New allegations surfaced that the Rank Math WordPress plugin has introduced a functionality that silently gives the company administrator-level permissions over WordPress sites. The access is triggered when a user is connected to a free Rank Math account and the user opens the plugin’s Help & Support section. Allegedly There Is Zero Consent Or Notification…
Google’s new Preferred Sources embed removes one action from the process of adding a publication as a Preferred Source. With the embed, a reader adds the site and returns to the article. A deeplink sends the reader to Google’s source preferences tool, where the site still has to be selected and confirmed. This simple guide…
More than 100 technology, cybersecurity, financial, and infrastructure organizations have signed an open letter warning that AI-enabled cyberattacks will become “far more widespread and sophisticated” in the coming months. OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, Hugging Face, and other companies that build or defend much of the modern web are among the signatories.…
Google has started rolling out hotel booking through AI Mode in Search for U.S. users in English. Users can complete eligible reservations through a “Continue on Google” flow that uses Google Pay. Google lists 10 hotel chains and online travel sites for the initial rollout. Google is also adding flight price alerts and points or…
On August 16, when ChatGPT ran a web search for me, the tool call was JSON. {“system1_search_query”:[{“q”:”site:intercom.com Fin AI Agent pricing 2026″}]} On August 20, I asked the same question on the same account. The tool call now looks like this. fast|Intercom Fin AI agent pricing 2026 live chat support|30|intercom.com fast|Gorgias AI Agent pricing 2026…
Could a small field in your checkout be sending revenue to coupon affiliates? When shoppers see an empty promo code box, many leave the site to search for a discount. That detour can hand the final touchpoint – and sometimes the commission – to an affiliate, even when your marketing already did the work of…
Discoverability has changed. That is, I think, undeniable. Passive, off-platform discovery dominates the early-stage journey, but your website is your brand’s home. Chris Green talked about SEO becoming more akin to feed management in the future, which I like. As an analogy, I mean, less so as a concept. But Google still sends over a…
Over the last few years, hidden instructions for large language models have turned up in articles, academic papers, resumes, on-page buttons, and even calendar invites. Far from being new, for those that remember, hiding white-on-white text was an SEO play 25 years ago. AI poisoning and prompt injecting rears its head again in recently filed…
Reddit’s share of ChatGPT Search citations fell sharply in mid-August, according to new tracking data from Promptwatch. The GEO analytics firm observed that reddit.com maintained an average of 3.83% in ChatGPT Search citations from July 18 to August 7. This share then decreased to an average of 0.52% from August 14 to August 17, marking…
Microsoft Advertising has started rolling out AI Max for Search campaigns globally, expanding availability after several months of testing. The rollout follows Microsoft’s April 21 announcement of AI Max and an open pilot that began in May. The feature suite is now becoming generally available across Microsoft Advertising accounts. Additionally, they’ve provided clearer guidance around…