The Google search/maps volatility really started last November 2025 and has continued almost unabated through today... see the image from Barry Schwartz's post this morning. I described this to one Agency owner this week as the search industry is going through convulsions right now with Google making so many changes... On top of all this, now you have to optimize for 7 surface areas instead of one with the explosion of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and AI overviews - combined with organic search and maps for most local businesses. Most agencies know how to optimize for 2 of these surface areas aka Google search and Maps. The technical requirements for SEO have exploded to become the top 3 choices in any industry, any service area.  We are launching our new White Label AEO Quantum Core solution on Monday for $750/mo wholesale resellers only. This is a full AEO stack at an industry-leading price for the strategy and deliverables. DM me if you want the details.

I'm working on AEO competitive research / market analysis. I'm running a prompt through the different AI platforms. When looking at the results, naturally some of the results are very competitive and some aren't. Because I don't know of a way to see prompt search volume and difficulty right now... - How do I tell if I've found a prompt with opportunity (because the results aren't very competitive)? - Or, how do I tell if that prompt just has low volume so that's why the results aren't super competitive? Does that make sense?

@Lane Houk , I've implemented product schema on a web page with physical products and am now getting this error in SEMrush. Does this completely negate the effectiveness of having the schema on the page? This company doesn't have individual reviews / ratings for their products.

Here is my latest research on the big moves and news in our industry for the last 4-6 weeks. This takes all of the happenings in the industry and distills all that news down to the most important few things you should be aware of and possibly focus on right now! Key Developments 1. Google's llms.txt Contradiction Creates Confusion The Split: Google Search and Chrome Lighthouse are sending contradictory signals about llms.txt files. - Google Search Team: Published optimization guide stating llms.txt is NOT needed for generative AI features. John Mueller compared it to the obsolete keywords meta tag. - Chrome Lighthouse 13.3: Added experimental "Agentic Browsing" audit that CHECKS for llms.txt presence and flags server errors. The Truth: llms.txt helps browser-based AI agents parse site structure (functionality), NOT search rankings (discovery). Mueller's framework: "discovery vs. functionality." Citation: [[https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-llms-txt-guidance-depends-on-which-product-you-ask/575431/]] 2. Google AI Mode Hits 1 Billion Monthly Active Users Usage Data Released (First Time Ever): - 1B+ monthly active users globally - Queries doubled EVERY QUARTER since launch - Average AI Mode query is 3x longer than traditional search - Follow-up queries up 40%+ monthly - 1 in 6 searches are multimodal (voice, image, video) - Image-based searches up 40%+ month-over-month Behavior Shifts: - Searches becoming more conversational and iterative - Planning and decision queries changing fastest - Top categories: Creative content, media, education, fashion, food, health, tech, travel, productivity, development Citation: [[https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-shares-first-ai-mode-usage-data-after-one-year/575443/]]

There's been a lot of changes and the search market continues to shift. What questions do you have?