Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly Digital Marketing News, your go-to roundup of the biggest stories shaping SEO, AI, search, digital PR, paid media, and digital strategy.

Co-Hosts:Amanda Walls – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

Stanislav Farkas – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/

Christian Goodrich – https://www.linkedin.com/in/cargoodrich/

In this week’s episode, we explore a mix of updates and discussions, including AI-driven traffic trends, chat GPT ad rollouts, brand loyalty in a digital-first world, and emerging tools for marketers.

Top Stories 📰

We discuss the Visibility Labs study showing that chat GPT–sourced e-commerce traffic converted 31% higher than standard non-branded organic search, though attribution via GA4 may underreport AI’s real influence on user journeys.

The rollout of chat GPT ads raises questions: early experiments show costs up to three times higher than Meta, with limited reporting metrics, highlighting challenges for SMEs and marketers navigating new AI-driven paid media channels.

MoneySupermarket launches a UK-first AI-driven app, integrating comparison services like insurance and broadband directly into chat GPT, with a shift toward loyalty and membership-led growth.

The Guardian and other publishers are forming coalitions to protect original content and combat AI-driven content aggregation, emphasizing the growing impact of AI on publishing.

Top Videos 🎥

PPC Live 19: Amanda highlights practical PPC strategies, including performance max scripts, lead generation approaches, and collaboration opportunities between SEO and paid media teams.

Whisper Flow: Stan covers this AI-powered dictation app, now launching on Android, demonstrating the growing role of voice-enabled tools in productivity and content creation.

Claude Code for SEO: Christian shares how small businesses can rapidly build SEO-optimized websites using AI tools, opening opportunities for non-developers to scale marketing initiatives efficiently.

Top Social Posts 📲

Customer loyalty spotlight: Steven Adams shares a story illustrating the business impact of proactive and frictionless customer support, highlighting that retention can outweigh acquisition costs.

Profound Series C raise: Stan notes Profound’s $97M Series C at a $1B valuation, showcasing rapid growth in AI visibility platforms and the evolving ecosystem for AI-powered marketing tools.

Lily Ray calls out Google: Christian highlights issues with AI overviews showing answers without citations, underscoring the importance of transparency and publisher recognition in AI-driven search results.

Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly Digital Marketing News, your go-to roundup of the biggest stories shaping SEO, AI, search, digital PR, paid media, and digital strategy.

Co-Hosts:

Amanda Walls – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

Stanislav Farkas – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/

In this week’s episode, we explore a mix of updates and discussions, including the rise of AI tools, Google's updates, and emerging trends.

Top Stories 📰

This week, we discuss Google's latest rollout of AI-powered features in Search Console, making reporting and data analysis more efficient with natural language queries. We also look into the debate on ads in AI tools, with Perplexity pulling sponsored placements, and the ongoing challenges of monetising AI search effectively. The episode also touches on how AI agents, like Claude Bots, are changing user experiences, raising concerns about their increasing autonomy.

Top Videos 🎥

We highlight a key video tutorial on keyword research for Google and AI SEO, focusing on how to target user intent and avoid AI traps that could lower CTR. Additionally, a spotlight on SEM Rush’s social media videos showcases their creative approach, while we also explore a fascinating video where AI agents like Claude Bots interact with Meta glasses to see, hear, and order products, demonstrating the future of personal assistants.

Top Social Posts 📲

We break down Francesco Cifardi's post about Google Ads keyword reactivation glitches, the increasing importance of fail-safe systems for PPC, and the potential risks in automated ad systems. Plus, we delve into Airbnb’s latest earnings call, where they revealed that traffic from AI search tools like chatbots is converting better than traditional Google traffic, sparking a discussion on the future of AI-driven platforms in the travel industry.

February 2026 highlights how AI is rapidly reshaping search, discovery, jobs, monetisation, and digital trust.

In this episode of The Round-Up, we look at the biggest developments across SEO, AI search, robotics, and the evolving digital ecosystem.

From Google’s transition toward conversational AI search and agent-driven web interactions, to new monetisation models emerging across OpenAI, Meta, and Google, this month confirms one thing: AI is no longer an add-on to the internet — it’s becoming its operating layer.

Key Themes Covered

- The Transformation of Search & Discovery

YouTube emerging as the #1 cited source in Google Gemini

AI visibility shifting from rankings to relevance and expertise

Zero-click behaviour and changing traffic expectations

Dynamic AI Overviews and measurement challenges

Google’s new Web MCP protocol enabling AI agents to act on websites

- The Rapid Growth of the AI Workforce

AI roles dominating job growth across London

The evolving SEO job market in an AI-integrated world

Why SEO professionals are moving closer to strategic decision-making

- AI Monetisation & Platform Economics

OpenAI introducing advertising modelsPremium AI subscriptions across Meta platforms

AI-powered shopping and checkout directly inside search

Google reducing crawl limits and reshaping technical optimisation

- Trust, Safety & RegulationDeepfake fraud and AI likeness protection

Government responses to AI and social media risks

AI hallucinations, misinformation, and accountability challenges

Expanded tools to monitor and remove personal data online

- The Future of AI IntegrationPersonal AI tutors and guided learning systems

Robotics and physical AI advancements

AI companions and changing human–technology relationships