Search
1. Google’s AI Search Console reports are now live for everyone
Google confirmed that as of 31st August, its generative AI performance reports in Search Console have completed their global rollout. The reports show impressions from AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI features in Discover, broken down by page, country, device and date.
It’s important to note that click data is still absent from the reports, so impressions don’t tell you what they’re actually worth. The CMA has set a March 2027 deadline for Google to introduce page-level controls and flagged that click-through data should also follow.
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2. Google is expanding AI Overviews to fill the entire screen on some queries
Google has also confirmed it’s testing fully expanded AI Overviews on certain searches, effectively replacing the traditional results page with one large AI response.
The change was confirmed to Search Engine Roundtable, with Google citing research suggesting users find this format more helpful and engage in deeper follow-up exploration.
It seems SEOs will have to accept that AI Overviews are no longer a small panel at the top of results. On the queries where they expand, traditional organic positions below will disappear entirely from view.
3. ChatGPT becomes the EU's first AI chatbot designated as a search engine
The European Commission designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act, placing it in the same regulatory tier as Google and Microsoft Bing. Reddit and Roblox were simultaneously designated as Very Large Online Platforms. All three now have until January 2027 to meet the DSA’s highest compliance obligations.
The search engine classification, rather than platform classification, is the most consequential decision. By calling ChatGPT a search engine, the EU has ruled that AI-generated answers warrant at least as much transparency as traditional search ranking.
4. Apple Maps gets ads
Apple has launched advertising in Apple Maps across the US and Canada, with the rollout ramping up in the coming weeks. Businesses can appear in two placements: as a Suggested Place before a user types anything into search, and within search results when relevant.
Ads are visually identical to organic listings except for a small blue ‘Ad’ badge. Apple says user location data is not associated with Apple Accounts and is not shared with third parties.
It’s a notable shift for a company that built much of its brand on the absence of ads in core products. For local businesses and agencies running local search campaigns, Apple Maps is now a distinct channel worth monitoring alongside Google.
Social
5. Instagram introduces mandatory labels for AI-generated profiles
Instagram is renaming its “AI creator” label to “AI-generated profile” to make its meaning clearer, and will limit the reach of profiles featuring AI-generated people that don’t carry the label.
Creators who use AI tools as part of their process don’t need to apply it, only those whose profile persona is itself AI-generated. Unlabelled profiles that Instagram’s systems detect will be notified and face reach restrictions until they either add the label or appeal.
The move draws a sharper line between AI-assisted human creators and fully synthetic personas, and the enforcement mechanism (algorithmic demotion rather than removal) is worth watching as a model other platforms might follow.
6. Meta commits to hard limits on teen use
Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion to resolve claims from 47 states and several territories that Facebook and Instagram deployed addictive product features that harmed young users.
Alongside the payment, Meta committed to a mandatory two-hour daily limit across both platforms for under-18s, a night mode blocking access from midnight to 6am, school-hours notification muting, hidden like counts, and disabled cosmetic filters.
The financial penalty is significant but the product changes are arguably more impactful. Enforced time limits and feed controls would represent the most substantial structural changes to how teenagers actually experience Facebook and Instagram since both apps launched.
PR
7. Ben & Jerry's invents a pillowcase that lives in the freezer
Created with agency Pangolin, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Dreams is a collection of 100% cotton pillowcases designed to be stored in the freezer before use, packaged inside an oversized pint-style tub matching three flavors: Cookie Dough, Phish Food and Half Baked.
60 UK winners will be selected through a competition closing on 14th September, with 10 receiving a year’s supply of ice cream alongside the pillowcases.
The campaign works because it starts with a real behaviour people already have, flipping a warm pillow to find the cool side, and creates a product around it. It’s a clean example of a brand extending into a new territory it actually owns rather than just slapping a logo on unrelated merchandise.
AI
8. Google is prototyping "Rooms" for Gemini Enterprise
Google appears to be developing a feature called Rooms: shared workspaces where teams collaborate alongside Gemini around a defined goal.
Each Room would have a stated objective, a playbook governing how Gemini operates, and a connected knowledge base, with members able to converse with both colleagues and the AI in the same space. The feature is currently marked as a prototype and remains unannounced.
If it ships, Rooms would position Gemini Enterprise closer to project management software than a traditional AI assistant, directly competing with tools like Slack and Notion for the role of team coordination layer.
9. Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash gives video developers finer control
Google has launched Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash, a production-ready update to its generative video model for developers.
New capabilities include scene extension of up to 40 seconds with improved narrative consistency, first-and-last-frame interpolation for smooth camera transitions, 360p draft generation that’s up to 60% faster for rapid prototyping, and 4K upscaling for final outputs.
The model is available via the Gemini API, Google AI Studio, and the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform.
10. Claude Cowork gets its own built-in browser
Anthropic has launched a built-in browser inside Claude Cowork on the desktop app, letting Claude navigate websites, read pages, click, and fill forms inside a dedicated side panel, completely separate from the user’s own browser. Claude never accesses the user’s tabs, passwords, or bookmarks, though users can optionally transfer logins from Chrome, Edge, or Firefox.
The distinction from Claude in Chrome is worth clarifying: the built-in browser is for delegating web tasks to Claude while you keep working elsewhere. Claude in Chrome is for the pages you already have open and accounts you’re already signed into. The ability to hand Claude a URL and step away is a notable capability upgrade for teams running research-heavy or portal-dependent workflows.
That’s a wrap for this week! See you next Wednesday for another round-up of the best and biggest stories from across the Search-Verse™.