Welcome back to Search With Sean — your wrap-up of the biggest stories in SEO, AI and digital marketing.This episode dives into the weird, wonderful and sometimes worrying world of tech - from humanoid robots and AI actresses to Google’s new GA4 features, Microsoft’s agent mode and the rise of AI search tools like Perplexity and Gemini.Here’s what’s included:🎬 Top VideosFrom Julia McCoy’s Microsoft vs OpenAI insights to Insight AI’s jailbreaking experiments, Vanessa Wingårdh's breakdown of circular tech profits, and Gary Vaynerchuk’s take on AI and entrepreneurship. Plus, we explore Sam Altman’s latest interviews, Larry Sanger’s Wikipedia warnings, and Tristan Harris on the human cost of AI hype.📰 Top StoriesWe cover OpenAI’s new Pulse feature, Google’s GA4 Analytics Advisor, and the UK’s £30 billion AI investment from Microsoft and Google. Liz Reid reveals more user-generated content in Search, and Microsoft shares new AI-optimisation tips. Studies from Yext, BrightEdge and Profound show how AI citations and zero-click patterns are reshaping search behaviour.🌍 Other NewsFrom Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses and NVIDIA’s DGX Spark, to Italy’s AI law, Google’s €3 billion fine, and OpenAI overtaking SpaceX in value. Plus, Harvard research into emotional AI manipulation, and DeepMind’s historic mathematical breakthrough proving AI can reason, not just repeat.💬 Social HighlightsWe round up smart takes from Glen Gabe, Kevin Indig, Christian J Ward, and others on AI Overviews, AIO data, and the future of GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation). Plus, OpenAI opens its platform to apps — and the debate on whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini will win the next stage of search truly heats up.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

In this episode, we explore the rapid impact of Google’s August 2025 spam update and upcoming changes to its AI mode aimed at boosting click-through rates. We also discuss the growing reliance on AI tools for brand discovery - despite ongoing concerns about accuracy and claims that Google’s AI Overviews may breach its own spam policies. The episode covers how digital PR and authority building are evolving in the age of AI search, highlights a LinkedIn study showing professionals trust their networks more than AI or search engines for work advice, and reflects on the broader societal implications of AI - particularly fears around job displacement, even as companies like Nvidia continue to see strong investment.

In this episode, Google AI Mode expanded significantly with new agentic features like restaurant reservations and global availability in 180 countries, while discussions centered on Google search volatility, conflicting reports regarding a 52% drop in ChatGPT referral traffic, and the launch of an Ahrefs tracker comparing Google and ChatGPT traffic, alongside updates on Google Ads reporting, the consolidation of Local Service Ads badges, and new AI-powered flight deals.

In this episode we covered ongoing Google search ranking volatility, the launch of preferred sources for top stories, insights on AI search content and its impact on publisher traffic, Google's confirmation that AI-generated content should be human-reviewed and that AI-generated images won't cause ranking penalties, the development of AI-designed superbug-killing antibiotics, the pitfalls of AI-generated errors in legal cases, the release of Google's compact Gemma 3 270M AI model, ChatGPT-5's new connectivity to Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts, and various Google Ads and YouTube ad tool updates.

In this episode, they explore how rapid AI breakthroughs from Apple, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic are transforming search, digital interactions, and virtual worlds. They look at the race for industry dominance, the rise of advanced robotics, and the ethical dilemmas posed by AI clones and explicit deepfakes - alongside warnings of a possible short-term, human-driven AI dystopia.

In this episode, the speakers discuss fierce AI competition driven by massive compute and talent demands, showcase ground breaking AI capabilities in reasoning and automation, and examine the profound national and societal impacts including shifts in industries like search and critical ethical considerations.

The episode primarily details the devastating drop in online news media audiences and website click-through rates caused by Google's AI summaries (AI Overviews), a claim Google refutes while continuing to roll out new AI-powered features across its search, shopping, and content platforms.