SEO Recap covering August 29, 2026: Google AI Overviews antitrust scrutiny and AI citation splits

Built by Stephanie Chung·2 min read·1 story

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)

In Penske Media's antitrust case, Judge Amit Mehta questioned whether Google's search power gives it an unfair advantage in using web content for AI Overviews, calling the situation "really unfair" and noting publishers lack control over how their content is used. Mehta has not yet ruled on Google's motion to dismiss.
Reports from site owners suggest Google's August spam update hit fully automated AI publishing hardest, while sites using AI with human review held up better. Google has not confirmed AI content was targeted, and its policy addresses scaled content built to manipulate rankings regardless of author.
John Mueller said on Bluesky there is "nothing really special you need to do for generative AI responses in search," qualified as "from our POV," meaning Google Search rather than ChatGPT, Perplexity, or other AI systems.
Shero Commerce analyzed 1,851 citations across Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity:
- Brand-owned pages received just 2.8% of all citations
- When a brand was recommended by name, its own page got the citation only 31% of the time
- Third-party sites like magazines and marketplaces frequently received the citation instead
New testing complicates the story that Reddit's ChatGPT citation share collapsed in mid-August. In one query ChatGPT searched r/whatnotapp, retrieving 48 Reddit threads out of 71 pages and citing the subreddit in 6 of 8 final citations, suggesting Reddit citations are query dependent rather than switched off.

Published on August 30, 2026