From the possibility of advertising directly in ChatGPT to changes in Google’s display logic and new players in the search market, May has brought important disruptions to the SEO world. Generative AI is setting the direction for future search results, Google is tightening requirements for authenticity, and Apple hints at a possible shift away from Google as the default search engine.
Here are the four most important news items you should know for your SEO strategy:
- ChatGPT opens for advertising – and lays the foundation for a new era in “chat-based search”
- AI Mode takes over the USA and AI Overviews change how visibility and clicks are registered – and send less traffic to websites
- Google tightens up on E-E-A-T and targets content that only pretends to be trustworthy
- Apple tests its own AI search solutions in Safari and challenges Google’s mobile dominance
BREAKING – You Can Now Buy Ads in ChatGPT
ChatGPT has just opened up the possibility for advertising in its interface – news that could prove to be groundbreaking for how businesses reach their customers in the future. The feature marks an important step toward so-called “chat-based search,” where users interact with AI models instead of typing traditional search queries.
With the new ad format (marked as “Sponsored”), it becomes possible to be visible in the answers that ChatGPT generates for users – typically as part of search results in “Chat Search”. This sets new standards for how you can reach potential customers who increasingly prefer dialogue-based searches.
According to a forecast from Gartner, a 25% decline in traditional searches is expected as early as 2026 – a development that will have noticeable consequences if a significant portion of traffic (and thus leads and sales) disappears from Google. This places major demands on how businesses rethink their SEO strategy and marketing mix.
The big question therefore becomes: What happens to your business if a quarter of traffic – and potentially your most important source of leads – moves away from search engines like Google?

AI Mode is coming to the US
In May 2025, Google announced a significant change to the search landscape: AI Mode is now available to all US users without having to sign up through Search Labs. A new tab for AI Mode will now appear below the search bar on Google.com and in the Google Search app for US searches
Unlike AI Overviews, which provide short summaries in traditional search results, AI Mode allows users to ask complex, multi-part questions via an AI interface and follow up with additional questions. The system uses a “query fan-out” technique that breaks questions down into subtopics and sends out multiple queries simultaneously, allowing Search to dive deeper into the web than traditional search.
AI Overview – One click, one position
Google has recently confirmed that all sources mentioned in an AI Overview are shared on a single position in Search Console – and one click. In other words, if your website appears as one of several sources in AI Overview, it only counts as one view and one click, regardless of how many users have potentially interacted with the content.
This challenges the traditional ways in which we, as SEO specialists, measure and evaluate visibility, click-through rates, and performance. The transparency of data reporting is reduced, and it becomes more difficult to understand the exact benefits of your content’s position in search results.
Traffic from Google is falling
This change in display and click-through rates coincides with a documented decline in traffic from Google Search. According to data from Similarweb – shared by Search Engine Land – traffic from Google fell by up to 8% in March 2024. Mobile traffic has been particularly affected, where AI responses more often meet the user’s needs without further clicks.
This is a clear consequence of AI Overviews’ growing influence. Where Google previously acted as a link between questions and web pages, it is increasingly functioning as an answer engine in its own right.
E-E-A-T Must Be Genuine – Not Staged
Google has just updated their Search Quality Rater Guidelines with a new focus area: “inauthentic E-E-A-T”. This refers to content that appears trustworthy and experience-based on the surface but actually lacks substance.
Attempts to mimic expertise – for example through exaggerated claims, unnatural reviews, or artificially built authority – can now be perceived as manipulative to a greater extent.
This means it’s no longer sufficient to merely signal experience and authority. It must be documentable and experienced as genuine. Google emphasizes honest, valuable content from real, qualified sources – and this becomes a crucial competitive parameter going forward.
Apple Moves into the Search Market
Apple is currently testing the possibility of integrating AI-based search engines directly into Safari – potentially as an alternative or supplement to Google, which according to reports is experiencing declining usage on Apple devices.
Among the candidates mentioned are both Perplexity and a potential Apple-developed solution. This could change the way users discover and interact with content – and thus also has direct significance for how businesses should think about organic visibility.
Why Is This Relevant?
If Apple chooses to turn up its own or third-party search solutions, it can shift market share and change search behavior significantly – especially on mobile. This is a strong reminder that SEO is no longer just about Google. Future strategy should account for multiple search channels and a more fragmented ecosystem.