This week, the SEO world is buzzing with activity: a judge questions Google’s monopoly on AI content, a spam update pulls the rug out from under automated publications, and the old debate about geotargeting flares up again. Let’s break down what this means for your cache, especially in the context of Google AI.
Legal Battles: Google AI and “Unfair” Content Usage
A federal judge questioned Google’s practice of using web content for its AI overviews, calling it “grossly unfair.” This jeopardizes the current “traffic in exchange for content” model.
Details of Penske Media vs. Google Case
- During the antitrust hearing for Penske Media, Judge Amit Mehta questioned whether Google’s AI overviews could be considered a “product improvement.”
- Digital Content Next CEO Jason Kint quoted the judge, who called the situation “really unfair” and noted that the improvement is being developed “at the expense of publishers.”
- Judge Mehta has not yet ruled on Google’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
“Publishers have no control over how Google uses their content,” Kint noted, emphasizing that opting out of Google indexing is not a realistic choice for publishers dependent on search traffic.
Google Spam Update: A Blow to AI Publications
Although Google has not officially stated that it is targeting AI-generated content in the August spam update, reports from website owners indicate problems for automated publications. Is cheap AI content worth such risks?
Initial Observations and Conclusions
- Roger Montti collected examples where fully automated sites lost visibility, while resources using AI with human refinement suffered less.
- These are currently anecdotal reports, not official confirmation of changes in Google’s algorithms.
- Google released the S-CTS system to detect coordinated synthetic abuse on video platforms, but this is not related to Google Search.
- The mere fact of AI authorship is not a reason for a drop in rankings. Google’s policy concerns large-scale content created to manipulate rankings, regardless of the author.
SEO consultant Takuma Oka warns that his sample is small and the conclusions are not definitive. What matters is not the AI itself, but the method and purpose of mass production.
SEO vs. GEO: What John Mueller Says
John Mueller from Google once again commented on the “SEO vs. GEO” discussion, clarifying that there are no special requirements for generative AI answers in search. That is, testing hypotheses cheaply does not mean that basic principles can be forgotten.
Nuances for AI Answers
- Mueller stated that Google sees nothing special that needs to be done for generative AI answers in search.
- This applies to Google Search, not to ChatGPT, Perplexity, or other AI systems.
- If you are already optimizing your site for Google, Mueller does not offer a new technical checklist for AI overviews.
Dan Akedju summarized: “The fundamentals are the same. The extraction level is different.” This is a key point: favorable CPM only when the platform’s features are taken into account.
AI Recommendations: Brands are Recommended, but Others are Cited
New data shows that a brand recommendation in an AI answer does not guarantee a direct link to your site. This affects ROI and requires a review of metrics.
Shero Commerce Analysis
- Shero Commerce analyzed 1,851 citations in Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
- Brand-owned pages received only 2.8% of citations.
- When a brand was recommended by name, its own page received a citation in only 31% of cases. Third-party resources were often cited.
Aleyda Solis emphasized: “Your brand may be recommended in the answer… while the citation (and click) goes to a magazine or marketplace.” This means that the cost of uniqueizing one video or the price of generating 100 AI videos should pay off not only with mentions but also with direct links.
ChatGPT and Reddit: Complex Citation Dynamics
Promptwatch data showed a sharp drop in Reddit’s citation share in ChatGPT in mid-August, but new tests show that Reddit still plays an important role in the information extraction process.

Variability of ChatGPT Behavior
- In one query, ChatGPT purposefully searched for information on r/whatnotapp: out of 71 extracted pages, 48 were Reddit threads, and 6 out of 8 final citations went to the subreddit.
- Four days earlier, Suganthan Mohanadasan found that ChatGPT extracted 84 Reddit threads for another query but did not cite any.
Mohanadasan summarized: “Reddit citations were not simply ‘turned off.’ They seem to be query-dependent.” This demonstrates that price comparison of various sources and their citability is a dynamic process and requires constant monitoring.
Conclusion: Visibility vs. Value – New Metrics
This week, it became clear that visibility and real value are beginning to diverge. Publishers share information, but don’t always get traffic. Brands receive recommendations, but links go to others. Reddit may be a data source for AI, but not appear in final citations. “AI visibility” is becoming too broad a concept, requiring more precise metrics to assess ROI.
It’s important not only to be indexed, but also to get a mention, a citation, a click, and ultimately, a conversion. How much money will each dollar spent bring – that’s the main question. Re-evaluate your strategies and metrics to avoid wasting your budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is “unfair” use of content by Google AI?
Judge Amit Mehta opined that Google, by using publishers’ content for its AI overviews without adequate compensation or control from publishers, creates an unfair advantage, as publishers cannot opt out of Google indexing without losing traffic.
Is Google’s spam update really targeting AI-generated content?
Google has not officially confirmed this. However, according to reports from website owners, resources that use fully automated content generation have lost visibility. At the same time, sites where AI content was refined by humans suffered less. The focus is on large-scale content created to manipulate rankings, regardless of the generation method.
What does John Mueller advise regarding SEO for AI answers?
Mueller states that there are no special requirements for generative AI answers in Google Search. If you are already optimizing your site for Google, no additional technical checklists are needed for AI overviews. However, it is important to remember that different AI systems extract and select sources differently.
Why might a brand be recommended by AI, but the link goes to another site?
Shero Commerce research showed that AI systems often recommend brands by name, but cite third-party resources (e.g., magazines or marketplaces) instead of the brand’s official pages. This means that brand visibility does not always convert into direct clicks and traffic to your resource.
How has ChatGPT’s behavior regarding Reddit citations changed?
Data shows that Reddit citations in ChatGPT have become more complex and depend on the specific query. In some cases, Reddit is actively used and cited, in others, a lot of data is extracted, but there are no citations. This indicates the dynamism of algorithms and the need for constant analysis of sources that AI systems prefer for specific topics.




