Rankings Still Choppy
Google results are still moving more than normal. Today’s partial score is 5.8/10, but the better signal is the completed run: volatility has been sitting in a moderate-high band since May 5, peaking at 6.9/10 on May 9 and flattening rather than cooling off. This is not panic weather, but it is the kind of week where a page can slip or jump without you changing anything.
Search Engine Roundtable also flagged heated ranking movement on May 8, with third-party tools and SEO chatter pointing to unusual ranking shifts. That lines up with the tracker data: bumpy, not catastrophic.
AI Search Is the Bigger Storm Front
The day’s real theme is not classic blue-link SEO. It is how AI systems choose, cite, and repeat information. Search Engine Journal covered an Ahrefs test showing that adding schema markup, the behind-the-scenes code that labels page content, did not meaningfully increase AI citations for pages already being cited. Translation: schema still helps machines understand your page, but it is not a magic AI visibility button.
Search Engine Land pushed the same warning from another angle: outdated or negative Wikipedia content can be amplified by AI answers, especially when users trust summaries without clicking through. Brands should audit what AI tools say about them, not just where they rank.
Search Features Keep Shifting
Google’s official Search Central docs now say FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Search on May 7, with Search Console reporting and testing support being phased out later. Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable both confirmed the practical takeaway: if FAQ markup was added only for Google visibility, it is no longer earning that special result treatment.
Meanwhile, Google is testing richer Discover publisher pages with links, pinned posts, and stronger branding elements. For publishers, Discover is becoming more like a mini profile page, not just a feed slot.
What to Do
Watch rankings, but do not overreact to one-day swings. Check Search Console pages that relied on FAQ rich results, audit AI answers for your brand, and make sure your strongest claims are clear, current, and backed by trustworthy sources.
