Five digital marketing, SEO and AEO insights from the week
A big week for the plumbing of AI search - from who gets mentioned at all to how Google plans to sell things inside it. Here are your five.
1. Nearly 90% of brands have zero AI search mentions
A Victorious study looked at 177 brands across five verticals and eight AI platforms, generating more than 107,000 responses. Almost 90% had no AI mentions at all. The 18 brands that did show up shared a pattern: strong entity signals, third-party validation on Reddit and LinkedIn, and trusted media coverage. The takeaway for your clients - AI visibility is still wide open, and the fundamentals win it. (Source: Victorious)
2. Google just built a shopping cart that lives everywhere
At I/O, Google announced Universal Cart - a single cart that works across Search, Gemini, YouTube and Gmail. It tracks price drops, flags incompatibilities and can complete purchases on the user's behalf. It launches this summer with Nike, Target, Walmart and Shopify, and is expanding into new markets and categories. The lesson: clean, complete product data now decides visibility across Google's AI surfaces. Search Engine Journal
3. Google can't agree with itself on llms.txt
Google Search published guidance telling site owners they can skip llms.txt - while, at the same time, Google Lighthouse v13.3 added an "Agentic Browsing" audit that flags a missing llms.txt file. The distinction: for Google Search and AI Overviews it's unnecessary; for browser-based autonomous AI agents, it may help. Worth knowing before a client asks. Search Engine Journal
4. Google can now detect AI-generated content across Search and Chrome
Google has expanded SynthID, its invisible watermark for AI-generated images, video and audio, having now tagged over 100 billion pieces of content. Verification is rolling into Search and Chrome, and C2PA Content Credentials will start certifying whether a photo is an unaltered original or an edit. As AI content floods the web, authentic content becomes a stronger trust signal. Google blog
5. LinkedIn is opening up paid, creator-led events
LinkedIn plans to run 4,000 creator-led events a year, currently testing with a small group, with paid gated events reaching roughly 1,000 creators by early 2027. Its Premium Events brought in nearly $19 million last year. For agencies, educational workshops could become a genuine lead-gen channel - worth watching before the broader rollout. Social Media Today
Small business shout-out
This week's shout-out goes to Paynter Jacket Co., a UK brand making limited-run jackets from deadstock and responsibly sourced fabrics. Got a favourite small business? Reply and let us know.
