates this year completed within a few days, so a two-week window suggests a larger change to its automated spam detection.

What a spam update actually does

Spam updates improve the systems Google uses to spot pages that break its spam policies. Sites that lose ground are usually ones relying on shortcuts: pages mass-produced to target search terms with little real value, bought or swapped links, or near-identical pages where only a town name changes.

Ranking movements were reported across the industry around the start of the rollout, which is normal. Rankings often wobble while an update is in progress and settle once it’s complete.

What to do right now

• Don’t react mid-rollout. Wait until Google confirms the update is complete before judging any changes.
• Check Google Search Console for manual action notices and any sharp drops on specific pages.
• Review your weakest pages honestly. Would a customer find them useful, or were they written purely for search engines?
• Look at your location pages. If they’re copies with the town swapped, rewrite them with real local substance: projects you’ve done there, areas you cover, local questions you get asked.

What it means for your business

Every spam update rewards the same thing: useful pages written for people. That’s why every location and service page we build for clients has genuine, specific content rather than a template. It’s slower than churning out pages, but it holds up when updates like this land.

At the Cannes Lions festival in June, Meta announced what it describes as an end-to-end AI system for creating ads. It includes a shared workspace where advertisers can see which ads are performing, generate new variations based on those results and test them, all in one place.

Meta also said it’s developing a “brand memory” feature designed to remember a company’s tone, identity and previous ads, so new creative stays on brand. Ads Manager is getting AI tools for writing text inside images, translating ads and a built-in approval workflow for teams. Separately, Meta is bringing its creator partnership tools together into one Creator Marketing Hub.

The bigger picture

This follows reports since 2025, first in the Wall Street Journal, that Meta aims to let businesses create entire campaigns from little more than a product image and a budget, with AI handling the creative, targeting and spend.

What it means for your business

When anyone can generate dozens of ad variations in minutes, the ads themselves stop being the advantage. The businesses that win will be the ones that get the fundamentals right:

• A clear offer that’s genuinely compelling. AI can’t fix a weak one.
• Accurate tracking, so Meta’s AI optimises for real enquiries and sales rather than cheap clicks.
• Landing pages that convert the extra traffic the AI sends.
• Human review of AI-generated creative, so nothing off-brand or inaccurate goes live in your name.

AI will do more of the production. Strategy, judgement and a good website are what make it pay off.

Google Business Profile is testing a feature called “Set your hours automatically”. Instead of filling in opening and closing times for each day, you describe your hours in your own words and Google uses AI to turn them into a proper structured listing on Search and Maps. The test was spotted and reported by Search Engine Roundtable in late September.

It’s a small change, but it’s part of a bigger pattern. For several years, Google has used machine learning to identify business hours it believes are wrong and update them automatically, based on signals such as the hours of similar businesses nearby.

Why this matters

If your profile is incomplete or out of date, Google is increasingly willing to fill in the gaps itself, and its guess might not match reality. Wrong hours mean wasted trips, frustrated customers and poor reviews.

A quick Google Business Profile check-up

• Set special hours in advance for bank holidays and Christmas. You can schedule them months ahead.
• Check your profile regularly for changes suggested by Google or the public, and correct anything inaccurate.
• Keep your name, address and phone number identical everywhere they appear online.
• Add your services, service areas and real photos so your listing answers questions before customers have to ask.
• Reply to reviews, good and bad. It shows customers, and Google, that the business is active.

What it means for your business

Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a local customer sees, before your website. Ten minutes a month keeping it accurate is some of the highest-value marketing time a local business can spend.