What May’s Changes Mean for Your Visibility

May showed further signs that AI search is becoming a more mature part of the discovery journey. The story is no longer only about AI summaries reducing clicks. Google, ChatGPT and Microsoft are also making AI-led results more visible, more link-led and, in some cases, more measurable.

That does not remove the challenges around traffic, attribution or content use. Publishers in particular are still under pressure from answer-led search experiences. But the direction of travel is becoming more balanced: if brands are being cited, linked to or used as sources inside AI answers, that visibility may become more commercially valuable.

In Short:

• AI search is becoming more link-led and measurable
• AI answers are facing more accountability
• Bing and Microsoft are becoming more commercially relevant
• Technical foundations still matter as AI visibility grows

AI Search Is Becoming More Link-Led And Measurable

Business Impact

Businesses may have seen AI search become a more visible part of the discovery journey, particularly where Google or ChatGPT answers now include clearer links to external websites. Some brands may have started to see early referral opportunities from AI-led search, while others may still have seen informational clicks absorbed by answer-led results.

Google Makes Links More Prominent In AI Overviews And AI Mode

What happened

Google has said it has increased the number of inline links within AI responses, added website previews and brought Preferred Sources into AI Overviews and AI Mode. It also stated that AI Overviews now has more than 2.5 billion monthly active users, while AI Mode has surpassed 1 billion monthly users.

Why this matters

This changes the AI search story from pure traffic loss to a more nuanced visibility opportunity. If AI answers show clearer links, source previews and preferred publisher signals, being cited or selected as a trusted source may become more commercially useful, even where traditional organic click behaviour continues to shift.

ChatGPT Referral Traffic Shows How Small UX Changes Can Matter

What happened

Industry reporting from Search Engine Roundtable, citing Similarweb data, suggests ChatGPT referral traffic increased after OpenAI made links to brands more prominent inside answers. The data is global and based on a limited timescale, so it should be treated as an early signal rather than a settled benchmark.

Why this matters

The useful point is not the exact percentage alone, but the mechanism behind it. Small interface changes inside AI tools can materially affect whether users click through to websites, which makes AI referral traffic and AI citation visibility worth monitoring more closely.

Preferred Sources Expands The Role Of Publisher And Thought Leadership Visibility

What happened

Google is rolling out Preferred Sources globally in supported languages, allowing users to select publishers and websites they want to see more often in Top Stories. Google has also been bringing Preferred Sources into AI Overviews and AI Mode, making source preference more visible within AI-led search experiences.

Why this matters

This is most relevant for publishers, trade media, insight-led organisations and brands that invest in thought leadership. It reinforces the value of being a recognisable, trusted source rather than simply competing for individual keyword rankings.

What This All Means For Brands

Brands should not treat AI visibility as a future-only issue. The practical opportunity is to become a reliable, citable and link-worthy source within AI-led answers, while continuing to track whether AI referrals, assisted journeys and brand-led enquiries start to grow.

AI Answers Are Facing More Accountability

Business Impact

You may have seen more debate around whether AI-generated answers reduce traffic, misrepresent brands or reuse content without clear value returning to the original source. This is most immediate for publishers and content-led businesses, but the underlying issue matters to any brand whose expertise, services or reputation may be summarised by AI systems.

UK Publishers Get More Control Over Google AI Search Use

What happened

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has imposed a conduct requirement on Google in relation to general search services, including requirements around publisher controls, clearer information about how publisher content is used in generative AI, engagement metrics and attribution or access routes. The Guardian reported that this gives UK media groups more power to block their articles from being used in Google AI search summaries without losing visibility in traditional search.

Why this matters

This supports the broader accountability story. If AI search uses website and publisher content to generate answers, platforms are under pressure to provide clearer controls, better attribution and more transparent measurement.

A German Court Ruling Highlights Responsibility For AI-Generated Answers

What happened

A Munich court ruled that Google could be held responsible for false claims made in an AI Overview, treating the generated summary as Google’s own words rather than a neutral list of search results. The case is specific and should not be treated as a UK legal change, but it is an important signal in the wider debate around AI answer accountability.

Why this matters

The ruling highlights a key difference between traditional search results and generated answers. When a platform summarises information in its own words, the commercial and reputational impact for brands can be greater because users may treat the answer as authoritative.

What This All Means For Brands

AI search is not just a visibility channel. It is also a brand representation surface. Businesses should monitor how they are described, make sure their own sites clearly state facts, services, expertise and credentials, and avoid assuming AI systems will always summarise them accurately.

Bing And Microsoft Are Becoming More Commercially Relevant

Business Impact

Businesses may still see Google dominate organic traffic and search demand, but Microsoft’s search ecosystem may now represent a more meaningful secondary opportunity. This is especially relevant where paid search, biddable media or higher-consideration buying journeys are part of the channel mix.

Bing Reaches 1bn Monthly Active Users

What happened

Microsoft said Bing monthly active users reached 1 billion for the first time, while Edge had taken share for 20 consecutive quarters. Microsoft also reported that search advertising revenue, excluding traffic acquisition costs, increased by 12% year on year.

Why this matters

This does not make Bing the priority over Google, but it does make Microsoft’s search and AI ecosystem harder to ignore. If Bing, Edge and Copilot continue to grow together, the opportunity is not just organic visibility, but also paid media diversification and incremental search demand.

Microsoft’s Growth Matters For Paid And Organic Discovery

What happened

Microsoft’s growth comes at a time when search, browser usage and AI assistants are becoming more closely connected. Bing’s scale, Edge’s continued share gains and Copilot’s integration across Microsoft products all point to a wider ecosystem rather than a standalone search engine story.

Why this matters

For brands, this creates a practical reason to review Microsoft visibility more seriously. Google remains the commercial priority for most businesses, but Bing may offer additional paid search opportunities, different competitive dynamics and a useful secondary route into AI-assisted discovery.

What This All Means For Brands

Brands should still prioritise Google, but Bing and Microsoft should not be ignored. The sensible position is measured diversification: review Bing visibility, monitor paid opportunity, and consider where Microsoft’s ecosystem may support incremental reach.

Technical Foundations Still Matter As AI Visibility Grows

Business Impact

Familiar SERP features continue to change, including reduced visibility from FAQ rich results. At the same time, technical SEO, structured content and schema remain important because they help search engines and AI systems understand pages, entities, services, products and relationships more clearly.

FAQ Rich Results Are Removed, But Structured Content Still Has Value

What happened

Google has removed FAQ rich results from Search, with FAQ rich results no longer appearing from 7 May 2026 and related Search Console reporting and testing support being phased out. FAQ structured data can remain on pages, but it no longer creates the same visible FAQ rich result opportunity in Google Search.

Why this matters

This reduces one familiar SERP visibility tactic, but it does not remove the value of useful FAQ content or appropriate structured data. FAQs can still help users, support clearer page structure and provide a better basis for search engines and AI systems to interpret page content.

Schema Remains A Useful Signal Of Page Quality And Structure

What happened

Google’s guidance on generative AI search continues to point website owners back to strong SEO fundamentals, including clear technical structure, crawlable pages, useful content and accurate structured data where it supports eligible rich results. Google also states that optimising for generative AI features in Google Search is still part of SEO, rather than a completely separate discipline.

Why this matters

Schema should not be positioned as a guaranteed ranking lever, but it remains valuable as part of high-quality page creation. When schema accurately reflects strong on-page content, it helps reinforce page meaning, entity clarity and the relationship between visible content and machine-readable context.

Speculative AI Files And Shortcuts Should Be Treated Separately

What happened

Some AI visibility tactics, such as LLMS.txt files, AI-specific page rewrites, artificial brand mentions and early bot-authentication approaches, continue to attract attention. Google’s generative AI guidance says website owners do not need special AI markup, LLMS.txt files or content written specifically for AI systems to appear in Google’s generative AI search features.

Why this matters

These tactics are very different from established schema implementation and should not be grouped together as the same type of technical SEO work. Schema remains part of a defensible SEO foundation when implemented accurately, while speculative AI shortcuts should be treated as optional, low-certainty or experimental unless stronger evidence emerges.

What This All Means For Brands

Brands should keep investing in strong technical foundations, clear page structure and appropriate schema, especially where there are opportunities to clarify services, locations, products, articles, FAQs, reviews or organisational information. The priority is not to chase AI hacks, but to make high-quality pages easier for search engines and AI systems to interpret accurately.

What To Watch Next

1. AI Citation Formats And List-Led Content
   • Third-party research reported by Search Engine Land suggests AI systems often cite list-style content, but this should not be treated as a reason to turn every article into a listicle. The more useful takeaway is that clear structure, comparisons, summaries and source-rich content may make pages easier for AI systems to use and cite.
2. Web Bot Authentication
   • Google’s Web Bot Auth work is still experimental, but it points to a future where bot verification, AI crawling and crawler access controls become more important. For now, it is a watch item rather than a recommended standard implementation.
3. Publisher Planning Around Lower Search Traffic
   • Condé Nast’s reported planning around a future with much lower search traffic is useful publisher-sector context, but it should not be read as a universal forecast for all businesses. It does, however, reinforce why publishers and thought-led brands are paying close attention to AI attribution, referral traffic and audience loyalty.

May’s Key Learnings

May’s updates show AI search becoming more embedded in how people discover, evaluate and click through to information. The most important shift is not that AI search replaces SEO, but that AI visibility is becoming part of the same commercial picture as rankings, referrals, brand demand and content authority.

For brands, the opportunity is to be visible where answers are being formed. That means continuing to invest in strong SEO foundations, useful content, accurate structured data and clear brand information, while also monitoring how AI systems cite, summarise and link to the business.

The direction from Google, ChatGPT and Microsoft suggests AI search may become more valuable for the brands it shows, cites and links to. The key is to track that change carefully, avoid overreacting to unproven tactics, and build the kind of content and technical foundations that support visibility across both traditional and AI-led search.