This December episode dives into another packed month of digital marketing, AI and search - from China’s rapidly advancing robotics, to Google’s latest Search Console upgrades, new AI shopping tools, and major shifts in how large language models cite content. We also cover the most interesting videos, discussions and social posts shaping the industry. Here’s what’s inside 👇🎬 Top VideosWe highlight a wide range of videos this month — from Vanessa Wingårdh’s critiques on society’s growing AI dependency and Amazon’s job-cut plans, to XPeng’s humanoid robot demo that was so realistic the team had to dismantle it live on stage.You’ll also see robotics tours from China, Julia McCoy’s AI-driven breakdown of the future of video creation, Stephen Fry and Yoshua Bengio discussing AI risks, Dario Amodei warning about fast, unregulated development, and John Mueller unpacking the newest Search Console features. Plus: panels on the singularity, home robotics, and deep interviews with leaders across AI. 📰 Top StoriesThis month includes Google’s rollout of AI-powered shopping and auto-checkout features, Apple planning to license Google’s 1.2T-parameter model for Siri, and a charity receiving a 27,000% traffic spike after a UK TV show mention.We also cover Microsoft’s new Copilot for Health, fresh data showing AI Overviews appearing heavily in medical queries, a 61% organic CTR drop on queries with AI answers, and Google’s addition of custom annotations, branded vs non-branded filters, and new query grouping inside Search Console.Other major updates include new Insights into Google Discover, Ahrefs research on brand mentions improving AI visibility, and surprising findings on how LLMs differ wildly from Google rankings. 🌍 Other NewsWe review projects like World — a digital identity system co-founded by Sam Altman — and explore concerns around job losses, universal basic income, and the future of work raised by Elon Musk and Amazon’s automation plans.There’s also data showing 97% of clicks still happen in Google’s top 10 results, OpenAI-related hallucination cases in courts, Google’s Project Sun Capture for space-based AI data centers, rising issues with AI-powered toys breaking safety guardrails, and several sector-specific studies on AI citations across travel and brand stability. 💬 Social HighlightsWe wrap up with standout posts from across the industry — including analyses of ChatGPT’s most common prompt types, volatility in AI-driven brand mentions, TikTok’s new local discovery and review-gamification features, and Google’s continuing rollout of new Search Console tools.The episode also features debates on AI accuracy, safety failures (like AI mistaking a bag of Doritos for a gun), creator-focused AI tools, and the real-world impacts of LLM-driven search on visibility and user journeys. 👉 Subscribe for ongoing SEO, AI and digital-marketing updates — all based on real stories, real data, and real examples from across the industry.Explore the majority of the stories covered here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRgApI9fMAMVswEIcS8iz2HXYpWXPlA2hjHZs8B9stlS6s8mvX-cAkHydCWW2yvca6Jv2sn0xu6w4Eg/pubhtmlIf you would like a copy of the slides email me at searchwithsean@outlook.com + Sorry about the laggy picture! : /

Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly News - your roundup of the biggest stories shaping SEO, AI, and digital strategy this week.

Co Hosts:Laura Iancu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-iancu-seo/

Amanda Walls - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

Stanislav Farkas - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/

We covered the following + more 👇

📰 Top Stories

This week we discussed Google’s new branded vs non-branded Search Console filter, a long-awaited upgrade that should make reporting far easier, even if handling brand variations is still unclear.

We also looked at Ofcom’s move to start tracking VPN usage in the UK using AI tools, raising serious concerns about privacy and what this means for remote workers.

LinkedIn launched AI-powered people search, shifting from rigid filters to natural-language prompts, although the platform’s feed and UI still have major issues to fix.

Microsoft’s new “Copilot for Health” came up too — an attempt to simplify medical information with cited sources, but still risky given the hallucination rates we continue to see in health-related queries.

And we discussed the unusual story of a woman in Japan marrying an AI persona she created, prompting a deeper conversation about loneliness, culture and technology shaping human relationships.

🎬 Top Videos

We reviewed Ben Smith’s BrightonSEO deep dive comparing AI Mode with traditional search, ChatGPT and Gemini, showing surprisingly high usage but much lower engagement.

We covered Dan Taylor’s explanation that blocking AI crawlers still won’t fully stop your content being used in training data because of sources like Common Crawl.

We looked at OpenAI’s new “Group Chat” feature, which could transform collaborative workflows for teams using GPTs.

And we explored the 60 Minutes interview with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, where he discussed the risks of misuse, the challenges of AI safety, and the uncomfortable reality that regulators are far behind the speed of AI development.

💬 Top Social Posts

Louise Linehan highlighted new Ahrefs research showing AI Overviews change their content every two days, swapping nearly half of their citations each time.

Chima Mmeje shared findings showing that more than half of brand mentions inside LLM answers vanish within three weeks, reinforcing how unstable AI visibility really is.

We also talked about the viral moment where someone bought perplexity.in and redirected it to Gemini, a chaotic twist in the AI search rivalry.

And we finished with reactions to Adobe acquiring Semrush for $1.9B, a huge sign that SEO and AI search are becoming central to Adobe’s long-term strategy.

Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly News - your roundup of the biggest stories shaping SEO, AI, content, and digital strategy this week.

Co Hosts:Nicola Agius – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-agius-8b330956/

Amanda Walls - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

We covered the following + more 👇

📰 Top Stories

This week we covered Google’s new tool for reporting fake negative reviews, the rise of extortion scams, and how quickly Google is now removing fraudulent ratings - a growing issue as AI-generated review spam increases.

We also looked at the surge of low-quality YMYL content appearing in Google Discover. Google has acknowledged the problem and confirmed a fix is on the way.

Another standout moment was the 27,000% traffic spike for a small UK charity after Alan Carr selected them as his Traitors donation — a real example of unexpected celebrity impact.

We explored whether ChatGPT will introduce ads, how an affiliate-style model could differ from Google Ads, and what that might mean for brands trying to gain visibility inside AI assistants.We also discussed an AI-generated music artist topping the charts, raising fresh questions about authenticity, creativity and whether audiences really care if content is made by humans or AI.

💬 Top Social Posts

Aleyda Solis’s research into zero-click searches revealed that falling clicks aren’t only caused by AI Overviews. Organic listings are now pushed down by product carousels, SERP features, and increased prominence of Google/partner properties like YouTube and Reddit.

Phil Pearce shared a breakdown of how to audit Consent Mode v2, highlighting how GA4 data can drop by ~30% when consent triggers block click IDs too early - and how to diagnose the issue with a Chrome extension.

Marie Haynes summarised Google’s new AI shopping features coming into Gemini and Search — including conversational shopping, automated store-calling, and GenAI-powered price-tracking and auto-purchase options.

And finally, new Profound research showed that 80% of buyers now rely on answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity) for at least half their purchase decisions, heavily influencing where they buy afterward.

🎬 Top Videos

Nick highlighted Lily Ray’s alligator animation breaking down SEO vs GEO vs AEO - showing how RAG powers LLM responses and why traditional SEO remains the foundation of AI visibility.

Amanda covered Neil Patel’s 2026 social predictions: on-platform conversions, long-form video returning, expert-led personal brands, and the decline of virtual influencers.

Sean explored Sam Altman’s new “World” identity project — a biometric system designed to verify real humans online — and the ethical questions it raises. He also summarised Ahrefs’ AI search myth-busting, including the lesser-known fact that some LLMs can process JavaScript.Watch / listen on Spotify - View all stories + more here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRgApI9fMAMVswEIcS8iz2HXYpWXPlA2hjHZs8B9stlS6s8mvX-cAkHydCWW2yvca6Jv2sn0xu6w4Eg/pubhtml