A fake AI extension quietly logged every query before Google pulled it, even as AI search handed publishers a rare concession and Google Ads reshuffled its surfaces. Here is what moved.
Search Integrity: A Fake AI Extension Was Watching Every Query
The layer between a user and the SERP is a blind spot, and someone just exploited it at scale.
- Fake Perplexity Extension Intercepted Searches Before Google Removed It A Chromium extension using Perplexity branding routed every query, and even pre-Enter keystrokes, through an attacker server before redirecting to real results, per Microsoft’s security team. Google pulled it after disclosure. Browser extensions sit between users and the SERP, a layer your analytics and rank tools cannot see. Audit extensions that override search on managed devices.
Adapting to AI Search: A Concession and a New Toolkit
One rare move restores publisher attribution; one honest read reframes the working SEO stack.
- Google Adds Attribution Cards to AI Mode Recipe Results Google put creator cards with ratings and ingredient counts at the top of AI Mode recipe answers, a rare AI change that adds a click path back to publishers instead of removing one. The cards pull from Recipe schema, so food publishers with clean author, aggregateRating, and recipeIngredient markup are the ones positioned to earn them.
- The SEO Toolkit Is Not Broken. It Just Needs a Co-Pilot. Keyword volume no longer predicts opportunity when an AI Overview answers inline, so the practical stack is expanding to Search Console APIs, scripts, and LLM-assisted analysis. The fundamentals hold; the speed of analysis is what changes. Pick one manual task this quarter and script it.
Google Ads Housekeeping: Videos, Navigation, and a Recording Default
Three smaller platform moves that still change a working advertiser’s day.
- Google Shopping Video Ads Go Live as video_link Enters Serve Phase Product videos submitted since April can now serve across Shopping via the video_link attribute, with a useful safety net: a policy or quality error suppresses only the video, not the whole offer. The downside risk is low, so add and validate videos on top products now.
- Google Ads Adds Expandable Hierarchy to All Campaigns Selector The All Campaigns selector gains a nested, expandable view and in-panel search, aimed at large accounts that outgrew the flat list. Big-account teams should check availability and confirm the new layout does not hide campaign-group relationships.
- Google Ads Call Recording Is Now On by Default As of July 1, accounts that never set a call recording preference have it switched to Yes, feeding an AI call-quality feature, with healthcare and financial services exempt. If you never opted out, recording is on today. Verify the setting now.