A vendor-funded study says AI shopping answers lean toward national chains, a report puts Google’s publisher payouts at very little for some participants, and Reddit and Google Maps are narrowing who can read their data.
Chosen and Paid: Who AI Recommends and What Publishers Earn
One study looks at which stores AI answers name, and one report looks at what Google pays the sites behind those answers.
- AI Shopping Answers Favor National Chains Over Independent Stores A Vaer AI study of about half a million answers, commissioned by Lightspeed Commerce, finds chains named far more often than independents, and that the word “independent” shifts results far more than “local.” It measures how often stores are recommended, not why, and the full methodology is not public.
- Google’s AI Pilot Pays Some Publishers Under 0.1% of Ad Revenue The Information, citing people familiar with the tests, reports that about 100 publishers earn from the pilot and that several smaller and midsize sites see payments below 0.1 percent of their ad revenue. The figures come from unnamed sources, and Google is not reported to have commented.
Closing the Taps: Reddit and Google Maps Limit Access to Their Data
Two platforms are making it harder to read their content at scale, one with a published schedule and one so far only a sighting.
- Reddit Shuts RSS on Nov. 13, Closes Public API by March 2027 Reddit announced the dates and cites scraping and automated abuse, according to TechCrunch. Brand-mention alerts built on RSS stop on November 13, and the report describes no published pricing for continued access.
- Google Maps Prompts Sign-In Before Showing Full Review Lists Search Engine Roundtable reports users being asked to sign in before reading every review, sorting them or leaving one. It is a sighting, not an announcement, and Google has given no explanation.
On the Results Page: AI Overviews on Brand Names and a Blended Ad Grid
Two sightings show Google’s results page changing around brand searches and product listings.
- Chris Long: 93% of Large Brand Queries Tested Now Show AI Overviews Chris Long reports AI Overviews on branded queries for 93 percent of the brands he tested, per Search Engine Roundtable, which notes the sample was only about 100 brands. Most examples sit below the main company result.
- Google Tests Sponsored Product Grid Styled Like Organic Listings Brodie Clark spotted a test that replaces the sponsored carousel with a grid resembling free product listings. It is a test with no performance data, and his prediction of a higher click-through rate is not a measured result.
Today’s Quick Hits
- ChatGPT Ads Adds Bulk Feed Campaigns, Product Review Status OpenAI’s advertiser email covers spreadsheet uploads for product feed campaigns, a Products tab showing review status, wider conversion reporting in the Insights API and separate account, brand and legal names.
- Microsoft Advertising Adds HubSpot Link, 10,000-Company LinkedIn Lists The September update adds a HubSpot connection, raises LinkedIn company lists from 1,000 to 10,000 names and sets a January 31, 2027 deadline to move integrations to the REST API.
- Google Analytics Brings App Conversions Into Cross-Channel Reports App conversions now appear in conversion performance and attribution reports, though access is not universal yet and cross-channel budgeting still covers web only.