Google Volatility, Personalized Google AI Answers, Microsoft Copilot Checkout & More SEO & PPC News

This week, yep, we had another story on Google Search ranking volatility. I posted the Google webmaster report for January 2026. Google Discover seems to be showing too many posts from X. Google does personalize some AI Overviews and AI Mode responses. Tailwind CSS had to let go of 75% of its engineers after a 40% drop to its documentation because of AI Search and Google. Google Search Console may be missing links in its links report. Danny Sullivan said don’t turn your content into bite-sized chunks for LLMs. Danny Sullivan and John Mueller spoke about hiring an AEO/GEO and buying AI optimization tools. Google’s John Mueller talks about if you should invest in GEO. Google Merchant Center updated its multi-channel product rules. Google Vehicle Ads can now show call assets. Google Ads to allow ads for prediction markets. Google is hiring a Chief of Staff for Search Intelligence. Google is hiring an AI Answer search quality engineer. Microsoft is hiring a very senior product manager to fight spam on Bing and Copilot. Microsoft launched Copilot Checkout and Brand Agents. Microsoft is testing a larger Ask Copilot button and a redesigned Bing home page. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.Sponsor: Ahrefs - Did you know there’s a free version of Ahrefs? It’s called Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, and it gives website owners a powerful SEO toolkit at no cost. You get Web Analytics that shows real-time traffic trends, top sources, visitor behavior, custom events like button clicks and form submissions, AI referral traffic, and campaign performance breakdowns—all in a clean, privacy-focused dashboard. Plus, it includes Site Audit to find issues and Site Explorer to see which pages and keywords drive search traffic. If you want actionable SEO insights without paying for a full suite, it’s worth checking out. Visit ahrefs.com/awt to get started.0:00 - Introduction2:15 - Google Search Ranking Volatility January 6th With AdSense Earnings Drops2:56 - January 2026 Google Webmaster Report3:30 - Google Discover Show X Posts Too Often?4:00 - Google Personalizing Some AI Overviews & AI Mode Answers5:03 - Tailwind CSS Lets Go 75% Of Engineers After 40% Traffic Drop From Google6:33 - Google Search Console Links Report Missing Data?7:03 - Google: Don't Turn Your Content Into Bite-Sized Chunks7:42 - Google Talks On Hiring A GEO/AEO/SEO & Buying AI-Optimization Tools8:32 - Google's John Mueller Answers If You Should Invest In GEO9:08 - Google Merchant Center Updates Multi-Channel Products Rules9:37 - Google Vehicle Ads Gains Call Assets9:55 - Google Ads To Allow Ads For Prediction Markets10:26 - Google Hiring Search Intelligence Chief of Staff10:50 - Google Hiring AI Answers & Search Quality Software Engineer11:10 - Microsoft Hiring Very Senior PM To Fight Spam On Bing & Copilot11:36 - Microsoft Agents: Copilot Checkout & Brand Agents12:06 - Microsoft Tests Larger Ask Copilot Button On Bing Home Page12:17 - Microsoft Bing Tests New Home Page Design Promoting Copilot12:26 - Conclusion