Latest SEO & AI News: IndexNow, Core Update, GEO & More
Major shifts in indexing, GEO, Core Updates, and tools
📣 SEO & AI Roundup: 25 July – 5 August 2025
Major shifts in indexing, GEO, Core Updates, and tools 🧠
🧩 Google’s June 2025 Core Update: Rollout Complete
Google’s June Core Update – launched 30 June, completed 17 July – sparked significant volatility in rankings across finance, news, and e‑commerce sectors. Google reiterates that helpful, people-first content remains the north star. As always, recovery takes time and smart content refinement.
📉 Core Web Vitals Dip in Search Console
Some SEOs reported odd drops in “Good” and “Needs Improvement” URLs mid-July, without a rise in “Poor” scores. Google confirmed a temporary glitch in reporting. Indexing delays were also spotted, especially in Google News feeds and Discover updates.
🤖 Google Says: Yes, SEO Still Works in AI Mode
August’s Webmaster Report from Google clarified that traditional SEO foundations – like crawlability, sitemaps, and structured data – are still crucial. With AI Overviews and conversational engines evolving fast, content structure and accessibility remain vital.
🚀 IndexNow Expands with Shopify and Amazon
IndexNow adoption just accelerated: Shopify and Amazon now support the protocol natively. Product updates and content changes will be pushed directly to search engines in real-time, drastically improving indexing speed for merchants and brands.
🌐 GEO & AEO Are Here to Stay
SEO is evolving into GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation). llms.txt files, structured answer formatting, and semantic coverage are becoming non-negotiables. Expect these approaches to define 2026 strategies.
🧠 C-SEO Bench Study: Conversational SEO Isn’t Enough
According to a new benchmark study, simply writing conversational content isn’t enough to win in AI search. In fact, when multiple competitors adopt the same tactics, results flatten. Differentiated content and original insights remain key.
🛍️ E-commerce Needs a New Playbook
Generative search is eating traditional clicks. Retail sites are seeing traffic drops of 20–25%. What’s the fix? Clean structured data, descriptive product text, and citations. SEO for AI now means being a trusted source, not just a ranking one.
⚛️ Quantum SEO: The New Frontier
ThatWare is experimenting with quantum computing for SEO precision. It’s early-stage, but signals the future of enterprise-level optimisation – combining neural networks, semantic mapping, and quantum logic to analyse SERP behaviour in real-time.
📊 Tools Roundup: AI Mode, Fan-out Analysis & More
- 🗣️ Google’s AI Mode now supports voice input and multi-modal queries.
- 📈 Search Console Insights now appears in the main dashboard.
- 🎥 Video content is now indexed by AI Overviews and shown in Discover results.
- 🧵 Fan-out architecture is emerging as a hot topic for crawl and UX strategy.
🔍 Key Takeaways
- SEO is not dead – it’s evolving with AI, not replaced by it.
- GEO and AEO require rethinking how we write, structure, and publish content.
- Stay ahead by focusing on structure, speed, and being a reliable source for AI engines.
- New tools (IndexNow, llms.txt, video-enhanced markup) are must-haves.
🗣️ Expert Insight
“If you’re still optimising just for rankings, you’re missing the real shift. In 2025, it’s not about blue links – it’s about being the answer before the question is even asked.”
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is IndexNow and why are Shopify and Amazon adopting it?
IndexNow is an open protocol that allows websites to instantly notify search engines of content changes. Shopify and Amazon are adopting it to ensure faster indexing of product pages and inventory updates.
Why did some sites lose rankings after Google’s late July 2025 Core Update?
The update appears to have prioritised helpfulness, speed, and entity clarity. Many sites with thin content or poor UX were negatively impacted, even without formal penalties.
What are llms.txt files and why are they important for SEO?
llms.txt files are a new protocol for controlling how large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT or Gemini access your content. It’s like robots.txt, but for AI tools.
Is Google’s AI Mode replacing traditional search results?
Not entirely. AI Mode is now being tested as the default experience for logged-in users. It blends summaries with links, pushing traditional blue links further down.
How should SEOs adapt content for GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)?
Focus on clear entity relationships, structured sections, FAQ-style content, and trust signals. Generative engines prefer well-labelled, helpful, and structured information.
What is “Query-Free Browsing” and how does it impact traffic?
Query-free browsing uses AI to predict what users want before they search. This reduces reliance on typed keywords and makes SERP features even more prominent, reducing organic CTR.
Why are e-commerce SEO strategies changing in 2025?
With increased IndexNow support and AI Overviews in shopping results, product data needs to be clean, fast-loading, and enriched with schema to be competitive.
Has Google made any changes to Core Web Vitals recently?
Yes, INP (Interaction to Next Paint) is now a ranking factor. Sites with slow interaction times may see drops in visibility if they haven’t optimised for responsiveness.
What should publishers do if their site is being de-prioritised by AI search tools?
Improve E-E-A-T signals, use explicit structured data, and update thin or unclear content. Focus on trust, clarity, and topical depth across your site.
What is ThatWare and why is it making headlines?
ThatWare is an AI-first SEO agency that gained attention for reverse-engineering generative AI behaviour to create highly visible content in tools like Perplexity and Gemini.
