AI Search & SEO News (July 2026): Google Trends Update, ChatGPT + Yelp, AI Mode Ads & New Studies

About this episode

Jack Chambers-Ward hosts a July 2026 AI search and SEO news roundup on Search With Candour. This episode covers everything from new Google Trends features and social media data tracking in Google Search Console to research about ads in Google AI Mode and if Google punishes AI-generated content. Links to articles • https://www.linkedin.com/posts/analyzing-search-interest-just-got-more-powerful-share-7478017577340968960-qsi3/ • https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7480247562084638720/ • https://seranking.com/blog/google-ai-mode-ads/ • https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/google-com-is-now-ai-mode-s-2-cited-domain • https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-doesnt-punish-ai-content/ • https://www.similarweb.com/corp/reports/2026-generative-ai-landscape/ • https://www.axios.com/2026/07/23/yelp-reviews-chatgpt-geo-partnership Chapters 00:00 Coming up on this episode 00:29 Introduction 01:53 Live Podcast returns on 7 October 2026 04:19 Google Trends new comparison feature 09:31 ChatGPT adds Yelp reviews 12:35 SE Ranking study: Ads in AI Mode 18:39 Profound study: Google cites itself more 23:01 Ahrefs study: Does Google punish AI content? 29:37 SimilarWeb Generative AI Rep