In this month's Round-Up episode, we cover the biggest developments across SEO, AI, search, paid media and digital marketing.

🔴 First, a look back at Search With Sean Live 2 — 30+ videos across digital marketing, all for charity: https://www.searchwithsean.com/search-with-sean-live-2

Hosted by Sean (https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/)

Alongside -

Crystal Asiedu (https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalasiedu/)

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

Katie Thompson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-lingo-freelance-writer/)

Steve O'Brien (https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveob/)

We discuss Google's latest updates, the measurable shift to AI search, GEO and AI citations, local search, AI security, and where AI is taking the industry next.

Key Themes:

Search Updates & Google Protecting Its Results

We start with Google's third spam update of the year and its ongoing moves to make scraping harder and what that means for how we access and rely on search data.

The Measurable Shift To AI Search

We dig into the numbers: traditional search reportedly down around 25%, the EU treating ChatGPT as a search engine, and Google beginning to pay publishers when their content shapes an AI answer and what a "pay-the-publishers" model could mean.

GEO, Reviews & AI Citations

We discuss why GEO is becoming about credibility rather than clever prompts - including research on how a strong review profile hugely increases citation rates - plus JavaScript, AI crawlers and platforms blocking bots by default.

AI Platforms, Trust & The Workplace

The team explores generalist vs specialist AI tools, trust and data concerns, and the uncomfortable reality of AI starting to replace certain roles and how businesses are weighing speed and growth against people.

Local Search — Apple Maps Ads & AI Verification

We cover Apple Maps launching ads to take on Google, AI local packs rewarding accurate, review-rich profiles over proximity, and Google's move to AI photo verification for business profiles.

Social, Search Console & MarTech

The panel discusses Search Console now tracking how Instagram, TikTok and YouTube content ranks in Google, GA4's new AI and chat features, and the endless Reddit-strategy-and-spam cycle.

AI Security & Rogue Agents

We get into the story everyone's talking about — AI agents communicating and acting autonomously, the Hugging Face incident, questions of disclosure, and whether the risks are being under- or over-stated.

The Bigger Picture — AI, Power & Society

The episode closes on the wider view: AI concentration and who benefits, AI creeping into government and public-sector decisions, Albania's AI "minister", and why human oversight and healthy scepticism matter as the pace accelerates.

Thank you to our partners, SEO Gets and Linkavista.

SEO Gets is the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data. Use code search10 for 10% off: https://seogets.com/

Linkavista helps you find quality backlink opportunities with transparent data. Use code SEAN10 for 10% extra credit on your first order: https://linkavista.com/