Claude for Small Business, Google I/O predictions & more
This week's highlights across Search, Social, PR and AI.
Search
1. Google officially kills FAQ rich results
Google has officially stopped supporting FAQ rich results in Search, meaning those expandable FAQ dropdowns will no longer appear in results pages. Support ended on 7th May, with related reporting also set to disappear from Search Console over the coming months.
While the structured data itself can still remain on websites, the update marks another step in Google simplifying search results and reducing visibility opportunities for traditional organic listings.
2. Google I/O: Search updates expected
Google I/O kicks off on 19th May, and unsurprisingly, AI is expected to dominate the agenda once again. Updates to Gemini, AI Mode and AI Overviews are widely anticipated, with speculation growing that Google could further push AI-generated search experiences toward becoming the default.
That possibility continues to raise concerns for publishers, particularly as AI summaries increasingly replace the need to click through to websites. Whether or not Google formally positions AI Mode as the future of Search, the direction of travel feels pretty clear at this point.
3. AI search visibility differs wildly across platforms
New research analysing 3.7 million AI citations across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews found that 91% of citations appeared in just one engine. Only around 2.4% of URLs showed up consistently across all three. The findings seem to point away from a single strategy for AI visibility, instead highlighting multiple ecosystems that require different approaches.
Social
4. Instagram officially launches Instants
After testing the feature earlier this year, Meta has officially launched Instants, a standalone Instagram-adjacent app focused on quick, disappearing photo sharing between friends. The app opens directly to the camera, strips away editing tools, and centres around casual, low-pressure sharing.
The move appears to be another attempt by Meta to recapture more authentic social interaction – as well as a very direct attempt to compete with Snapchat, especially as Snap reportedly faces declining usage across key markets.
5. Instagram removes end-to-end encrypted DMs
In a more controversial update, Meta has ended support for optional end-to-end encrypted direct messages on Instagram. The company says usage was too low to justify continuing the feature, instead directing users seeking encrypted messaging toward WhatsApp. Privacy campaigners have criticised the move, arguing it increases surveillance risks and weakens user protections.
At the same time, Meta announced a new “Incognito Chat” mode for AI conversations, designed to keep interactions with its chatbot private through separate processing systems. The contrast between the two announcements may understandably raise some eyebrows.
6. TikTok tones down AI-generated video summaries
TikTok has scaled back its AI-generated video descriptions after users shared screenshots of bizarre and wildly inaccurate summaries. Examples included videos of celebrities being described as “blueberries with toppings” and dance performances labelled as people “hitting themselves with rubber chickens.”
The feature will now focus primarily on surfacing product-related information rather than attempting broader content summaries, which seems to be for the best.
7. NASA’s Artemis II social strategy shows the power of authenticity
A behind-the-scenes look at NASA’s Artemis II social media strategy revealed the agency posted more than 3,200 times during the mission period. The interview shares some very interesting insights from Thalia Patrinos, Artemis Digital Lead, highlighting the challenges of leaning into authenticity and personality online, while still maintaining trust and credibility.
PR
8. Spotify’s launches Wrapped-style recap of users’ entire listening histories
As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, Spotify has introduced a limited-time feature giving users a retrospective of their entire listening history, including the first song they streamed, favourite artists and their top 120 most-played songs.
Like Wrapped, the experience is highly shareable and clearly designed to drive social engagement. Wrapped remains one of Spotify’s strongest annual marketing moments, and this new feature shows how platforms continue to turn personalised user data into highly effective social-first campaigns.
AI
9. Anthropic launches Claude for Small Business
Anthropic has launched Claude for Small Business, a new package designed to integrate Claude directly into the tools small businesses already use, including QuickBooks, HubSpot, Canva, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
The product includes ready-made workflows for tasks like payroll planning, invoice chasing, campaign creation and reporting, positioning AI less as a chatbot and more as an operational assistant embedded into day-to-day business software.
10. OpenAI expands its real-time voice capabilities
OpenAI has announced three new voice-focused API models, including GPT-Realtime-2 for more natural voice conversations, GPT-Realtime-Translate for live translation across dozens of languages, and GPT-Realtime-Whisper for streaming speech transcription.
11. Microsoft Edge adds AI across tabs, browsing and writing
Microsoft is expanding Copilot’s role inside Edge, introducing features that allow the AI assistant to analyse information across open tabs, summarise articles, compare products and even turn webpages into quizzes or podcasts.
The browser is also gaining long-term memory and AI-assisted writing tools, continuing the broader trend of browsers evolving into AI-powered operating environments rather than simple web navigation tools.
That’s all for this week! See you next Friday for another round-up of the best and biggest stories from across the Search-Verse™.