Google Updates and AI Opt-Out Changes

Google search ranking data may be affected by unrelated results and redirect URLs, making it harder to track website performance accurately. Meanwhile, a Lighthouse update could change PageSpeed Insights scores, while Google, Microsoft and OpenAI plan to support a shared AI training opt-out. The latest updates also highlight why technical SEO remains important as AI search continues to develop.

Google Ranking Data Faces New Challenges

SEO tracking tools are reporting issues with Google’s search results, including unrelated listings appearing in rankings and redirect URLs hiding the actual pages being ranked.

A review by SE Ranking found that 84% of flagged cases involved unrelated results matching just one word in a search query. Most of these appeared at position nine or lower. Meanwhile, other tracking providers reported restrictions on how many Google redirect URLs they could resolve.

These issues could affect ranking reports and make it harder for website owners to understand their actual search performance. Checking Google Search Console data alongside tracking reports can help identify whether a ranking change is genuine or caused by data collection problems.

Lighthouse Update Could Change PageSpeed Scores

PageSpeed Insights has moved to Lighthouse 13.6.0, bringing changes to how the tool simulates website loading.

The update means scores may increase or decrease even if no changes have been made to a website. Google’s Barry Pollard explained that the revised simulation should provide more accurate results, particularly for First Contentful Paint and Largest Contentful Paint measurements.

Websites that rely heavily on JavaScript may notice a greater impact.

Website owners should compare reports using the same Lighthouse version and check real-world field data before deciding whether an optimisation has improved performance.

Google, Microsoft and OpenAI Plan Shared AI Training Opt-Out

Google, Microsoft and OpenAI have announced plans to recognise a shared robots.txt control that allows website owners to express their preferences about AI training.

The proposed control would give publishers a more consistent way to manage how their content is used by AI companies, rather than relying on separate rules for each provider.

However, the three companies have not yet implemented the shared control. There are also differences in how their existing preferences cover AI training and the use of website content to provide answers or grounding.

Microsoft has also announced that it will stop treating NoArchive and NoCache as AI training or grounding preferences after 1 March 2027. Website owners using these directives for that purpose will need to review their settings.

Technical SEO Remains Important for AI Search

Google’s John Mueller believes technical SEO will continue to play an important role as AI search develops.

Speaking in a recent interview, Mueller explained that AI systems crawl websites in different ways depending on their purpose. For example, some crawling activity may relate to training, while other requests are made to retrieve more recent information.

He described this as another aspect of technical SEO, suggesting that website owners should continue paying attention to how different crawlers access their content.

Maintaining a strong technical foundation and checking crawler access through robots.txt remain important steps for websites looking to perform well across traditional and AI-powered search.

ChatGPT Search-Like Queries Reach One-Fifth of Google’s Volume

OpenAI’s consumer product lead, Adam Fry, has said that ChatGPT receives roughly one-fifth of Google’s search-like query volume.

However, the comparison needs context. The figure counts questions that cause ChatGPT to search the web, rather than visits referred to external websites.

This is different from website referral data, which measures how much traffic platforms send to individual sites. As a result, search volume and referral figures should not be treated as equivalent measures of online search activity.

What These Updates Mean for SEO

The latest developments highlight the importance of understanding how SEO data is collected and measured. Ranking reports may be affected by unrelated results and unresolved redirects, while PageSpeed scores can change following updates to the testing system.

At the same time, website owners should keep an eye on changes to AI crawler preferences and continue investing in technical SEO as search behaviour evolves.

When reviewing performance, it is important to consider the tools, versions and measurement methods behind the figures rather than relying on headline numbers alone.