From AI-powered search tools to behind-the-scenes courtroom revelations, the SEO landscape is undergoing major changes. Google is pushing toward a more conversational, intelligent search experience, while Microsoft and web owners alike are stepping up with tools like IndexNow to keep content fresh, fast, and visible. Whether it’s multimodal queries or real-time summaries, search is changing, and staying ahead means adapting with it.
In this edition, we’ll cover:
- AI Mode’s debut in Google Search and what it means for organic traffic
- Project Astra’s “Search Live” and the future of real-time, camera-powered queries
- New Gemini features for reasoning, automation, and AI assistance
- Confirmation that Google does use CTR for ranking
- A warning from Gary Illyes about bot traffic overload
- Bing’s push for IndexNow to accelerate search updates
Here’s what’s new—and what to do about it.
AI Search: Google Doubles Down on Gemini, Astra, and Conversational Queries
Google Unveils “AI Mode” with Gemini 2.5 Pro
At Google I/O 2025, the company announced AI Mode, a new search experience powered by Gemini 2.5 Pro. It transforms Search into a conversational, multi-step interface that delivers summaries, interactive visuals, and personalized results—all without leaving the SERP.
Users can now engage in back-and-forth queries, explore videos or charts within search, and dig deeper into topics with fewer clicks.
Hawp’s Take: This is search, reimagined. But the risk to traditional web traffic is real—especially for publishers relying on click-throughs.
Action Steps: Focus on content that’s clearly structured, mobile-friendly, and delivers instant value. Optimize for featured snippets and AI Overviews.
Project Astra Brings Multimodal Search Live
Also launched at I/O: Project Astra’s multimodal capabilities are going live inside AI Mode. Dubbed “Search Live,” this new feature enables users to converse with Search in real time using their phone camera, asking questions about what they see and getting immediate context.
“We’ve continued to push the boundaries of visual search with Google Lens, which more than 1.5 billion people are using to search what they see every month. Now, we’re taking the next step in multimodality by bringing Project Astra’s live capabilities into Search. With Search Live, you can talk back-and-forth with Search about what you see in real-time, using your camera,” Google shared on The Keyword.
Hawp’s Take: Visual search is now interactive search. As AI evolves, SEO will need to go beyond keywords and into object recognition, real-time relevance, and local context.
Action Steps: Make sure your site’s images are optimized with alt text, schema markup, and fast loading times. Visual SEO just got an upgrade.
Gemini Expands with Deep Think and Project Mariner
Google’s Gemini suite is rolling out powerful new tools, including:
- Deep Think, a reasoning engine for solving complex problems and coding tasks
- Project Mariner, a task automation agent that can handle bookings, purchases, and repetitive actions
These updates make Gemini feel more like an AI assistant than a search tool.
Hawp’s Take: Gemini isn’t just a content tool—it’s a productivity layer. Expect user behavior to shift toward interacting with the internet, not just reading it.
Action Steps: Adapt content for actionability. If your page helps users do something (not just learn), you’re more likely to stay relevant in AI-assisted workflows.
SEO Signals, Site Performance, and What Google’s Really Ranking
Google Confirms CTR Is a Ranking Factor
In testimony for the DOJ’s antitrust case against Google, VP Pandu Nayak confirmed that CTR and other engagement metrics are used for ranking, despite Google’s long-standing public denials.
According to the deposition, CTR, dwell time, and user engagement help determine relevance. The more clicks and sustained attention a page gets, the more likely it is to rise in the rankings.
Hawp’s Take: It’s official—real users and their actions matter more than ever. Engagement is SEO currency.
Action Steps: Optimize for user intent. Compelling titles, strong meta descriptions, and clean UX drive clicks and dwell time. Monitor your Search Console CTR data and A/B test page elements to improve.
Gary Illyes Warns of Bot Traffic Surge from AI Agents
On Google’s Search Off the Record podcast, Gary Illyes issued a heads-up: the floodgates are opening on AI-driven web traffic. With so many tools deploying crawlers and agents, sites could be overwhelmed by bot traffic.
He advises focusing on four key areas:
- Infrastructure: Scalable hosting and CDN use
- Access Control: robots.txt updates to manage which bots are allowed
- Database Performance: Optimized queries and caching to reduce load
- Monitoring: Watch server logs for bot patterns and potential abuse
“Everyone and my grandmother is launching a crawler,” Illyes noted.
Hawp’s Take: Bot traffic is growing faster than site owners can adapt. Differentiating between helpful AI agents and spammy crawlers will be a technical must.
Action Steps: Audit your server performance and access controls. Use analytics and logs to track bot behavior. Implement rate-limiting and bot filtering when needed.
Indexing and Updates: Bing Pushes Ahead with IndexNow
Microsoft’s IndexNow Offers Faster Content Updates
Bing is championing IndexNow, a protocol that allows websites to instantly ping search engines when content is updated or deleted. This removes the need to wait for bots to crawl and reindex the page.
While Google has tested IndexNow, they haven’t adopted it yet. But Bing, Yandex, and Seznam are already on board.
Hawp’s Take: Instant indexing changes the SEO game. With search features evolving faster than ever, speed of discovery becomes a ranking edge.
Action Steps: If you’re targeting Bing or international markets, implement IndexNow. Keep your sitemap fresh and monitor crawl logs for delays or indexing gaps.
Search Is Moving Forward—Is Your Strategy Keeping Up?
If there’s one takeaway from the past two months, it’s this: search is no longer static. Between Google’s push into AI-powered, real-time experiences and Bing’s move to speed up indexing, the landscape is shifting toward faster, smarter, and more interactive results. At the same time, we’re getting rare transparency into ranking signals like CTR and a heads-up on the technical demands coming our way.
The SEO strategies that worked even a year ago may no longer be enough. Staying competitive now means building for clarity, engagement, and adaptability—because the pace of change isn’t slowing down anytime soon
In case you missed it: Catch up on our SEO news recap from March–April 2025.