Google’s AI Overviews are ignoring sites affected by the Helpful Content Update (HCU).
Users noticed that the same is the case for core updates, even if the AI Overview is directly asked about those sites. The same goes for those websites that are ranking well when a query is put forward on Google Search.
It’s interesting because we are all well aware of how AI Overviews are directly impacted by leading updates. The same goes for helpful updates which are now a direct part of the core update.
The user who first noted the change is Lily Ray who spoke about the matter on the X app. She was shocked to see the search result did not feature any links for that site. It was just several sites talking about that certain site, nothing else.
Sites do rank well and can even be in the first position for traditional search results. But these have zero links for the AI Overview. It appears like they have a certain filter in place to stop HCU sites from getting linked there. The user asked others facing similar problems to come forward and share more on the matter.
Another expert, Glenn Gabe mentioned that he is not seeing any AI Overviews for his brand. Even if there was one, it was not very interesting. Clearly, it’s a problem that Google needs to look into before things get too late.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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Users noticed that the same is the case for core updates, even if the AI Overview is directly asked about those sites. The same goes for those websites that are ranking well when a query is put forward on Google Search.
It’s interesting because we are all well aware of how AI Overviews are directly impacted by leading updates. The same goes for helpful updates which are now a direct part of the core update.
The user who first noted the change is Lily Ray who spoke about the matter on the X app. She was shocked to see the search result did not feature any links for that site. It was just several sites talking about that certain site, nothing else.
Sites do rank well and can even be in the first position for traditional search results. But these have zero links for the AI Overview. It appears like they have a certain filter in place to stop HCU sites from getting linked there. The user asked others facing similar problems to come forward and share more on the matter.
Another expert, Glenn Gabe mentioned that he is not seeing any AI Overviews for his brand. Even if there was one, it was not very interesting. Clearly, it’s a problem that Google needs to look into before things get too late.
Read next: ByteDance’s Shift To AI Content Moderation Results In Hundreds of TikTok Employees Getting Fired
