> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://bielawski.pro/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Week 39/2026: the September spam update, AI answers costing clicks and image search in Search Console - URL: https://bielawski.pro/en/week-39-2026-the-september-spam-update-ai-answers-costing-clicks-and-image-search-in-search-console/ - Published: 2026-09-27T17:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-05T14:52:09.000Z - Description: A field experiment confirmed that AI Mode and AI Overviews take clicks away from websites. At the same time, more than half of AI citations come from pages outside the top ten results. - Author: Bartosz Bielawski - Tags: SEO, AI, E-commerce, #en ## The week in three sentences Google started another spam update and published research on a system built to catch AI-generated content. New data confirms that AI answers in search take clicks away from websites, even though they also cite pages from outside the top results. Search Console got a filter for image-based searches, and Discover is testing its own AI summaries. ## Google is cleaning up spam again, for the fourth time this year *Signal: 2 independent sources this week, 2 in 30 days; tracked since 2026-08-19.* Google confirmed its September spam update. It is the fourth one this year, after March, June and August. At the same time, Google published research on SAFE, a system for detecting AI-generated content. Updates are coming more often, so sites that mass-produce text are being watched more closely. What to do: keep an eye on your Search Console traffic over the next few weeks and check which pages were written quickly and never edited. **Sources:** - Delante, 2026-09-25: [Google uruchomiło September 2026 Spam Update. Co oznacza to dla SEO?](https://delante.pl/google-september-2026-spam-update/?ref=bielawski.pro) - Search Engine Journal, 2026-09-24: [Google Rolls Out September 2026 Spam Update Globally](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-september-2026-spam-update/590828/?ref=bielawski.pro) ## AI answers in Google really do take clicks away *Signal: 2 independent sources this week, 3 in 30 days; tracked since 2026-04-14.* Researchers from two US universities tested this in a randomised experiment. The verdict: AI Mode clearly cuts clicks to external sites, and AI Overviews simply replace a visit to the page. Another study shows the scale: when an AI summary appears, clicks on regular results drop by almost half (Pew). People are also more likely to end their search right there. What to do: when you report a traffic drop, check whether your keywords now show an AI summary before you blame the content. **Sources:** - WhitePress® Global, 2026-09-23: [The 5 Stages of SEO Grief: How to Measure AI Search](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn%5FRx0izYEk&t=444s&ref=bielawski.pro) - Search Engine Journal, 2026-09-21: [Research Shows Google AI Mode Sends Less Clicks & Is A Poor User Experience](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/research-shows-google-ai-mode-sends-less-clicks-is-a-poor-user-experience/590221/?ref=bielawski.pro) ## You don't need to be in the top ten to get cited by AI *New signal: one source so far.* More than half of the citations in AI Overviews and AI Mode come from pages outside the top ten results. The page in the number one position is cited in only about a third of cases. Ranking high helps, but it guarantees nothing. AI picks its sources in its own way, so a page from the second or third page of results can still make it into the answer. What to do: don't give up on topics where you're not in the top spots, and check whether your text answers the question directly. **Sources:** - Artur Jabłoński, 2026-09-22: [Czy SEO jeszcze ma sens? Senuto o spadkach ruchu, AI Mode i widoczności w ChatGPT | Artur Jabłoński](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8mFUUGsLmM&t=480s&ref=bielawski.pro) ## Search Console finally shows traffic from image search *Signal: 2 independent sources this week, 2 in 30 days; tracked since 2026-09-24.* The Performance report in Search Console now has a multimodal filter. It covers image-based searches: Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android and searching with an uploaded photo. Until now, this traffic was buried in the overall numbers. The feature is rolling out to everyone starting 24 September, but you will only see data if your site actually gets visits from these searches. What to do: apply the filter to your store's data and see which products people find through a photo - that tells you which images are worth improving. **Sources:** - Search Engine Journal, 2026-09-24: [Google Spam Update, Image Search Data In GSC – SEO Pulse](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-pulse-google-spam-update-image-search-data/590882/?ref=bielawski.pro) - Search Engine Journal, 2026-09-24: [Google Search Console Adds Multimodal Filter For Image-Based Searches](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-search-console-multimodal-filter/590781/?ref=bielawski.pro) - Google Search Central Blog, 2026-09-24: [Announcing web multimodal Search performance reporting in Search Console](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/09/web-multimodal-in-sc?ref=bielawski.pro) ## Discover tests AI summaries that replace visits to your site *Signal: 2 independent sources this week, 3 in 30 days; tracked since 2026-09-18.* Google is testing a "Dive deeper" button in Discover. Tap it and you get a short AI summary with links to sources and related stories. The test started with video content. The risk is simple: some people will read the summary right in the feed and never reach the publisher's page. What to do: if Discover is an important traffic source for you, start tracking it separately so you can spot changes quickly. **Sources:** - Delante, 2026-09-26: [Google testuje „Dive deeper" w Discover. AI podsumuje temat przed przejściem do strony](https://delante.pl/google-discover-dive-deeper-ai/?ref=bielawski.pro) - Top Online, 2026-09-21: [SEO News #258 – Gemini 3.8, nowe funkcje w Claude, Wikipedia z dużymi spadkami ruchu](https://toponline.pl/blog/seo-news-258?ref=bielawski.pro) ## Cloudflare may be blocking AI bots without you knowing *Signal: 2 independent sources this week, 2 in 30 days; tracked since 2025-11-17.* Cloudflare launched a sync between its bot settings and your robots.txt file. The option that blocks model training still lets in search engine crawlers such as Googlebot. The catch is that Cloudflare often blocks AI crawlers by default, and this is sometimes switched on without the marketing team knowing. Your site then quietly disappears from chatbot answers. What to do: check your Cloudflare settings and robots.txt before you start wondering why AI never cites you. **Sources:** - Top Online, 2026-09-21: [SEO News #258 – Gemini 3.8, nowe funkcje w Claude, Wikipedia z dużymi spadkami ruchu](https://toponline.pl/blog/seo-news-258?ref=bielawski.pro) - Search Engine Journal, 2026-09-21: [How To Build Local Pages AI Systems Can Find And Trust](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-to-build-local-pages-ai-systems-can-find-and-trust/588097/?ref=bielawski.pro) ## Your store's prices in ChatGPT can be refreshed every fifteen minutes *Signal: 2 independent sources this week, 2 in 30 days; tracked since 2026-07-08.* The ChatGPT product feed accepts refreshes as often as every 15 minutes. Prices and stock in chatbot answers can be almost as fresh as in your store. That matters because most AI conversations start with a problem, not a product name (SemlyAI Polska). The chatbot matches the offer to a need, so an accurate, up-to-date description makes a difference. What to do: check how often you refresh your feed, and make sure it describes the problem each product solves. **Sources:** - Search Engine Journal, 2026-09-24: [Which Data Sources Should You Care About For AI Search?](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/which-data-sources-should-you-care-about-for-ai-search/590086/?ref=bielawski.pro) ## The new Opus does more for less *Signal: 2 independent sources this week, 5 in 30 days; tracked since 2026-07-21.* A new model, Opus 5.5, is out. On medium effort, it scores higher in tests than the pricier Fable on maximum effort, and it costs much less. The highest effort level adds almost nothing. In tests, it raised the score by one percentage point while using more than ten times as many tokens - the units you pay for. What to do: start with the medium setting for writing and analysis, and switch to higher levels only for genuinely hard tasks. **Sources:** - Jack Roberts, 2026-09-26: [Opus 5.5 Just 10X'd Claude Design…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOXrLsVqinY&t=0s&ref=bielawski.pro) - Jack Roberts, 2026-09-24: [Opus 5.5 vs GPT-6 Astra (No Hype Assessment)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDsTqya5A7E&t=0s&ref=bielawski.pro) - Theo - t3․gg, 2026-09-24: [Anthropic Actually Fixed Opus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgGyX7MPPVg&t=401s&ref=bielawski.pro)