SEO Recap covering August 26, 2026: Google's goto URL redirects and AI Mode link carousels

Built by Stephanie Chung·7 min read·10 stories

Daily summary of what matters in SEO, GEO, AEO, and AI search generated with Claude Code (beware of hallucinations)

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) & Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

Shero Commerce found only 2.8% of 1,851 sources cited across Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity were brand-owned pages, while third-party editorial sites like Good Housekeeping and Reviewed.com made up 59%.
Across 159 brand recommendations, the brand's own page was cited in just 31% of cases. Google AI Mode named a sampled brand in only 9.5% of relevant store checks across 60 categories.
In a sample of product descriptions, 20% were identical or near-identical to text on other sites, mostly among resellers of the same products, and 27 of 173 measured stores had fewer than 50 words of product-specific content.
Being recommended and being cited are separate outcomes. The analysis shows where citations landed but not why AI tools picked those sources, and it did not test whether rewriting content changes citation behavior.

YouGov found Claude is the preferred AI tool for 10.6% of Gen Z AI users versus 1.4% of Boomers+, a gap of ~7.6 times. ChatGPT leads every age group, from 44.4% among Gen Z to 24.5% among Boomers+.
Copilot and voice assistants skew older: Copilot hits 12.3% with Boomers+ versus 4.4% with Gen Z, and Alexa posts 11.0% with Boomers+ and 0% with Gen Z.
Web search sits at 38-40% of AI use across every generation, but Gen Z uses AI to generate ideas at over 3 times the Boomer rate (33.6% versus 10.5%), with the widest split in code writing (14.8% versus 1.6%).
2 takeaways for GEO tracking:
- separate momentum signals (mentions, preference, consideration) from trust signals (accuracy, source credibility) in reporting
- match content format to audience age, favoring production tasks for younger users and search-style queries for older ones

Google rolled out link carousels for developing and trending topics inside AI Mode responses, extending a feature already live in AI Overviews.
Robby Stein said the carousels surface relevant articles and webpages, including a user's Preferred Sources, front and center.
The carousels should lift clicks from AI Mode, but Search Console's generative AI reports do not include click data, so measuring the gain is difficult.

Google Search product VP Robby Stein asked on X which single feature people want shipped in AI Mode, drawing a wave of publisher and SEO responses.
Common requests centered on more and larger links that drive clicks, shorter answers, verifiable citations, and inline links with URL previews. Some replies demanded fair compensation for creators or taking AI Mode down.
The prompt followed Google adding link carousel cards to AI Mode the prior day.

Google extended link carousels for top stories and developing topics, first added to AI Overviews in June, into AI Mode responses with carousels of web pages inside the answer.
Robby Stein said the goal is to connect users with original coverage and a range of perspectives.
Publishers remain critical, with Inspired Taste arguing AI Overviews replace publishers by pushing their links below AI-generated recipes that claim to be theirs.

Google confirmed it is adding google.com/goto?url= redirect hops to search result links as a "technical measure" against abuse, replacing the direct full URL that previously loaded on click.
The change makes it harder for third-party tools, scrapers, and AI engines to pull Google SERPs, and it follows Google's litigation against SerpApi over scraping.
Nozzle's Derek Perkins reported the rollout at nearly 100% across several residential IP providers after months of testing.
Rank tracking tools that scrape Google may report off data. Google Search Console data is assumed to be unaffected.

Google is deploying a google.com/goto passthrough URL on search result links, tested since July, that redirects server-side instead of exposing the direct page URL.
Nozzle's Derek Perkins said Google is eliminating client-side links in favor of goto redirects that cannot be decoded, forcing scrapers to follow each redirect, at nearly 100% rollout across several residential IP providers.
The move is aimed at making scraping harder for SerpApi, AI companies, and other tools, though rank tracking providers are expected to adapt.

~68% of searches on traditional search engines end without a click, per a Semrush study, so each organic click matters more and SEO content has to be built to convert, not just to attract.
Traffic without conversions shows telltale signs:
- vanity metrics rise but revenue does not
- pages rank but get low CTR and low time on page
- blog traffic grows with no lift to product, pricing, or services pages
Turn generic content into converting content:
- build around the ideal customer profile using sales calls and reviews
- make the next step obvious with repeated clear CTAs
- cut jargon and form friction, and structure pages to be scannable
New job titles like content and growth engineer fold SEO, CRO, and AEO together, pushing SEOs to own conversions rather than handing traffic off to sales.

Judge Amit Mehta, who earlier found Google an illegal search monopolist, said Google's use of publisher content for AI Overviews "all seems really unfair" during a hearing on Google's motion to dismiss Penske Media's antitrust suit.
Google's attorneys called AI Overviews a "product improvement" and described the traffic-for-crawling bargain as a "vague historical course of dealing." Mehta countered that product improvements "are not immune from antitrust scrutiny."
Mehta noted a market is forming for GenAI inputs, with OpenAI and Perplexity paying for content while Google obtains the same inputs at no cost using its search dominance.
Publishers can opt out of AI training, AI Mode, and AI Overviews, but opting out also forfeits any traffic those features send. Mehta has not yet ruled on the motion to dismiss.

Ranking volatility persisted after the August 2026 spam update, which ran August 18-21, with SEOs and third-party tracking tools flagging renewed shuffling around August 26.
The pattern looks like an unannounced update, with prior unconfirmed spikes on August 13, around August 5, and August 1-3, following the confirmed June 2026 spam update (June 14-26) and May 2026 core update (May 21-June 2).
WebmasterWorld chatter reported sudden reshuffling in previously stable niches, indexing problems for human-written sites, increased AI Overviews mentions, and traffic sent to 404 pages.

Published on August 27, 2026