In this week’s digital news, Google is increasingly showing ads inside AI Mode results, signalling a major new ad surface emerging within Google Search. Adobe is acquiring the digital marketing platform Semrush for around $1.9 billion.
Google has officially integrated its most advanced model, Gemini 3 Pro, into Search’s AI Mode. This marks the first time a Gemini model has shipped to Search on its release day. Google Search Console Insights has launched “Query groups,” a new AI-powered feature that automatically clusters thousands of similar search queries into cohesive, intent-based topic groups.
Google appears to be ramping up tests of ads inside AI Mode on Search, with users now spotting them more frequently. Early reports from industry figures show sponsored content embedded directly within AI-generated answers. This shift suggests Google is preparing to normalise advertising in AI results, which could change visibility and click-through patterns. With competition still low, early advertisers may gain an advantage as AI Mode looks set to become a mainstream search ad channel.
Adobe is buying Semrush for about $1.9 billion to strengthen its digital marketing platform. The deal will give marketers deeper insight into how brands appear across the web, including in AI-generated search results. It builds on Adobe’s growing use of AI for advertising and campaign creation. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approval, following Adobe’s abandoned 2023 attempt to acquire Figma.
Google has officially integrated its most advanced model, Gemini 3 Pro, into Search’s AI Mode. Marking the first time a Gemini model has shipped to Search on its release day. This foundational upgrade significantly enhances the AI’s reasoning capabilities. Enabling it to better interpret complex requests and engage in sophisticated multi-step tasks. Key new technical features include an enhanced “query fan-out” system, allowing the AI to conduct more parallel and smarter searches to surface previously missed, highly relevant web content.
The most critical change for SEO professionals is the launch of Generative UI. Which enables AI Mode to dynamically create custom visual layouts, including interactive tools, simulations, images, and tables, directly within the search results. This functionality means that links to source content now directly compete with rich, on-the-fly experiences provided by Google’s AI. The strategic focus for SEO shifts from achieving a high ranking to ensuring content is foundational, contextually cited, and integrated within these new, dynamic, and potentially zero-click generative answers.
Google Search Console Insights has launched “Query groups,”. A new AI-powered feature that automatically clusters thousands of similar search queries into cohesive, intent-based topic groups. This innovation solves the long-standing problem of fragmented keyword data. Which previously forced SEOs to manually aggregate performance across numerous query variations like misspellings and different phrasings. The goal is to provide a much clearer, high-level perspective on the audience’s core interests and search intent.
The new report offers strategic value by providing total performance metrics, such as overall clicks, for the entire topic group, along with trend analysis indicating whether the topic is “Trending Up” or “Trending Down” compared to previous periods. This strategic view allows content marketers to quickly identify which primary content themes are driving traffic and adjust their content creation strategy based on the most impactful topics. The feature is currently rolling out gradually and is primarily available to sites with a large volume of search queries.
Adding structured tables to content can help improve visibility in ChatGPT and other LLM-driven experiences. The study found that ChatGPT citations are 2.3x more likely to include a page that has a table than Google search results. 13% of the analysed 25K Google URLs contained a table, while 30% of ChatGPT citations included one. Pages that use clear table structures rank highly in ChatGPT citations. Including sites that rely on basic HTML and simple formatting.
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This webinar explains the recent drop in LinkedIn reach and how the algorithm has shifted. Ex-LinkedIn insider Alicia Teltz shares data from platform reports and top creators, covering what the algorithm now prioritises, which post formats perform, and which habits reduce visibility.
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