Fudan University researchers got four English-web AI search tools to reference a concept that never existed, while DeepSeek began selling developers access to its own search index and says it filters out GEO manipulation. Meta edited its crawl clause but kept the crawl permission, and Google’s AI Mode and Ad Grants accounts show quiet changes of their own.
Trust Without Verification: Planted Concepts and Self-Reported Filters
Two stories ask how much weight AI search outputs and AI search vendors’ claims can carry. In both, the evidence comes from the people who built the test or the product.
- A Fake Concept Won AI Citations in Days, Fudan Study Finds The researchers planted posts about an invented idea on sites the tools already cite, and Grok, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI all linked to them within a week. None of the topics were real brands, so the study leaves brand exposure unmeasured.
- DeepSeek Sells Developers Its Search Index, Claims It Screens Out GEO Spam The new Search API returns authority and rerank scores for every result, and every capability described comes from DeepSeek’s own account. The company has not defined GEO manipulation or named the crawler that feeds the index.
- Google tests a Source preferences button in AI Mode citations A video shared on X shows the button opening the Preferred Sources list from the citations sidebar, and the reporter covering it has not seen it yet. Google has not announced the test.
Fine Print and Defaults: Crawl Clauses and Switched-On Automation
Meta trimmed a clause without shrinking what it permits, and one ads specialist reports automation switched on in nonprofit accounts without their say. Each change lands on the party with the least room to object.
- Meta Cuts “Training” From Its Crawl Clause but Keeps Crawl Access The revised terms tie crawling to ads and business products, yet the reach to any business using Meta products is unchanged and robots.txt is still absent from the text. Lawyers quoted in the coverage call the purpose wording broad, and the terms take effect Oct. 30.
- AI Max reportedly switched on inside some Ad Grants accounts A specialist says the automation shows as active in accounts that never enabled it, which matters because grant eligibility depends on click-through rate. Google has not said whether this is deliberate or isolated.
Today’s Quick Hits
- Local Services Ads drop featured professionals; headshots go optional A notice inside advertiser accounts says the element disappears in October, which removes a named-lawyer trust signal that law firms relied on.
- Google appears to test a higher slot for Posts on local panels The section reportedly climbs and drops back on a repeating cycle, which looks like an experiment, and Google has announced nothing.