Welcome to our latest SEO Trends & Insights. Each month, our specialist SEO team analyses the shifting search landscape, algorithm updates, and emerging behaviours to bring you the insights that matter most. Stay ahead with expert commentary, actionable recommendations, and the trends shaping performance right now.
Google Search Console performance reports gets multimodal filter
On September 24th, Google has introduced new Google Search Console reporting for multimodal searches, including Google Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads and “Search this image”. The new filter allows site owners to understand how their content performs in visual search and optimise their visual content accordingly.
Why we care: Visual search is becoming an increasingly important discovery channel and this new reporting capability provides greater insight into how images perform. We can use this data to identify opportunities to strengthen multimodal search visibility and monitor performance.
ChatGPT 5.6 is citing comparative content far less than before
Following the rollout of GPT-5.6 as the default model recently, ChatGPT is citing “best of” and comparison pages less often, with citations for roundup pages falling by 51% and comparison pages by 32% according to research by Peec AI. Instead, it is increasingly using product and brand pages directly for information such as pricing and specifications. This suggests that generic content created mainly to appear in AI results may be less effective. Instead, focusing on enriching content on product pages with first-party information is recommended to better capture citations.
Why we care: The citation shift towards first-party product and brand pages reinforces the importance of detailed, authoritative product and brand content. This presents opportunities to prioritise strengthen product and brand pages to position them well for citation in GPT-5.6.
Google AI Mode’s monitoring feature is now available to all
Google AI Mode’s monitoring feature is now available globally to all users in the Google app. It allows people to ask AI Mode to continuously track changing information, such as price drops, product restocks, new restaurants and local events, and receive updates when something changes. This moves Google Search towards a more proactive, real-time search experience.
Why we care: The universal availability of AI Mode’s monitoring feature could drive more qualified traffic from users that are interested and actively tracking products, prices and availability. Ensuring that key information such as pricing, stock and availability is accurate and up to date will be important to capitalise on this.
Google is rolling out the fourth Spam Update of 2026
From September 24th, Google is rolling out the fourth Spam Update of 2026 to all languages and regions globally. It should take approximately 2 weeks to complete. Google has not specifically indicated what this update targets, however, performance should be monitored during and following the update. Should performance be affected, Google’s spam policies should be reviewed to understand potential causes.
Why we care: This high frequency of Google Spam Updates in 2026 reinforces the importance of adhering to Google’s spam policies and maintaining high-quality, user-focused content. We will monitor performance throughout the rollout, review any areas of potential risk and prioritise improvements that support long-term organic visibility.
Shopify’s change to how sessions are measured
Shopify has changed how it measures sessions, including filtering out identified bot traffic and counting some activity that previously was not included. As a result, sessions, conversion rate and other session-based metrics may change without any actual change in traffic, sales or customer behaviour. The update rolled out from 21–23 September 2026, so Shopify recommends using data from after the update as a new baseline when analysing session-based performance.
Why we care: Changes to session measurement may cause temporary fluctuations in conversion rates and other metrics during the rollout, without reflecting a real change in performance. It is important to use post-update data as a new baseline when assessing these metrics to ensure a more accurate representation of performance.
Want to understand what these changes actually mean for your organic performance in 2026? Now’s the moment to review how your content, structure and measurement stack hold up in AI-driven search.
Get in touch: hello@threepipereply.com
