Google’s Year in Search 2025 reveals how AI, global events, politics, entertainment, and travel shaped what people searched for worldwide and in the U.S., highlighting a year defined by technological change, cultural moments, and public curiosity.
OpenAI
Sam Altman explains OpenAI’s long-term path to profitability, arguing that rising losses reflect aggressive investment in AI training and compute capacity as the company bets on sustained revenue growth from consumers and enterprises.
Microsoft
Microsoft explains how duplicate and near-duplicate content affects AI-powered search visibility, including how LLMs select representative URLs, why duplication weakens signals, and how consolidation and IndexNow improve AI search outcomes.
Google has begun rolling out its December 2025 core search update, the third of the year. The update affects rankings globally and may take up to three weeks to complete, following earlier core updates in March and June.
Google is disputing a report claiming ads will appear in the Gemini AI chatbot in 2026, stating there are no current plans to monetize the app. The company continues to test ad placements in other AI-powered search experiences.
Google Search
Google is testing a new Search Console feature that shows how social media profiles perform in Google Search, offering unified metrics for reach, queries, and content trends across web and social channels.
YouTube
YouTube has launched its first annual Recap feature, giving users personalized insights into their viewing habits and music activity. The rollout begins in North America today and expands globally throughout the week.
Google has confirmed delays in Search Console’s Page indexing report, affecting data freshness but not crawling or ranking. Site owners may see outdated indexing insights while Google works to resolve the reporting issue.
Google Search
Google’s John Mueller says sites damaged by low-quality content may not recover through rewriting alone. Domains in a “bad state” may require a full restart, emphasizing authentic value, clear purpose, and helpful content to regain indexing and performance.
Google Search
Google’s John Mueller says large background videos loading asynchronously are unlikely to affect SEO if primary content loads first. The clarification highlights best practices for lazy loading, Core Web Vitals, and video performance optimization.
EU Digital Omnibus
The European Commission has proposed a “Digital Omnibus” to ease parts of the GDPR, AI Act, and cookie rules. The package seeks to simplify data use, delay AI obligations, and reduce consent banners, raising debate over privacy and AI training rights.
Google’s John Mueller says publishers don’t need separate Markdown or JSON pages for LLMs, emphasizing that AI systems already parse standard HTML. Experts note structured data matters only when platforms provide clear specifications.