What happened in SEO & AI search news this month?
Each month, Lumar’s in-house tech SEO experts hand-pick some of the SEO industry’s top news stories from across the web to keep you up-to-date on all things SEO and website optimization.
For our January 2026 SEO & GEO/AEO news roundup, the top headlines include:
- Findings from last month’s Google Core Update
- A new deal between Google and Apple for Gemini AI integrations in Siri and Apple Intelligence
- Google Gemini traffic share is increasing worldwide while ChatGPT’s share declines
- ChatGPT Health launches to answer users’ health and wellness questions
- The latest HTTP Archive Web Almanac launched this month
- (and more!)
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Findings from December’s Google Core Update
Last month, Google’s December Core Update ran for 18 days in total, finishing on December 29th. Spikes in volatility were particularly noticeable on December 13th and December 20th. This update didn’t focus on anything in particular, but was a broad reevaluation of ranking signals.
YMYL sites, such as those within the health and finance industries, appear to have been among the hardest hit. In e-commerce, analysts have reported a shift away from ‘broad’ stores that stock multiple brands, in favour of more specialist retailers. Similar trends have been reported in the news publishing world. Some major outlets have seen marked visibility drops, particularly in Google Discover. All of these points point to Google’s overarching aim of diversifying the SERPs and surfacing the most relevant results to users.
(Sources: Google Search Status Updates ; Amsive ; and others)
Google announces the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) for AI e-commerce
UCP is a brand new open-source standard, designed to ease some of the friction that occurs when traditional e-commerce platforms communicate with AI agents. The end goal is for AI platforms to seamlessly discover products, checkout flows, and payment options without the retailers having to build complex integrations for each agent. It’s a massive step towards a future of agentic commerce, which places AI at the heart of online shopping.
Of course, OpenAI’s own agentic protocol (ACP) was also launched late last year. Google has stated that UCP is compatible with existing models, and designed to work alongside them. Merchants may eventually need to support both as agentic commerce becomes more prevalent.
(Source: Google for Developers Blog)
Ads are coming to ChatGPT
In a move that’s probably not surprising to anyone, OpenAI will soon be testing advertisements within the ChatGPT interface. It’s part of the company’s broader strategy to make AI more accessible to all, without the need to tie users into expensive subscription models. There will continue to be an ad-free paid tier available.
The official launch notes are careful to specify that ads will not impact ChatGPTs responses, nor will they appear near sensitive topics such as health or politics. OpenAI has also underlined that user trust and experience will always be prioritised over revenue. Exactly what these ads will look like remains to be seen, as does the impact the change has on paid vs free subscriber numbers.
(Source: OpenAI)
OpenAI is launching a dedicated ChatGPT Health experience
Simply named ChatGPT Health, this brand-new experience will live within the ChatGPT interface. While not a replacement for advice from a qualified medical professional, Health is designed to answer questions, prepare users for appointments and understand test results. There’s even the option to pull in data from third-party health apps and medical records, for a more personalised experience.
The tool has been created with help from hundreds of doctors, and OpenAI have confirmed that Health chats will not be used to train their LLMs. Features will start to roll out in the US initially, before covering all countries outside of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
(Source: OpenAI)
Apple signs huge deal with Google Gemini
Google has just secured its position as a key contender in the AI race, thanks to a new deal with Apple. Gemini has been chosen to power a host of new Apple AI features, including the latest upgrade to Siri. Announcing the collaboration, Apple cited Gemini as the “most capable foundation” to fuel its future AI ambitions.
(Source: Google: The Keyword Blog)
Microsoft publishes e-commerce guide to GEO and AEO
Microsoft Advertising has released a 16-page PDF covering how brands should evolve beyond traditional SEO for the era of AI-powered discovery. AEO and GEO are respectively linked to clarity and credibility. First, content must be data-rich and machine-readable. Then, retailers should focus on building trust and authority through contextual signals, much of which will stem from offsite mentions and reviews..
(Source: Microsoft Advertising)
Google Gemini gains in worldwide traffic share as ChatGPT declines
ChatGPT’s share of total visits to AI chatbot sites has dropped to around 64.5%, down from roughly 86% a year earlier, according to new data from SimilarWeb. It does remain the leading AI chatbot, but Gemini has been making substantial gains over the same period. It signals a shift towards a more diversified AI landscape, away from ChatGPT, which once dominated the field. However, it’s also worth noting that SimilarWeb tracking focuses on direct site traffic and does not include API usage or embedded assistant interactions.
(Source: Search Engine Journal)
Google launches AI-powered Business Agent
Google has just launched the latest in its long line of AI-powered search features. Business Agent is a conversational bot that acts like a virtual assistant for brands and retailers, using information from Merchant Center accounts to answer consumer questions right within Google Search. Its goal is to help brands engage customers with conversational responses early on in the consumer journey.
Business Agent is now available to eligible ecommerce merchants in the US. You must have at least 50 products listed on a verified Merchant Center account, alongside a claimed Brand Profile on Google Search.
(Source: Google: Brand Profile)
The new Web Almanac is live
Produced by HTTP Archive in partnership with 72 expert contributors (including Lumar’s own Richard Barrett, co-writer of the site speed chapter, and Lumar’s Sharon McClintic, co-editor on the SEO chapter this year!), the Web Almanac is a comprehensive report on the current state of the web. 16 chapters are split across four key pillars: page content, user experience, content publishing, and content distribution.
This year’s data shows that while the web continues to modernize, there are still huge inconsistencies in the adoption of new standards, features, and technologies. Steadily increasing page weight has led to a plateau in average core web vitals metrics, and accessibility standards have only slightly improved. The rapid rise of AI crawlers has shifted the focus for many, leaving some performance and accessibility fundamentals untouched.
(Source: 2025 Web Almanac)
