Nov 13 2025
Data Shows How AI Overviews Is Ranking Shopping Keywords via @sejournal, @martinibuster

BrightEdge’s latest research shows that Google’s AI Overviews are now appearing in ways that reflect what BrightEdge describes as “deliberate, aggressive choices” about where AI shows up and where it does not. These trends show marketers where AI search is showing up within the buyer’s journey and what businesses should expect.

The data indicates that Google is concentrating AI in parts of the shopping process where it gives clear informational value, particularly during research and evaluation. This aligns AI Overviews with the points in the shopping journey where users need help comparing options or understanding product details.

BrightEdge reports that Google retained only about 30 percent of the AI Overview keywords that appeared at the peak of its September 1 through October 15, 2025 research window. The retained queries also tended to have higher search volume than the removed ones, which BrightEdge notes is the opposite pattern observed in 2024. This fits with the higher retention in categories where shoppers look for explanations, comparisons, and instructional information.

BrightEdge explains:

“The numbers paint an interesting story: Google retained only 30% of its peak AI Overview keywords. But here’s what makes 2025 fundamentally different: those retained keywords have HIGHER search volume than removed ones—the complete opposite of 2024. Google isn’t just pulling back; it’s being strategic about which searches deserve AI guidance.”

The shifting behavior of AI Overviews shows how actively Google is tuning its system. BrightEdge observed a spike from 9 percent to 26 percent coverage on September 18 before returning to 9 percent soon after. This change signals ongoing testing. The year-over-year overlap of AI Overview keywords is only 18 percent, which BrightEdge calls a “massive reshuffling” that shows “active experimentation” and requires marketers to plan for change rather than stability. The volatility shows Google may be experimenting or responding to user trends and that the queries shown in AI Overviews can change over time.
My opinion is that Google is likely responding to user trends, testing how they respond to AI Overviews, then using the data to show more if user reactions are positive.

AI Is A Comparison And Evaluation Layer

BrightEdge’s research indicates that AI Overviews aligns with shopper intent. Google places AI in research queries such as “best TV for gaming,” continues support for evaluation queries like “Samsung vs LG,” and then withdraws when users show purchase intent with searches like “Samsung S95C price.”

These examples show that AI serves as an educational and comparison layer, not a transactional one. When a shopper reaches a buying decision, Google steps back and lets traditional results handle the final step. This apparent alignment with comparison and evaluation means Google is confident in using AI Overviews as a part of the shopping journey.

Usefulness Varies Across Categories

The data shows that AI’s usefulness varies across categories, and Google adjusts AIO keywords retention based on these needs. Categories that retained AI Overviews such as Grocery, TV and Home Theater, and Small Appliances share a pattern.

Users rely on comparison, explanation, and instruction during their decisions. In contrast, categories with low retention, like Furniture and Home, rely on visual browsing rather than text-based evaluation. This limits the value of AI. Google’s category patterns show that AI appears more often in categories where text-based information (such as comparison, explanation, and instruction) guides decisions.

Google’s keyword filtering clarifies how AI fits into the shopping journey. Among retained queries, a little more than a quarter are evaluation or comparison searches, including “best [product]” and “X vs Y” terms. These are queries where users need background and guidance. In contrast, Google removes bottom-funnel keywords. Price, buy, deals, and specific product names are removed. This shows Google’s focus is on how useful AI serves for each intent. AI educates and guides but does not handle the final purchase step.

Shopping Trends Influence AI Appearance

The shopping calendar shapes how AI appears in search results. BrightEdge describes the typical shopping journey as consisting of research in November, evaluation and comparison in early December, and buying in late December. AI helps shoppers understand options in November, assists with comparisons in early December, and by late December, AI tends to be less influential and traditional search results tend to complete the sale.

This makes November the key moment for making evaluation and comparison content easier for AI to cite. Once December arrives, the chance for AI-driven discovery shrinks because consumers have moved on to the final leg of their shopping journey, purchase.

These findings mean that brands should align their content strategies with the points in the journey where AI Overviews are active. BrightEdge advises identifying evaluation and transactional pages, ensuring that comparison content is indexed early, and watching category-specific retention patterns. The data indicates two areas where brands can focus their efforts. One is supporting AI during research and review stages. The other is improving organic search visibility for purchasing queries. The 18 percent year-over-year consistency figure also shows that flexibility is needed because the queries shown in AI Overviews change frequently.

Although the behavior of AI Overviews may seem volatile, BrightEdge’s research suggests that the changes follow a consistent pattern. AI surfaces when people are learning and evaluating and withdraws when users shift into buying. Categories that require explanations or comparisons see the highest retention in AI Overviews, and November remains the key period when AI can use that content. The overall pattern gives brands a clearer view of how AI fits into the shopping journey and how user intent shapes where AI shows up.

Read BrightEdge’s report:
Google AI Overview Holiday Shopping Test: The 57% Pullback That Changes Everything

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Misselss

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Nov 13 2025
Overcoming Skepticism In Brand Mention And Link Building Campaigns via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Successful link and brand mention building is strongly about overcoming skepticism and building relationships with the people behind the websites that you want to acquire a link or brand mention from.  It can be as simple as showing what you have in common or inspiring a sense of goodwill towards your site.

Overcoming Skepticism: Try Non-Link Brand Building

One of the biggest barriers to acquiring a link, particularly a free link, is skepticism. For example, I recall that one of my campaigns repeatedly received rejections from non-profit type organizations and associations because the client site was commercial in nature, even though this particular client site lacked the overt signals of commercial intent like ads or products, associations and organizations were resistant.

This is how I discovered there are other opportunities for building top of mind brand awareness with brand mentions. Although these organizations were skeptical about linking to commercial client sites they were way okay with accepting contributions to their email newsletters and magazines that were sent out every month to thousands of potential customers.

Lessons To Learn From The Broken Link Outreach

The broken link outreach is an old approach that works (Hi, I saw you have a broken link on your page/And btw would you consider adding example.com?). One thing that doesn’t get discussed is why it works.

The reason why broken link building works is instructional on crafting an outreach with a high conversion rate. Ever see a supermarket shopper drop a few boxes and subsequently be assisted by a stranger? Most people typically welcome help. Most people generally smile. Why is that? How do you feel when someone helps you?

I feel good and believe most others do, too. Not only that, there is a temporary bond between us in the form of a good feeling. That’s called goodwill. Goodwill is a general feeling of kindness and friendliness to someone else. When someone does something kind to someone else, the other person thinks, “Oh, this is a nice person.” That’s goodwill.

I believe that is the reason why the broken link outreach works so well. The normal skeptical distance is temporarily bridged by an amount of goodwill that is earned by helping someone else out. The approach bridges the skeptical distance between strangers.

Knowing this, don’t limit yourself to broken links. The approach should be renamed from Broken Links Outreach to simply the Goodwill Outreach because it works for anything that is broken on a site and leads to building goodwill.

For example:

  • Typos
  • Broken code
  • Spam comments
  • Hacked web pages
  • A dangerously out of date CMS installation

During the course of your free link campaign, keep your approach flexible by keeping an eye out for hidden opportunities for bridging the distance of skepticism. This means having the flexibility to alter your approach to fit the typo, broken code, out of date CMS installation, etc. This is the challenge facing those who are scaling up or outsourcing to a third party, they simply cannot pivot to acting on an unexpected opportunity.

For example, you might review a site and discover that they have a resources page or you might discover that they have a monthly newsletter that goes out to ten thousand potential customers. Being flexible to brand building or alternative helpful approaches helps to create a better sense of authenticity and build goodwill that can turn into a link or a valuable brand mention.

Social Affinity

Social Affinity is a subtle signal that works. Like it or not, people still tend to think in tribal terms. They feel better about you if they know you share the same values and interests. Sharing work, geographic, and social similarities work to bridge the distance between you and the site publisher handing out links.

Doing this can be as simple as having a badge on your site that shows you donate to a specific charity or that you’re a member of an organization. A powerful way to signal social affinity is to mention that you’ve published an article in a sister-chapter of an organization or association.

This can be an aspect of the outreach persona. The word persona literally means a mask, it has etymological roots in the Latin word persōna, which meant a mask that was used in a theatrical production. I’ll discuss outreach persona at another time. For the time being, it’s just how you represent yourself in your outreach through subtle cues.

For example, many years ago I was working on a client’s free link campaign and noticed that success rate went up when there was a geographical/regional affinity between the outreach persona and the link acquisition target. What this means is that the success rate went up when the outreach came from a domain where a state or city name in the outreach domain was geographically close to the organization or association that I was outreaching to.

This is similarly true with my personal link campaigns, where my persona shares a topical affinity, especially when there is a shared hobby or vocation. It’s an “Oh, they’re a part of my tribe”  type of reaction. They can be trusted. These are social signals that can be useful for overcoming inherent skepticism.

Social signals when applied in the right context can help overcome skepticism and build that bridge by presenting evidence in your outreach or website of your social membership. For example, if your outreach is related to the outdoors, then being a member, sponsor, or contributor to wildlife conservation groups can help bridge the skeptical distance with the publishers you are contacting for a link.

Link Building Is About Goodwill And Social Affinity

A great  deal of link building is built on the premise of scale where people send out tens of thousands of emails (spray) and then “pray” that a small percentage of respondents will convert and provide a link. In my experience, being careful, planning ahead for social affinity and being aware of opportunities to be helpful can open doors of opportunities for both brand mention and link building.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Roman Samborskyi

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Nov 13 2025
Why WordPress 6.9 Abilities API Is Consequential And Far-Reaching via @sejournal, @martinibuster

WordPress 6.9, scheduled for release on December 2, 2025, is shipping with a new Abilities API that introduces a new system designed to make advanced AI-driven functionality possible for themes and plugins. The new Abilities API will standardize how plugins, themes, and core describe what they can do in a format that humans and machines can understand.

This positions WordPress sites to be understood and used more reliably by AI agents and automation tools, since the Abilities API provides the structured information those systems need to interact with site functionality in a predictable way.

The Abilities API is designed to address a long-standing issue in WordPress: functionality has been scattered across custom functions, AJAX handlers, and plugin-specific implementations. According to WordPress, the purpose of the API is to provide a common way for WordPress core, plugins, and themes to describe what they can do in a standardized, machine-readable form.

This approach enables discoverability, clear validation, and predictable execution wherever an ability originates. By centralizing the description and exposure of capabilities, the Abilities API provides a centralized way to describe functionality that might otherwise be scattered across different implementations.

What An Ability Is

The announcement defines an “ability” as a self-contained unit of functionality that includes its inputs, outputs, permissions, and execution logic. This structure allows abilities to be managed as separate pieces of functionality rather than fragments buried in theme or plugin code. WordPress explains that registering abilities through the API lets developers define permission checks, execution callbacks, and validation requirements, ensuring predictable behavior wherever the ability is used. By replacing isolated functions with defined units, WordPress creates a clearer and more open system for interacting with its features.

What Developers Gain From Abilities API

Developers gain several advantages by registering functionality as abilities. According to the announcement, abilities become discoverable through standardized interfaces, which means they can be queried, listed, and inspected across different contexts. Developers can organize them into categories, validate inputs and outputs, and apply permission rules that define who or what can execute them. The announcement notes that one benefit is automatic exposure through REST API endpoints under the wp-abilities/v1 namespace. This setup shifts WordPress from custom-coded actions to a system where functionality is defined in a consistent and reachable way.

Abilities Best Practices

One of the frustrating paint points for WordPress users is when a plugin or theme conflicts with another one. This happens for a variety of reasons but in the case of the Abilities API, WordPress has created a set of rules that should help prevent conflicts and errors.

WordPress explains the practices:

Ability names should follow these practices:

  • Use namespaced names to prevent conflicts (e.g., my-plugin/my-ability)
  • Use only lowercase alphanumeric characters, dashes, and forward slashes
  • Use descriptive, action-oriented names (e.g., process-payment, generate-report)
  • The format should be namespace/ability-name

Abilities API

The Abilities API introduces three components that work together to provide a complete system for registering and interacting with abilities.

1. The first is a PHP API for registering, managing, and executing abilities.

2. The second is automatic REST API exposure, which ensures that abilities can be accessed through endpoints without extra developer effort.

3. The third is a set of new hooks that help developers integrate with the system. These components, according to the announcement, bring consistency to how abilities are described and executed, forming a base described in the announcement as a consistent way to register and execute abilities.

The Abilities API is guided by several design goals that help it function as a long-term foundation.

Discoverability
Discoverability is a central goal, allowing every ability to be listed, queried, and inspected.

Interoperability
Interoperability is also emphasized, as the uniform schema lets different parts of WordPress create workflows together.

Security
Security is a part of the new API by design with permission checks defining who and what can invoke abilities.

Part Of The AI Building Blocks Initiative

The Abilities API is not an isolated change but part of the AI Building Blocks initiative meant to prepare WordPress for AI-driven workflows. The announcement explains that this system provides the base for AI agents, automation tools, and developers to interact with WordPress in a predictable way.
Abilities are machine-readable and exposed in the same manner across PHP, REST, and planned interfaces, and the announcement describes them as usable across those contexts. The Abilities API provides the metadata that AI agents and automation tools can use to understand and work with WordPress functionality.

The introduction of the Abilities API in WordPress 6.9 potentially marks a huge change in how functionality is organized, described, and accessed across the platform. By creating a standardized system for defining abilities and exposing them in different contexts, WordPress introduces a system that positions WordPress to be in the forefront of future AI innovations for years to come. This is a big and consequential update to WordPress that will be here in a few short weeks.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/AntonKhrupinArt

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seo enhancements
Nov 13 2025
SEO Basics: What is link building?

Link building is an essential part of SEO. It helps search engines find, understand, and rank your pages. You can write the perfect post, but if search engines cannot follow at least one link to it, your content may stay hidden from view.

Table of Contents

  1. What is link building?
  2. What is a link?
  3. Internal and external links
  4. Anchor text and why it matters
  5. Why we build links
  6. Link building as digital PR
  7. Link quality over quantity
  8. Avoid shady link-building tactics
  9. How to earn high-quality links
  10. Link building in the era of AI and LLM search
  11. Examples of effective link building
  12. In conclusion
  13. TL;DR

For Google to discover your pages, you need links from other websites. The more relevant and trustworthy those links are, the stronger your reputation becomes. In this guide, we explain what link building means in 2025, how it connects to digital PR, and how AI-driven search now evaluates trust and authority.

If you are new to SEO, check out our Beginner’s guide to SEO for a complete overview.

A link, or hyperlink, connects one page on the internet to another. It helps users and search engines move between pages.

For readers, links make it easy to explore related topics. For search engines, links act like roads, guiding crawlers to discover and index new content. Without inbound links, a website can be difficult for search engines to find or evaluate.

You can learn more about how search engines navigate websites in our article on site structure and SEO.

In HTML, a link looks like this:

Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress

The first part contains the URL, and the second part is the clickable text, called the anchor text. Both parts matter for SEO and user experience, because they tell both people and search engines what to expect when they click.

There are two main types of links that affect SEO. Internal links connect pages within your own website, while external links come from other websites and point to your pages. External links are often called backlinks.

Both types of links matter, but external links carry more authority because they act as endorsements from independent sources. Internal linking, however, plays a crucial role in helping search engines understand how your content fits together and which pages are most important.

To learn more about structuring your site effectively, see our guide to internal linking for SEO.

Anchor text and why it matters

The anchor text describes the linked page. Clear, descriptive anchor text helps users understand where a link will take them and gives search engines more context about the topic.

For example, “SEO copywriting guide” is much more useful and meaningful than “click here.” The right anchor text improves usability, accessibility, and search relevance. You can optimize your own internal linking by using logical, topic-based anchors.

For more examples, read our anchor text best practices guide.

Link building is the process of earning backlinks from other websites. These links act as votes of confidence, signaling to search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy.

Search engines like Google still use backlinks as a key ranking signal, but the focus has shifted away from quantity and toward quality and context. A single link from an authoritative, relevant site can be worth far more than dozens from unrelated or low-quality sources.

Good link building is about creating genuine connections, not collecting as many links as possible. When people share your content because they find it useful, you gain visibility, credibility, and referral traffic. These benefits reinforce one another, helping your brand stand out both in traditional search and in AI-driven environments where authority and reputation matter most.

In 2025, link building has evolved into a form of digital PR. Instead of focusing purely on SEO tactics, marketers now use link building to boost brand visibility and credibility.

Digital PR revolves around storytelling, relationship-building, and public exposure. A successful strategy might involve pitching articles or insights to journalists, collaborating with bloggers, or publishing original research that earns citations across the web. When your business appears in trusted media or professional communities, you gain not just backlinks but also brand mentions and citations that reinforce your authority.

Citations are particularly important in today’s search landscape. They are references to your brand or content, even without a clickable link. Search engines and AI systems treat them as indicators of credibility, especially when they appear on reputable sites. Combined with consistent author information and structured data, they help demonstrate your E-E-A-T—Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

You can learn more about building brand authority in our article on E-E-A-T and SEO.

Not all links are created equal. A high-quality backlink from a well-respected, topic-relevant website has far more impact than multiple links from small or unrelated sites.

Consider a restaurant owner who earns a link from The Guardian’s food section. That single editorial mention is far more valuable than a dozen random directory links. Google recognizes that editorial links earned for merit are strong signals of expertise, while low-effort links from unrelated pages carry little or no value.

High-quality backlinks usually come from sites with strong reputations, clear editorial standards, and engaged audiences. They fit naturally within content and make sense to readers. Low-quality links, on the other hand, can make your site appear manipulative or untrustworthy. Building authority takes time, but the reward is a reputation that search engines and users can rely on.

Read more about this long-term approach in our post on holistic SEO.

Because earning good links can take time, some site owners resort to shortcuts like buying backlinks, using link farms, or participating in private blog networks. These tactics may offer quick results, but they violate Google’s spam policies and can trigger severe penalties.

When a site’s link profile looks unnatural or manipulative, Google may reduce its visibility or remove it from results altogether. Recovering from such penalties can take months. It is far safer to focus on ethical, transparent methods. Quality always lasts longer than trickery.

The best way to earn strong backlinks is to produce content that others genuinely want to reference. Start by understanding your audience and their challenges. Once you know what they are looking for, create content that provides clear answers, unique insights, or helpful tools.

For example, publishing original data or research can attract links from journalists and educators. Creating detailed how-to guides or case studies can draw links from blogs and businesses that want to cite your expertise. You can also build relationships with people in your industry by commenting on their content, sharing their work, and offering collaboration ideas.

Newsworthy content is another proven approach. Announce a product launch, partnership, or study that has real value for your audience. When you provide something genuinely useful, you will find that links and citations follow naturally.

Structured data also plays a growing role. By using Schema markup, you help search engines understand your brand, authors, and topics, making it easier for them to connect mentions of your business across the web.

For a more detailed approach, visit our step-by-step guide to link building.

Search is evolving quickly. Systems like Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity no longer rely solely on backlinks to determine authority. They analyze the meaning and connections behind content, paying attention to context, reputation, and consistency.

In this new landscape, links still matter, but they are part of a wider ecosystem of trust signals. Mentions, structured data, and author profiles all contribute to how search and AI systems understand your expertise. This means that link building is now about being both findable and credible.

To stay ahead, make sure your brand and authors are clearly represented across your site. Use structured data to connect your organization, people, and content. Keep your messaging consistent wherever your brand appears. When machines and humans can both understand who you are and what you offer, your chances of visibility increase.

You can read more about how structured data supports this process in our guide to Schema and structured data.

There are many ways to put link building into action. A company might publish a research study that earns coverage from major industry blogs and online magazines. A small business might collaborate with local influencers or community organizations that naturally reference its website. Another might produce in-depth educational content that other professionals use as a trusted resource.

Each of these examples shares the same principle: links are earned because the content has genuine value. That is the foundation of successful link building. When people trust what you create and see it as worth sharing, search engines take notice too.

In conclusion

Link building remains one of the strongest ways to build visibility and authority. But in 2025, success depends on more than collecting backlinks. It depends on trust, consistency, and reputation.

Think of link building as part of your digital PR strategy. Focus on creating content that deserves attention, build relationships with credible sources, and communicate your expertise clearly. The combination of valuable content, ethical outreach, and structured data will help you stand out across both Google Search and AI-driven platforms.

When you build for people first, the right links will follow.

TL;DR (2025 Version)

Link building means earning links from other websites to show search engines that your content is credible and valuable. In 2025, it is part of digital PR, focused on relationships, trust, and reputation rather than quantity.

AI-driven search now looks at citations, structured data, and contextual relevance alongside backlinks. Focus on quality, clarity, and authority to build long-term visibility online.

Ethical link building remains one of the best ways to grow your brand’s reach and reputation in search.

Avatar of Brendan Reid
Brendan Reid

Brendan is a seasoned writer with a particular interest in SMEs. What he really enjoys is being able to provide real, actionable steps that can be taken today to start making business better for everyone.

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Nov 13 2025
Improving VMware migration workflows with agentic AI

For years, many chief information officers (CIOs) looked at VMware-to-cloud migrations with a wary pragmatism. Manually mapping dependencies and rewriting legacy apps mid-flight was not an enticing, low-lift proposition for enterprise IT teams.

But the calculus for such decisions has changed dramatically in a short period of time. Following recent VMware licensing changes, organizations are seeing greater uncertainty around the platform’s future. At the same time, cloud-native innovation is accelerating. According to the CNCF’s 2024 Annual Survey, 89% of organizations have already adopted at least some cloud-native techniques, and the share of companies reporting nearly all development and deployment as cloud-native grew sharply from 2023 to 2024 (20% to 24%). And market research firm IDC reports that cloud providers have become top strategic partners for generative AI initiatives.

DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE

This is all happening amid escalating pressure to innovate faster and more cost-effectively to meet the demands of an AI-first future. As enterprises prepare for that inevitability, they are facing compute demands that are difficult, if not prohibitively expensive, to maintain exclusively on-premises.

Download the full article.

This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Review’s editorial staff.

This content was researched, designed, and written by human writers, editors, analysts, and illustrators. This includes the writing of surveys and collection of data for surveys. AI tools that may have been used were limited to secondary production processes that passed thorough human review.

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Nov 13 2025
The Download: how to survive a conspiracy theory, and moldy cities

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

What it’s like to be in the middle of a conspiracy theory (according to a conspiracy theory expert)

—Mike Rothschild is a journalist and an expert on the growth and impact of conspiracy theories and disinformation.

It’s something of a familiar cycle by now: Tragedy hits; rampant misinformation and conspiracy theories follow. It’s often even more acute in the case of a natural disaster, when conspiracy theories about what “really” caused the calamity run right into culture-war-driven climate change denialism. Put together, these theories obscure real causes while elevating fake ones.

I’ve studied these ideas extensively, having spent the last 10 years writing about conspiracy theories and disinformation as a journalist and researcher. I’ve covered everything from the rise of QAnon to whether Donald Trump faked his assassination attempt. I’ve written three books, testified to Congress, and even written a report for the January 6th Committee. 

Still, I’d never lived it. Not until my house in Altadena, California, burned down. Read the full story.

This story is part of MIT Technology Review’s series “The New Conspiracy Age,” on how the present boom in conspiracy theories is reshaping science and technology. Check out the rest of the series here. It’s also featured in this week’s MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

If you’d like to hear more from Mike, he’ll be joining our features editor Amanda Silverman and executive editor Niall Firth for a subscriber-exclusive Roundtable conversation exploring how we can survive in the age of conspiracies. It’s at 1pm ET on Thursday November 20—register now to join us!

This startup thinks slime mold can help us design better cities

It is a yellow blob with no brain, yet some researchers believe a curious organism known as slime mold could help us build more resilient cities.

Humans have been building cities for 6,000 years, but slime mold has been around for 600 million. The team behind a new startup called Mireta wants to translate the organism’s biological superpowers into algorithms that might help improve transit times, alleviate congestion, and minimize climate-related disruptions in cities worldwide. Read the full story.

—Elissaveta M. Brandon

This story is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review magazine, which is full of fascinating stories about our bodies. If you haven’t already, subscribe now to receive future issues once they land.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 US government officials are skipping COP30
And American corporate executives are following their lead. (NYT $)
+ Protestors stormed the climate talks in Brazil. (The Guardian)
+ Gavin Newsom took aim at Donald Trump’s climate policies onstage. (FT $)

2 The UK may assess AI models for their ability to generate CSAM
Its government has suggested amending a legal bill to enable the tests. (BBC)
+ US investigators are using AI to detect child abuse images made by AI. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Google is suing a group of Chinese hackers
It claims they’re selling software to enable criminal scams. (FT $)
+ The group allegedly sends colossal text message phishing attacks. (CBS News)

4 A major ‘cryptoqueen’ criminal has been jailed
Qian Zhimin used money stolen from Chinese pensioners to buy cryptocurrency now worth billions. (BBC)
+ She defrauded her victims through an elaborate ponzi scheme. (CNN)

5 Carbon capture’s creators fear it’s being misused
Overreliance on the method could breed overconfidence and cause countries to delay reducing emissions. (Bloomberg $)
+ Big Tech’s big bet on a controversial carbon removal tactic. (MIT Technology Review)

6 The UK will use AI to phase out animal testing
3D bioprinted human tissues could also help to speed up the process. (The Guardian)
+ But the AI boom is looking increasingly precarious. (WSJ $)

7 Louisiana is dealing with a whooping cough outbreak
Two infants have died to date from the wholly preventative disease. (Undark)

8 Here’s how ordinary people use ChatGPT
Emotional support and discussions crop up regularly.(WP $)
+ It’s surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Inside the search for lost continents
A newly-discovered mechanism is shedding light on why they may have vanished. (404 Media)
+ How environmental DNA is giving scientists a new way to understand our world. (MIT Technology Review)

10 AI is taking Gen Z’s entry-level jobs
Especially in traditionally graduate-friendly consultancies. (NY Mag $)
+ What the Industrial Revolution can teach us about how to handle AI. (Knowable Magazine)
+ America’s corporate boards are stumbling in the dark. (WSJ $)

Quote of the day

“We can’t eat money.”

—Nato, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinamba community, tells Reuters why they are protesting at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil against any potential sale of their land.

One more thing

How K-pop fans are shaping elections around the globe

Back in the early ‘90s, Korean pop music, known as K-pop, was largely conserved to its native South Korea. It’s since exploded around the globe into an international phenomenon, emphasizing choreography and elaborate performance.

It’s made bands like Girls Generation, EXO, BTS, and Blackpink into household names, and inspired a special brand of particularly fierce devotion in their fans.

Now, those same fandoms have learned how to use their digital skills to advocate for social change and pursue political goals—organizing acts of civil resistance, donating generously to charity, and even foiling white supremacist attempts to spread hate speech. Read the full story.

—Soo Youn

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ These sucker fish are having the time of their lives hitching a ride on a whale.
+ Next time you fly, ditch the WiFi. I know I will.
+ I love this colossal interactive gif.
+ The hottest scent in perfumery right now? Smelling like a robot, apparently.

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Nov 13 2025
New Ecommerce Tools: November 12, 2025

This week’s installment of new products and services for ecommerce merchants includes updates on agentic commerce, multichannel management, buy-now pay-later, cryptocurrencies, product feed management, and predictive marketing.

Got an ecommerce product release? Email updates@practicalecommerce.com.

New Tools for Merchants

Attain expands OutcomeHQ with predictive AI for marketing results. Attain, a provider of live permissioned purchase data for marketing, has debuted OutcomeAI Summaries, a capability within OutcomeHQ, Attain’s data platform, that instantly transforms live purchase data into strategic insights. According to Attain, OutcomeAI enables marketers to anticipate what’s working and what’s coming next across the media lifecycle. OutcomeAI Summaries surface campaign and brand insights while campaigns are live, providing recommendations that complement existing tools and accelerate decision-making, according to Attain.

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Attain

PayPal launches buy-now pay-later in Canada. PayPal has launched Pay in 4, an interest-free, no-fee, BNPL service for Canadians to split eligible purchases of $30 to $1,500 into four equal, interest-free payments over six weeks. Payment options include debit, credit, or bank account. Consumers can pay early using the PayPal app or online. According to PayPal, there are no late fees, sign-up fees, or hidden costs. PayPal’s Purchase Protection covers eligible Pay in 4 transactions.

Block enables Bitcoin payments for Square sellers. Block, the payments infrastructure firm led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has enabled Bitcoin payments globally for merchants using the Square point-of-sale platform. The integration allows merchants to accept Bitcoin at checkout with instant settlement via Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, with no fees until 2027. Sellers can automatically convert a portion of their daily card sales into Bitcoin as well.

Cashflows partners with Boodil on card payments for U.K. Shopify merchants. Cashflows, a payments platform, has partnered with Boodil, a U.K.-based ecommerce payments technology provider, to enhance the payment experience for Shopify merchants across the U.K. The partnership combines Cashflows’ acquiring and gateway technology with Boodil’s payment infrastructure, providing Shopify merchants with a payment suite that offers card payments and digital wallets. Merchants complete their onboarding via Cashflows and can activate card payments via the Boodil application.

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Boodil

Amazon Bazaar app expands Haul to 14 new destinations. Amazon has announced a standalone shopping app called Bazaar, part of its global Haul low-cost shopping experience. Amazon Bazaar is initially available in 14 locations: Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Nigeria. Bazaar supports local currency options and multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Traditional Chinese. Customers can use their existing Amazon credentials or create new accounts.

Inriver expands product content distribution with Shopify and Affiliated Distributors. Inriver, a product information management platform, has announced partnerships with Shopify and Affiliated Distributors. Inriver says its Shopify adapter pushes enriched product details directly into a Shopify store through secure APIs. Inriver’s partnership with Affiliated Distributors combines the latter’s eContent Service with Inriver’s PIM, enabling suppliers to syndicate product data and digital assets to a network of more than 230 independent distributors. Through the Affiliated Distributors’ channel in Inriver, vendors can share accurate content faster.

Firmly launches Buy Now platform for agentic commerce. Firmly, a transaction layer powering shoppable content, has launched its Buy Now platform to standardize fragmented commerce protocols and make products shoppable anywhere. Firmly’s centralized Model Context Protocol server provides access to structured product, pricing, availability, and fulfillment data in an AI-readable format. Features include consolidated protocol management, a cryptographic audit trail, and an agent reputation manager.

Multichannel operations app Ordoro integrates with Miva ecommerce platform. Ordoro, a provider of multichannel ecommerce operations software, has announced direct integration with Miva, an ecommerce platform. This API-driven integration gives Miva sellers access to Ordoro’s post-checkout tools, including bulk shipping, automated inventory syncing, dropshipping management, and order routing, all from a centralized dashboard. Merchants can keep stock levels synced in real time across multiple sales channels and warehouses, and automatically route orders and handle complex product catalogs.

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Ordoro

Commerce launches Feedonomics apps for Shopify merchants. Commerce, the parent company of  Feedonomics and BigCommerce, has launched new capabilities in the Shopify App Store: Feedonomics for Advertising and Feedonomics for Listings & Orders. These apps empower merchants to improve product discoverability, increase advertising performance, and drive additional revenue, according to Commerce.

Shopline and Lexore partner on AI-powered customer intelligence for merchants. Shopline, a global commerce software provider, has partnered with Lexore Spark, an AI-powered commerce platform to help direct-to-consumer brands with product development and marketing. By integrating Lexore Spark into Shopline, merchants can test concepts with real customers, gather instant feedback, and launch what’s proven to sell. This integration provides Shopline merchants with real-time, in-depth insights at scale, enabling them to curate more personalized shopping experiences.

ECI Software Solutions launches built-in ecommerce AI agent. ECI Software Solutions, a provider of AI-powered business management software and services, has launched its ecommerce AI agent, a built-in tool within the company’s EvolutionX B2B ecommerce platform. ECI’s AI agent (i) provides real-time access to sales, orders, and customer behavior and (ii) automatically enriches product listings with additional details and relevant keywords to improve organic search rankings, visibility, and conversions. Intelligent pattern recognition evaluates orders, detects anomalies, and flags suspicious activity, per ECI.

Constructor, a search platform, releases AI Product Insights Agent. Constructor, a search and product discovery platform for enterprise ecommerce companies, has released its AI Product Insights Agent, a virtual expert on retail product detail pages. According to Constructor, the agent combines generative AI with rich ecommerce data, including on shopper behavior, product specs, and real-time session context. Shoppers can ask questions about the products they’re viewing, choose from frequently asked prompts, and get context-aware answers.

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Constructor

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Nov 12 2025
OpenAI Releases GPT-5.1 With Improved Instruction Following via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

OpenAI released GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking with updates to conversational style and reasoning capabilities.

The updates begin rolling out today to paid users before expanding to free accounts.

OpenAI says this release addresses feedback from users who want AI that feels more natural to interact with, while also improving intelligence.

What’s New

GPT-5.1 Instant

GPT-5.1 Instant, ChatGPT’s most-used model, now defaults to a warmer, more conversational tone.

OpenAI reports improved instruction following, with the model more reliably answering the specific question asked rather than drifting into tangents.

GPT-5.1 Instant can use adaptive reasoning. The model decides when to think before responding to challenging questions, producing more thorough answers while maintaining speed.

GPT-5.1 Thinking

The advanced reasoning model adapts thinking time more precisely. On a representative distribution of ChatGPT tasks, GPT-5.1 Thinking runs roughly twice as fast on the fastest tasks and roughly twice as slow on the slowest tasks compared to GPT-5 Thinking.

Responses use less jargon and fewer undefined terms, which OpenAI says should make the most capable model more approachable for complex workplace tasks and explaining technical concepts.

Customization Options

OpenAI refined personality presets to better reflect common usage patterns. Default, Friendly (formerly Listener), and Efficient (formerly Robot) remain with updates, and new options include Professional, Candid, and Quirky.

These presets apply across all models. The original Cynical (formerly Cynic) and Nerdy (formerly Nerd) options remain available under the same personalization menu.

Beyond presets, OpenAI is experimenting with controls that let you tune specific characteristics such as response conciseness, warmth, scannability, and emoji frequency from personalization settings.

Personalization changes now take effect across all chats immediately, including ongoing conversations. Previously, changes only applied to new conversations started afterward.

The updated GPT-5.1 models also adhere more closely to custom instructions, giving you more precise tone and behavior control.

Rollout Timeline

GPT-5.1 Instant and Thinking begin rolling out today starting with paid subscribers. Free and logged-out users will get access afterward.

Enterprise and Education customers get a seven-day early access toggle to GPT-5.1 (off by default). After that window, GPT-5.1 becomes the default ChatGPT model.

GPT-5 (Instant and Thinking) remains available in the legacy models dropdown for paid subscribers for three months, giving people time to compare and adapt.

Why This Matters

GPT-5.1 can change how your day-to-day workflows behave. Better instruction following means less prompt tweaking and fewer off-brief outputs.

Adaptive reasoning may make simple tasks feel faster while giving more complex work, like technical explanations or data analysis, extra time.

Looking Ahead

OpenAI frames this update as a step toward personalized AI that adapts to individual preferences and tasks.

Updated personality styles and tone options roll out today. Granular characteristic tuning will roll out later this week as an experiment to a limited number of users, with further changes based on feedback.

Featured Image: Photo Agency/Shutterstock

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Nov 12 2025
Google Launches Ads Advisor & Analytics Advisor Globally via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google is introducing two AI-powered tools built on Gemini: Ads Advisor in Google Ads and Analytics Advisor in Google Analytics.

Availability starts in early December for English-language accounts globally.

What’s New

Ads Advisor

Ads Advisor works inside your Google Ads account to surface optimization recommendations and, with your review and approval, apply the selected changes.

In Performance Max, you can ask how to prepare for a seasonal moment, such as a holiday. It may recommend adding sitelink extensions, then implement that update after you approve it.

Here is an example provided by Google:

Image Credit: Google

It can generate keywords, headlines, and ad copy from your site and campaign assets. It can also help diagnose performance shifts by answering diagnostic questions, identifying likely causes, and proposing fixes.

For policy issues, it can flag the violation and, in some cases, take an action such as editing an ad URL for you to approve.

Analytics Advisor

Analytics Advisor is a conversational experience in Google Analytics Standard and Analytics 360.

You can ask broad questions or request specific metrics, and it will generate visualizations and insights.

Here’s an example response provided by Google, after asking what’s the best opportunity to convert or re-engage users from a traffic spike:

Image Credit: Google

When metrics spike or drop, it performs key-driver analysis to explain what likely caused the change and prioritizes the factors that matter to business outcomes. It then connects those insights to growth opportunities with step-by-step guidance.

Why This Matters

Ads Advisor can help you move from suggestions to permissioned, in-product execution for Ads. Meanwhile, Analytics now offers quicker investigations and clearer next steps through key-driver analysis.

During busy times like holidays, this can help you save time by reducing the need to switch between diagnostics and implementation, all while keeping you in control of what gets changed.

Looking Ahead

Google says both advisors will appear in English-language Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts globally in early December. You will access them by logging into your accounts and using the in-product advisor interfaces.

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Nov 12 2025
Why Web Hosting Is A Critical Factor To Maximize SEO Results via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Most SEO professionals obsess over content, links, and technical implementations. We track algorithm updates and audit on-page elements with precision. But there’s one factor that determines whether all that work can deliver results.

Your web hosting controls every user’s first interaction with your site. It determines load speeds, uptime consistency, and Core Web Vitals scores before anyone reads a word you’ve written.

Here’s the reality. Your hosting provider isn’t a commodity service. It’s the infrastructure that either supports or sabotages your SEO efforts. When technical SEO fails, the problem can trace back to hosting limitations you don’t know exist.

Your Host Controls The Metrics Google Measures

Core Web Vitals are a key part of how hosting can impact SEO through slow page speeds. These metrics measure what your server infrastructure determines.

Your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) score starts with server response time. When Google’s crawler requests your page, your host must respond, process the request, and start delivering content.

Fast servers respond in under 200 milliseconds. Slower infrastructure takes 500+ milliseconds, degrading your LCP before optimization work matters.

Research analyzing 7,718 businesses across 676 sectors found top 10 ranking positions consistently showed faster server response than competitors. Google’s algorithm recognizes and rewards infrastructure quality.

Your hosting provider controls these metrics through several factors:

  • SSD storage processes read/write operations exponentially faster than traditional hard drives.
  • HTTP/3 protocol support reduces latency by 3-7% compared to HTTP/2. [1, 2]
  • Content Delivery Networks distribute content to servers closer to users, eliminating distance delays.

Sites on infrastructure optimized for Core Web Vitals consistently achieve LCP under 2.5 seconds and INP under 200 milliseconds. These are Google’s “good” thresholds. Sites on legacy infrastructure struggle to meet these benchmarks regardless of front-end optimization.

Distance Still Matters In A Connected World

Server location introduces physical limitations that no optimization can overcome. Data travels at light speed through fiber optic cables, but distance matters. A California server serving New York users introduces approximately 70 milliseconds of latency from physical distance alone.

This affects SEO through Core Web Vitals performance. Geographic distance introduces latency that affects page load times. Sites struggle to meet Core Web Vitals thresholds when server infrastructure sits far from their primary audience, as distance contributes to performance problems that optimization alone can’t fully resolve.

The solution depends on your architecture. Shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting place your site on physical servers in specific data centers. Choose data centers close to your primary audience to reduce latency.

Cloud hosting distributes content differently. It serves content from multiple geographic points, mitigating distance penalties. But it requires careful configuration to ensure search engines can efficiently crawl your distributed content.

Uptime Affects How Often Google Crawls Your Site

Google allocates crawl budget partly based on your site’s reliability. When crawlers consistently encounter server timeouts, Google reduces crawl frequency to avoid wasting resources on unreliable infrastructure.

This creates a compounding problem.

Lower crawl frequency means new content takes longer to appear in search results. Updated pages don’t get re-indexed promptly. For sites publishing time-sensitive content or competing in fast-moving markets, hosting-related crawl delays can mean missing ranking opportunities.

Industry standard uptime guarantees of 99.9% translate to roughly 8.8 hours of downtime per year, or about 1.44 minutes daily. This sounds negligible, but timing matters. If those minutes occur when Google’s crawler attempts to access your site, you’ve lost that crawl opportunity. If they occur during peak traffic, you’ve lost conversions and sent negative signals to algorithms.

The business impact varies by industry:

  • Ecommerce sites lose immediate sales and long-term ranking potential.
  • News properties miss brief windows when content is most valuable.
  • Local businesses miss moments when potential customers search for their services.

Any host claiming 100% uptime should raise skepticism. Server maintenance, network routing issues, and data center problems ensure some downtime will occur. Select providers whose infrastructure design minimizes both frequency and duration of outages.

Modern Protocols Create Measurable Performance Advantages

Google’s Page Experience signals extend beyond Core Web Vitals to security and modern web standards. HTTPS has been a confirmed ranking factor since 2014, and its importance continues growing.

Modern hosts include free SSL certificates through services like Let’s Encrypt as standard features. Legacy providers may charge for SSL or create barriers that discourage upgrading to secure connections.

Beyond basic HTTPS, hosting infrastructure determines whether you can leverage protocols that improve performance. HTTP/2 introduced multiplexing capabilities that reduce latency. HTTP/3 further reduces latency through improved connection handling and better performance on unreliable networks.

These improvements translate to measurable Core Web Vitals gains. HTTP/3 can reduce page load times by 3-7% compared to HTTP/2, particularly for mobile users. Since mobile performance increasingly drives rankings, hosting infrastructure supporting the latest protocols provides competitive advantages.

Security extends beyond encryption to broader concerns. Hosts with modern security practices protect against DDoS attacks that cause downtime, implement rate limiting that prevents bot traffic from overwhelming your server, and maintain updated server software preventing exploitation of vulnerabilities.

Scalability Prevents Success From Becoming A Problem

One of hosting’s most overlooked SEO implications emerges when you succeed. Content goes viral. A campaign drives unexpected traffic. Your site appears on a major news outlet. Suddenly, the hosting plan adequate for normal traffic becomes a bottleneck.

Server resource limits (CPU, RAM, bandwidth) determine how many simultaneous users your site can serve before performance degrades. When your infrastructure can’t handle success, SEO consequences arrive quickly:

The worst-case scenario sees viral success damaging your organic performance. Content driving traffic performs poorly for new visitors, creating negative signals. Meanwhile, Google reduces crawl frequency across your site, delaying indexation of new content designed to capitalize on visibility.

Hosting providers offering easy scaling paths prevent this. Cloud platforms can automatically scale resources to match traffic demands. Traditional providers with multiple plan tiers allow upgrades without changing providers or migrating your site, reducing technical risk and preserving existing configuration.

Evaluating Hosts as Strategic Infrastructure

The hosting decision requires evaluating providers as infrastructure partners whose capabilities enable or constrain your SEO strategy, not as feature checklists to compare.

Before selecting hosting, audit your requirements. Geographic distribution of your target audience determines whether server location matters or CDN coverage is essential. Content publication frequency affects how much crawl consistency matters. Traffic patterns indicate whether you need spike-handling resources or steady-state capacity.

Consider these strategic factors when evaluating hosts:

  • Review network infrastructure and data center locations relative to your primary markets.
  • Verify track record on actual uptime rather than advertised guarantees.
  • Examine scaling options to ensure you can grow without migration disruption.
  • Evaluate technical support quality. 24/7 availability and demonstrated expertise matter during problems affecting organic performance.

Third-party monitoring services track real-world performance across major hosts, providing verification beyond marketing claims.

Why Infrastructure Determines Your SEO Ceiling

Web hosting functions as a multiplier on SEO efforts. Excellent hosting won’t compensate for poor content, but poor hosting can completely undermine excellent optimization work.

Think of hosting as a building’s foundation. A weak foundation limits how high you can build and how much weight the structure can support. You can create architectural marvels on that foundation, but they remain vulnerable. Similarly, you can implement sophisticated SEO strategies on inadequate infrastructure, but those strategies will consistently underperform their potential.

The most successful SEO programs recognize infrastructure as a strategic investment rather than a commodity expense. They select hosting providers whose capabilities align with performance requirements, whose geographic distribution matches their audience, and whose technical sophistication supports modern web standards and protocols.

As search algorithms increasingly emphasize user experience through metrics like Core Web Vitals, the hosting decision becomes more consequential. The gap between sites on modern infrastructure and those on legacy systems will widen. The organic visibility advantages of fast, reliable, geographically distributed hosting will compound over time as Google’s algorithm continues refining how it measures and rewards site performance.

Your hosting provider should be a strategic partner in your SEO program, not just a vendor in your technology stack. The infrastructure decisions you make today determine the ceiling on your organic performance potential for months or years to come.

Good hosting runs in the background without you thinking about it. That’s what an SEO-friendly web host should do: Enable your optimization work to deliver results rather than limiting what’s possible.

More Resources:

Featured Image: N Universe/Shutterstock

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