Daily Search Forum Recap: October 28, 2026

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.

Google updated its favicon documentation for Google Search. Google Ads is rolling out the All conversions tab. Google Ads is testing an Apple Messages button on ads. Google is asking some businesses to provide their EIN, Employer Identification Number. Google is adding Facebook (Meta) Messenger M.me links to their Google Business Profile. Google is testing a new position for the Save button within Google Image Search. Bing is testing scan to call QR codes in the local pack. Google is testing a Fan POV - point of view - feature in search.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Googlebot Must Follow Redirects From Homepage To Favicon, Updated Doc Say
  Google Search has just updated its favicon documentation to now specify that Googlebot must be able to follow redirects from the homepage to the page where the favicon is specified. The document also explicitly says that these URLs must not be blocked by robots.txt or other means.
• Google Ads "All Conversions" Tab Is Fully Live
  Google Ads seems to have rolled out the "All conversions" tab within the Goals and Conversions section. This allows advertisers to make one less click, where they can avoid clicking on "View all conversion actions."
• Google Ads Tests Sponsored Results With Apple Messages Button
  Google is testing a new messaging button named Apple Messages on the Google Ads sponsored results. Google has placed messages button, message assets, on Google search ads for a long time now but I don't think I've seen the Apple Messages button before.
• Google Business Profiles Adds Facebook Messenger M.me Links
  Google is emailing businesses to let them know it is automatically adding Facebook (Meta) Messenger M.me links to their Google Business Profile. I don't think I've seen Google add m.me links to a Google Business Profile before, so this may be new.
• Google Image Search Tests Save Button On Image Overlay
  Google is testing a new position for the Save button within Google Image Search. When you hover your mouse cursor over an image, you may see a "Save" button show up that you can click on. The previous method was to show the Save button when you click on an image and the image preview shows up in a window.
• Bing Tests Get Phone Number & QR Code To Scan
  Microsoft Bing is testing adding a phone icon to the local pack on desktop, when you click on the phone button, it has a scan to call QR code with the phone number listed out. Google did this back in 2023 and now Microsoft Bing is testing it.
• Google Business Profiles Asking Businesses For EIN
  Google is asking some businesses to provide their EIN, Employer Identification Number and a link to their privacy policy when updating parts of their Google Business Profile.
• Google Search Fan POV Button
  Google has added a new interactive search button to some sports-related queries named "Fan POV." If you go to Google Search and search for [world series], Google will show a blue button that has a baseball emoji and the words "Fan POV." When you click on it, it opens a dialog box with drop downs that you can customize and then will take you into AI Mode to give you more information.
• Google Halloweentown
  Google has an annual Halloween party for the children of Googlers. Here is one of them, which was outfitted as Google's Halloween Town.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Google is looking for Machine Learning engineers for Google Discover at all levels. 3 job postings on LinkedIn: Four key areas: Sequence models based on long activity histories Generative retrieval using Semantic IDs Next-generation, large-scale pre-ranking Interest clusteri…, Damien Andell on X
• I love it when AI Mode builds tools as you need them. For e.g. learning how synthesizers actually work. Instead of explaining wave theories, AI Mode built a playable synth soundbox. Real time visuals map to instant audio changes, plus a fully playable keyboard. It's so useful, Robby Stein on X
• I dug into all the ways that AI bots crawl sites & can be blocked. And I built a tool so you can test your own site! You can find links to two guides (one on crawlers, one on hosts and CDNs), a spreadsheet reference of everything, and the checker here, Vanessa Fox on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google Ads tests ad group-level seasonal adjustments for App campaigns
• 44% of SEOs are more worried about AI than a year ago: Survey
• Semrush confirms ‘poisoned’ Google results are impacting SEO tools
• 7 Google Ads conversion tracking mistakes to avoid
• What SEO and GEO can learn from revenue operations
• How ecommerce category pages can earn AI search citations

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Apple Releases iOS 27.2 With New Siri AI Languages, MacRumors
• Fast, reliable A2UI, with swappable inference formats, Google Developers Blog
• Genie 4: A new generation of world simulation, Google DeepMind
• Google’s next Genie AI model generates more realistic experiences, The Verge
• Oracle integrates ChatGPT, Codex into apps, expands cloud chip lineup, CNBC
• The Tokenizer Tax: Why non-english AI users pay more for tokens, Rest of World
• Building Conversational Commerce with Multi-Agent Swarms on GCP: A Working Prototype, Google Developers Blog
• We’re announcing Genie 4, our new world model for real-time interactive simulation., Google Blog
• Apple is adding an AI chatbot to Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, The Verge
• Hunger beats tenure: Advice for junior engineers, Felix Rieseberg
• AI Discoverability, Page types, and more (September 2026) New in Sep '26: AI Discoverability, Page types, and more, Ahrefs

Industry & Business

• AI political spending splits Silicon Valley ahead of election, CNBC
• Google attacks UK over ‘unlawful’ AI plans, Telegraph
• Google data center hearing in Hermantown, Minnesota, shut down due to protests, Data Center Dynamics
• Chart: Anthropic cash and investments total $131.7 billion, CNBC
• Origin of Mann: The mystery of Anthropic’s 8th cofounder, The San Francisco Standard
• OpenAI, a Longtime Nvidia Customer, Plans to Buy Google’s AI Chips, The Information
• Google Class Attys Get $2M In $8.25M Kids' App Tracking Deal, Law360

Links & Content Marketing

• Your Brand May Be Mentioned in AI Answers, But Is It Cited?, Content Marketing Institute
• 6 Scary SEO/Content Marketing Mistakes... And Their Solutions, Compass Digital Strategies

Local & Maps

• Are Black Hats Targeting Photographers in Chicago?, Review Fraud
• 3 Android Auto apps that do what Google Maps and Waze can’t, Tom's Guide

PPC

• 6 Google Ads Optimization Mistakes Hurting Performance, WordStream
• Getting Started With Microsoft Advertising, PPC Hero
• Google Ads Customer Acquisition: Are We Bidding on Profit or Hope?, PPC Live
• How Domino’s consolidated media for 40% more reach, Think with Google

Search Features

• Bing tests menu links in search snippets, Search Engine Watch
• Google sends Knowledge Graph facts to AI Mode as uncited "Biography" search results, DEJAN
• iCloud Mail and Calendar plugins in ChatGPT, ChatGPT Release Notes

SEO

• AI SEO Requires A Unified Content Strategy, Joe Hall
• AI visibility a brand visibility lever, NOT performance marketing, SEO For Lunch
• Poisoned SERPs: An update on Google ranking data in Semrush, Semrush
• SEOs are more afraid of AI than they were a year ago, SEOjobs
• How NavBoost really works: everything Google remembers about our searches, RESONEO
• Hurting my SEO by not using subdirectories or unique URLs, Ilana Davis
• Is GEO/AEO Just a Fake Money-Making Bubble and Should We All Be Doing "Just SEO"?, Ann Smarty

Feedback:

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