AI Search Rules Get Clearer
The strongest SEO signal from the last 48 hours is Google drawing a harder line around AI search. On May 15, Google published guidance saying AI Overviews and AI Mode still run on the same basic SEO foundations: crawlable pages, useful content, clear structure, and real expertise. Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal both framed it the same way: AEO and GEO are not magic new disciplines, they are still SEO. Google also called out several AI-search “hacks” site owners can ignore, including llms.txt, special AI markup, artificial content chunking, and chasing fake brand mentions.
Spam Rules Now Cover AI Answers
Google also updated its spam policy language to include attempts to manipulate generative AI responses in Google Search. In plain English: trying to game AI Overviews or AI Mode with doorway pages, fake mentions, scaled junk content, or cloaking is now clearly inside the spam net. Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land both picked this up on May 15, and the official policy says violations can lead to lower rankings or removal from results.
Ranking Weather: Cooling, Not Clear
SERP volatility ran warm from May 5 to May 16, with scores mostly in the 5 to 6.9/10 range. Today’s partial reading is 4.2/10, so rankings are cooling, but not fully settled. Search Engine Roundtable also reported community chatter and tool swings around May 13-14, matching the bumpy pattern.
What to Do
- Stop buying “AI SEO hacks.”
- Make pages easier to crawl, quote, compare, and trust.
- Add original examples, photos, data, reviews, and expert detail.
- Watch logs for Google-Agent, which Search Engine Journal says represents AI agents visiting sites on behalf of users, not normal crawling.
