Source: Search Engine Roundtable by barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz). Read the original article
TL;DR Summary of Google’s June 2025 Core Update and Latest Search Industry Changes
Google’s June 2025 core update rolled out in early July, following an unconfirmed update late June. AI innovations continue shaping search with Google promoting AI Mode and Chrome testing it. Search traffic and ad platforms saw notable shifts, including a 13% drop in Google clicks and Microsoft’s major ad account removals. Industry changes also include updates to Google Ads experiments, AdSense enhancements, and Cloudflare’s AI crawler policies.
Optimixed’s Overview: Key Developments in Search Engine Updates and AI Integration in Mid-2025
Google’s Core Update and AI Enhancements
The June 2025 core update from Google took effect around July 2nd, following an earlier unconfirmed update on June 28th. This update reflects Google’s ongoing commitment to refining search quality and relevance. Concurrently, Google is heavily promoting AI Mode, both with a visual animated feature and active testing within the Chrome browser, signaling an increased focus on AI-driven search experiences.
Search Traffic Trends and Advertising Platform Changes
- A Similarweb study reports a significant 13 percentage point drop in clicks from Google since the launch of AI Overviews a year ago, indicating shifting user behavior.
- Microsoft has made substantial changes in its advertising ecosystem, removing over one billion ads and 475,000 advertiser accounts, while also phasing out TCPA and TROAS metrics in Microsoft Advertising.
- Google Ads is experimenting with new broad match types and introduced AI Max as a search match option, reflecting innovations in ad targeting.
- Google AdSense will, by default within 30 days, fill empty in-page ad spaces with contextually relevant suggestions to optimize user engagement and revenue.
Additional Industry Updates
- Bing has repositioned its Copilot Search tab to the forefront of all tabs, emphasizing AI integration in its search interface.
- Cloudflare announced plans to block AI crawlers by default and introduce a Pay Per Crawl model, affecting how AI tools access web content.
- Microsoft is undergoing significant workforce reductions with 9,000 layoffs, highlighting possible restructuring within tech giants linked to search and AI.
These developments underscore a transformative period in search engine technology, where AI integration, user behavior shifts, and advertising platform evolutions are rapidly reshaping the digital landscape.
