2026

Keyword research no longer works in AI Search. Prompt Research solves this with a new level of abstraction: topics instead of keywords, based on over 62 million real user questions....

The monthly SectorWatch series returned to travel this month. In this additional analysis I take data from that report and extend it across chatbots to find the leaders and similarities. I also look at AI Overviews exposure....

The Google App for Windows has been officially launched outside the restrictions of Google Labs. This AI-Mode-first search tool is not a browser and does not include Gemini but does add speech input, image input and screen-sharing input alongside typed input. This is the first search input surface from Google […]...

This month you’ll learn from the head of search at Google that there are key differences between Google Search and Gemini teams, and that they don’t really have a plan for merging the various search-like tools. I highlight March Core Update data, give you a demo of the new SISTRIX […]...

AI Mode can now be tracked in Prompt Monitoring, brand recognition has been significantly improved, and Onpage Projects have undergone a complete overhaul. In addition, there is a new Looker Studio Connector for customised reporting and a redesigned navigation. All SISTRIX updates from the first quarter of 2026 at a […]...

Kit Kat. You may have heard about the theft, and the memes running through the internet, but what happens to search traffic when that happens? Did Nestle gain? Google is quick to react and when the SERP lights up with Top Stories boxes, CTR to the brand drops and the […]...

With the rise of AI Search, a new category of bots has emerged: AI userbots. User agents such as ChatGPT-User or Perplexity-User access a website at the exact moment an AI is compiling information for a specific user query. Within the SEO industry, these visits are increasingly being treated as […]...

The March 2026 Core Update was announced on 27th March 2026, following the brief March Spam Update. It finished on April 8th 2026. It came not only in the wake of the spam update but following generally high movements in SERPs. Data, analysis, and rankings of the affected domains are […]...

The March 2026 Spam Update was announced on 24th March 2026. It was scheduled to take a “few days” but was marked as RESOLVED just 24 hours later making it one of, if not the quickest pre-announced update ever. Data, analysis, and rankings of the affected domains will be added […]...

For a long time, ChatGPT was regarded as the spearhead of AI systems. As the first major product on the market – and with Google struggling to get off the ground in the early stages – it certainly deserved that title. I’ve explored why this is now changing and why […]...

We have analysed over 100 million keywords to measure the impact of AI Overviews on Google Search in Germany. The result: click-through rates are dropping, but not equally for everyone....

You may have seen the successful Visibility Leaders, SectorWatch and TrendWatch reports from our data journalism team. Over the last four years they’ve become essential reading for anyone working in the sectors that have been covered. To help you get even more from them we’ve started to build them into […]...

Google had not announced any specific updates at the beginning of Feb but changes in the SERPs show significant movements. “This looks like a major update” says the Google Update Radar. On top of that, but not directly related to SERPs, is a Google Discover update. News Media sites will […]...

Google has long since abandoned its initial skepticism towards AI content. The motto is – It’s about the quality, not the creation of the content. From the Search Quality Evaluators Guidelines: “Generative AI tools may be used for high quality and low quality content creation.” This particular example will put […]...

When other websites lose large amounts of footprint it can have serious impacts to business but the one advantage is that we can try and learn from mistakes we find. Using SISTRIX’s Visibility Index, we uncover and analyse the websites with the most prominent decreases in visibility on Google’s UK […]...

Following an update-heavy 2024, SEOs and web owners alike welcomed a year of fewer confirmed algorithm updates. However, we were all quickly met with the reality of the usual, continual search volatility throughout 2025, including in March, June and throughout most of December, when Google gifted us with a Christmas […]...

OpenAI has announced plans to introduce advertising in ChatGPT. Initially, this will be tested in the US and only for users of either the free ChatGPT plan or the cheaper Go plan. The ads will appear at the end of the organic response. They will be clearly marked as advertising and will […]...

With the UK Autumn Budget still on many people’s minds, SectorWatch is diving into the ever-shifting world of mortgages. With interest rates, lenders and comparison sites all competing to secure the prime spot in Google’s results, competition in the SERPs is as fierce as a bidding war on a semi-detached […]...

AI search has already developed rapidly over the past three years. Nevertheless, I am convinced that we will see a further acceleration of AI developments this year. Based on current market trends and past experience, I am making the following five predictions for 2026: 1 – The unified Google Search […]...