Hey friends,
Welcome back to cmd+growth.
This week was very Google-heavy, which is usually either exciting or mildly threatening depending on how much organic traffic you like having.
The May core update finished rolling out, Google added more source controls to AI Search, its spam rules now explicitly cover attempts to manipulate AI answers and Reddit keeps turning into a research layer for marketers.
Let’s get into it.
Today’s topics
- Google’s May 2026 core update is complete
- Google adds Preferred Sources to AI Mode and AI Overviews
- Google updates spam rules for AI search manipulation
- AI referral traffic is still small, but measurable
- Reddit keeps becoming a search and research layer
- Meta moves toward fully automated ads
Google’s May 2026 Core Update Is Complete
Google’s May 2026 core update finished rolling out on June 2 after a 12-day rollout.
This was Google’s second core update of the year, following the March core update, the March spam update and the February Discover update.
For SEO teams, this is the point where the real work starts.
Not the panicked “why did traffic move yesterday?” work. The slightly less panicked “what actually changed across pages, queries and competitors?” work.
The practical move now: compare data after the rollout completed, not during the middle of the volatility. Look at page types, intent groups and competitor movement before deciding anything dramatic.
Please do not delete half the site because Tuesday looked weird. We have all been there emotionally, but still.
Read more:
Google Adds Preferred Sources to AI Search
Google is bringing Preferred Sources into AI Mode and AI Overviews.
That means users can more easily see links from sources they have already selected when those sources appear in AI-powered search responses.
Google is also adding a perspectives carousel and “highly cited” labels, which is basically Google saying: yes, source identity matters more now.
For publishers and brands, this is important.
AI Search does not only change the format of search results. It changes how trust is displayed. If users can choose preferred sources, the relationship between audience loyalty and search visibility becomes more direct.
Translation: owning trust may matter more than chasing every single query.
Annoying for dashboards. Good for actual brands.
Read more:
- Search Engine Land: Preferred Sources in AI Overviews and AI Mode
- Search Engine Journal: Google Preferred Sources expand into AI Search
- Google: A new era for AI Search
Google’s Spam Rules Now Cover AI Search Manipulation
Google updated its spam policies to explicitly include attempts to manipulate generative AI experiences such as AI Overviews and AI Mode.
This matters because the industry has spent the last year inventing new names for “how do we influence the robot answer box?”
GEO. AEO. AI visibility. Prompt optimization. Recommendation engineering. Whatever we are calling it this week.
Google’s message is pretty clear: optimizing for visibility is fine, but deceptive attempts to manipulate AI-generated answers can fall under spam.
That is especially relevant for recommendation-style content, fake comparison pages, artificial brand mentions and attempts to steer AI systems with content that exists mainly to influence the answer.
The line will be messy.
Because of course it will. It is search.
But the direction is clear enough: Google does not want AI Search to become a listicle poisoning contest.
Read more:
- The Verge: Google updates spam rules to include AI manipulation
- Google Search Central: Spam policies
- Google: AI Search updates
AI Referral Traffic Is Still Small, But Measurable
AI traffic is not replacing Google traffic.
Not even close.
But it is starting to show up clearly enough that marketers should stop treating it like a rumor.
Ahrefs found that 63% of websites in its study received some traffic from AI assistants, with ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini sending nearly all of it. The average share was still tiny, but the point is that the channel is now measurable.
Semrush has also argued that AI referral traffic should be tracked separately because it may represent a different kind of discovery behavior.
The practical takeaway is boring, which usually means useful: clean up analytics, segment AI referrals and look at intent and conversion quality, not only traffic volume.
AI traffic may be small. Small things sometimes become annoying quarterly reporting meetings later.
Read more:
- Ahrefs: 63% of websites receive AI traffic
- Ahrefs: AI statistics and referral traffic data
- Semrush: AI search and SEO traffic study
Reddit Keeps Becoming a Search and Research Layer
Reddit is becoming harder to ignore for marketers.
Not because it suddenly became shiny.
It absolutely did not.
But because Reddit now sits in several discovery paths at once: Google results, AI answers, native Reddit search and customer research.
Reddit says 80 million people use its search every week. The company also launched Reddit Pro Trends, a tool that helps businesses track topics and conversations across communities.
That makes Reddit more than a social platform.
It is becoming a messy, high-intent research database full of people saying exactly what they think, sometimes with concerning levels of detail.
For brands, that is useful.
Also slightly terrifying.
Read more:
- Reddit: Pro Trends launch
- Search Engine Land: Reddit says 80 million people use its search weekly
- MediaPost: Reddit Search attracts 80 million people weekly
- Sprout Social: Reddit trends brands need to know
Meta Moves Toward Fully Automated Ads
Meta’s ad roadmap is becoming very clear.
Less manual setup.
More AI.
According to Reuters, Meta is working toward a future where brands can input a product image and budget, while AI generates the creative, selects targeting and optimizes delivery across Facebook and Instagram.
That is a big deal for small advertisers. It is also a very awkward meeting topic for some agencies.
The upside is obvious: easier ad creation, faster testing and lower production barriers.
The downside is also obvious: more sameness, less control and a lot of brands discovering that AI can generate an ad but cannot magically create a good offer.
Technology remains rude like that.
Read more:
- Reuters: Meta aims to fully automate advertising with AI by 2026
- Meta: Advantage+ advertising tools
- Investopedia: Meta’s AI ad automation plans
Quick Hits
- Google core update analysis can finally begin. The May rollout is complete, so now is the time to compare clean before-and-after data. Read more.
- AI Search is getting more source-aware. Preferred Sources, perspectives and highly cited labels all point toward source identity becoming more visible. Read more.
- AI traffic remains small. Ahrefs found the average site still gets a tiny share of traffic from AI assistants, but the channel is now real enough to track. Read more.
- Reddit wants to be useful for brands. Reddit Pro Trends turns community conversations into something closer to market research. Read more.
My Take
The thing I keep coming back to this week is trust.
Google wants users to pick preferred sources.
AI Search is becoming more source-aware.
Reddit is growing because people want human opinions.
AI referral traffic looks small, but it often starts from a recommendation.
Meta wants to automate ads, but automation still needs something believable to sell.
That is the part marketers should probably not miss.
The internet is getting more automated, but trust is becoming more human.
Very inconvenient.
Also probably the whole game.
See you next week.
Diana Yefremova is an independent SEO consultant and the creator of Cmd+Growth. She writes about SEO, AI search, PPC and digital marketing, with a focus on the updates and changes marketers actually need to know.
Each week, she curates the most useful stories, platform updates and industry conversations so readers can keep up without spending hours digging through everything themselves.
