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.
Bing launched its new generative search experience and it does seem to prioritize links to publishers. Reddit blocked Bing Search and other search engines but not Google. Google says again it will test ads within the AI Overviews. Apple Maps launched a beta version of its web version. Google Local Service Ads tests expanding the phone number.
Microsoft Now Testing Bing Generative Search Experience
Microsoft announced yesterday it has begun testing its new Bing generative search experience – so Bing GSE (versus Google SGE). “By combining the power of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) with the search results page, Bing’s generative search creates a bespoke and dynamic response to a user’s query,” Microsoft wrote.
Reddit Blocked Bing Search & Others But Not Google
On July 1, 2024, Reddit updated its robots.txt file to prohibit most search engine and AI crawlers from accessing its content – including blocking Microsoft Bing. Reddit did not block Google Search, which we covered here a few weeks ago.
Google Again: We Will Test Ads In AI Overviews Soon
Google said it again, it will soon test ads within its AI Overviews. Philipp Schindler, senior vice president and chief business officer for Google, said this in the earnings call on Tuesday night. He said, “soon we’ll actually start testing search and shopping ads in AI Overviews for users in the U.S.”
Apple Maps Web Version Launches Beta
Apple has launched a public beta version of Apple Maps on the web after launching the mobile app back almost 12 years ago on September 19, 2012. “Apple Maps on the web is available in public beta, allowing users around the world to access Maps directly from their browser,” Apple wrote.
Google Local Service Ads Shows Phone Number On Hover
Google Local Service Ads can now show the business’s phone number in the ad unit when you hover over your mouse cursor over the ad. It will then dynamically expand the ad to show the advertiser’s phone number.
Tree House & Hippie Van At Google Boulder Office
We have seen this area at the Google Boulder, Colorado office before, but I have not seen this hippie-looking van with flowers on it and such. This gives off a certain vibe for the office, don’t you think?
Analytics
Industry & Business
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
SEO
PPC
Other Search
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