SEO news: September 2025

5. October 2025

SEO restart

This year’s SEO Restart revolved around the whirlwind of AI vs. SEO. Will SEO survive the dynamically changing search results? Can it adapt to the shifting search habits of users who no longer rely solely on browsers?
And isn’t SEO, perhaps, already dead?

In a similar spirit, the opening of SEO Restart by Michael Koch set the tone for the day. And the topic of AI echoed throughout the entire conference. Among the key takeaways were statements such as:

  • User intent (search intent) is a key optimization parameter.
  • The search engine turns into an answering machine.
  • Optimizing the findability of > search engine optimization.
  • What to measure? Visibility, brand search, citations.
  • GEO is still SEO - just with different possibilities.
  • AI is creating a new market and not killing the old one.
  • AI mode has minimal usage by users so far.
  • SEO = search everywhere optimization.

The public presentations can be found directly on the SEO Restart website. Thank you for the inspiration pack and we look forward to next year's event!

ChatGPT Pulse

Pulse is a new mode in ChatGPT that proactively implements personalized suggestions based on your chats, feedback and connected apps (calendar, email, etc.).

Pulse turns ChatGPT into your personal assistant. It doesn't just wait for you to ask a question, it offers relevant information on the topics you're addressing.

What people use ChatGPT for

According to the latest study from ChatGPT, the use of the tool is as follows:

  • Asking (49%): AI as a mentor
  • Doing (40%): e.g. text production, programming, etc.
  • Expressing (11%): AI as a confessional or entertainment tool

Search Live

At the end of September, Google launched Search Live. So far, it's only available in the US. It enables interactive voice conversations in AI mode and allows users to share camera footage.

You get contextual information and answers in real time through direct web links and an "AI assistant" that answers your questions.

For example - you’re cooking Sunday lunch and need quick advice on how to thicken your sauce.
Search Live gives you the answer instantly, without the hassle of reading through articles or scrolling through search results.

Google AI mode in the travel segment

Google has expanded AI Mode for travel: now you can put daily itineraries, hotel bookings, tickets, and more into one AI conversation.

AI itineraries can connect directly with travel agencies, hotels or destinations to make experiences ready before arrival (e.g. room upgrades, activity bookings, loyalty offers).

It is important for travel websites (hotels, experience companies, travel agencies) to be set up in a way that AI Mode wants to use their data - structured information, offers, bookings, system connections.

The question is how this will work. Google has not yet specified any uniform guidelines.

Google AI mode available from the command line

Google is trying to make it easier for users to access a new search feature. AI mode is not the default search mode, the user has to choose it, otherwise they get standard search results.

To facilitate access to the AI mode, the so-called omnibox, i.e. the command line where the query is entered, and there it is possible to select the results in AI mode.

August-September Google Spam Core Update

Google released the update back in August, but it was delayed until the end of September. According to Aleyda Solis, the update was most felt by sites in the finance, recipe and lyrics segments.

A common feature of this sample was a high proportion of ads on their sites, spam comments, and poor quality or low-unique content.

Web browsing restrictions for AI bots

This is a new robots.txt extension that allows you to define how bots can handle content on the web:

  • search = indexing and displaying in search results (hyperlinks, snippets)
  • ai-input = using content as input to AI models (e.g. for generating responses, grounding, etc.).
  • ai-train = using content to train or tune AI models

This gives site owners more control over how their content can be used - not just whether it can be crawled/indexed, but how it can be used for AI purposes. However, this does not apply to Google AIO, as the answers in AIO are based on Google's index.

The use of these bans has not been tested in any way. If you as a webmaster have ambitions to get quotes from AI responses, you need to be cautious.

&num=100 measurement implications

Google has limited the scope of scraping SERP data. Analytical tools such as Marketing Miner, Ahrefs, etc. can now detect inconsistencies in the data.

For example, Marketing Miner now returns position information up to the 2nd page at most . Collabim is technologically more advanced, as it shows the rankings back to page three.

Store rating: new widget from Google

Similar to the heureka badge, you can add Google reviews to your website.

The widget can help with purchasing decisions. According to Google, the widget has helped increase sales by an average of 8%.

Google will have to share data

As a result of the antitrust case with the US Department of Justice , Google will not be broken up but will have to share some of its search data with competitors.

The main corrective measures include:

  • Make part of the search index and user interaction data available to qualified competitors (advertising data will not be shared).
  • Offer search and text PPC advertising services to competitors so they can deliver quality results and gradually develop their own technology.
  • Prohibition of exclusive agreements for the use of Google Search only.

Google, on the other hand, can keep its core products - Chrome, Android and advertising services. At the same time, the court did not limit the company's ability to pay partners to pre-install Google Search or Chrome, which the ruling said could harm partners and consumers.

The decision is not yet final, pending an appeal and further legal action.

Sources

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