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If AI is killing search, why is ChatGPT using Google?

We don’t actually buy the headlines that flood our feeds about “AI killing search.”
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What we learned this week about ChatGPT - AI’s poster child - only reinforces that. Behind the scenes, it’s been sourcing results via SerpApi, running on Google Cloud, to power real-time answers. One ex-Google engineer even planted test pages to prove it.
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Sam Altman says he doesn’t use Google. But his product clearly does. That undermines OpenAI’s public narrative that ChatGPT relies solely on its crawler, Bing, and licensed publisher content.
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Even the loudest challenger to Google can’t escape the skeleton of the internet: Google’s index.
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And the reason? For all the hype, Google’s index is still the most comprehensive, accurate source of information on the web - and even OpenAI execs admit they’re nowhere close to matching its accuracy on uncommon queries.
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So if Google’s results fuel AI answers, ranking in Google doesn’t just impact the traditional SERPs, it influences AI-generated answers too.

Read the full report in The Information (paid subscription required), by Amir Efrati, Stephanie Palazzolo, and Natasha Mascarenhas.
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Meanwhile, elsewhere this week in search and AI...
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​New Research: 20% of Americans use AI tools 10X+/month, but growth is slowing and traditional search hasn’t dipped​
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By Rand Fishkin on Sparktoro
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Datos & Sparktoro’s latest research shows AI adoption is rising fast - 20% of Americans are heavy users - but growth is slowing. Crucially, search hasn’t declined: 95% of Americans still use search monthly, and heavy Google use is actually increasing. The takeaway: AI isn’t replacing search, it’s expanding it.
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​Google releases August 2025 spam update​

By Danny Goodwin on Search Engine Land

Google has rolled out its first spam update of 2025 - the first in 8 months. Labelled a “normal spam update,” it will take a few weeks to complete and applies across all languages and locations. While the exact targets are unclear, past updates have focused on link schemes, thin/auto-generated content, and other policy violations. Expect ranking fluctuations in the coming weeks may be tied to this rollout.
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​Google experiments with links in AI Mode​
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Says Robby Stein, VP of Product at Google Search, on X
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​Google is testing new ways to surface links in AI answers - from inline citations and embedded carousels to a new “Web Guide” curating the most useful sources for complex queries. The goal: make links more visible, contextual, and trustworthy while encouraging users to click out. Stein described this as part of Google’s effort to “make the web shine” - a signal to publishers that links remain central in AI Mode, even as Google refines layouts to balance user experience with publisher traffic.
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​8 best marketing podcasts according to the pros​
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By Rob Glover on Wordstream
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A personal note this week: our weekly live event, SEO Office Hours, has been named one of WordStream’s 8 Best Marketing Podcasts. This recognition belongs as much to the community as it does to the hosts - the people who show up every Friday, ask smart questions, and share their expertise.
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I spoke to WordStream about why I started SEO Office Hours and what makes it unique. If you haven’t joined us yet, sign up to join us live and watch previous episodes here.
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