AI bots put to the test, WordPress in turmoil, and a clever Chrome trick for SEO gold hunters

The robots aren't getting better, but they are getting more confident. All this and more in Content Aware.

Published: 15:05, 13 March 2025

Google's no-click schtick brings searching questions
Google's determination to expand its walled garden and cut down on clicks seems only to be getting stronger, but so does the desire of those who wish to see its stronghold on the web loosened. Our content botanist Rob looks anew at the threat posed by Google's walled garden dream to those that grow the flowers - and to Google itself.
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AI search: more improv than improved
After all the ridicule, surely AIs are getting better at citing sources, being less confident in their lies, adhering to Robots.txt exclusions, or simply not winging it and crossing their 6-fingers while hoping we don't all notice? Nope. A Tow Center study put a range of well-known AI bots through their paces, and it seems that whatever competition there is in the AI space, it's not yet leading to better and more reliable AI search. Rather than improve, the chosen solution continues to be to put more of it in places you can't opt out of and rely on more people thinking it must be true.
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WordPress shocks with solitary updates proposal
The legal kerfuffle between Automattic and WP Engine rumbles on. A collapse in input to the open source project has led grand poobah Matt Mullenweg to propose WP be limited to only a single update per year. The current 6.7 Release was in November 2024, and Mullenweg's outline is for only a 6.8 Release in 2025, and similar solo releases in 2026 and 2027. For disclosure, obviously Glide has a horse in this race: we brush up against WP in all sorts of places and while we're at opposite ends of the spectrum for how we provide things to customers, we consistently celebrate its historical significance to the growth of the internet. However, we also see first-hand at publishers and media businesses how restrictive the current snail-pace release schedules are to customers (we have made 11 releases already in 2025, to March 12th this week), while our regular scans of a wide selection of large WP-based media properties recently shows that on average barely 20-25% will be on the latest WP version and up to date on security at any given time. The growing uncertainty is disastrous for those that rely on it so we hope it resolves soon.
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DOJ reiterates Google break-up plans
Post-election vibes had people wondering if a Trump-flavour Justice Department will go easy on Google. Doesn't look that way. The U.S. Department of Justice has reaffirmed its proposal to force the ads and search goliath to sell its Chrome browser to restore competition, after ruling that Google maintains an illegal monopoly over internet search. The DOJ are arguing it will restore competition, while Google claims it would harm consumers. Decisions are due in April.
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French publishers vs Meta
Meta is under fire again for using copyrighted works without permission, this time from French publishers and authors. A lawsuit, which demands the removal of unauthorised data, highlights concerns about AI generated fake content which competes with original works.
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Unlock Google search secrets
Go Fish's Dan Hinckley reveals his very handy technique for SEOs to quiz Google Search's autocomplete in a way which can reveal SEO gold on search relevance, user intent, results priority and much more. Try out 'omnibox'.
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Google search up, clicks down
A surge in searches for "is ChatGPT cutting Google's dominance?" now has an answer: not even a little. New numbers shows Googling is up more than 20% to over 5 trillion in 2024, nearly 94% of total searches. For all its hype and funding, ChatGPT gets about 0.25%, only a third of, err... DuckDuckGo (a big "quack" to all you duck.ai and DDG-ers! - Ed). Most Google searches still end without clicks, with around 60% never going anywhere - no measure yet on that stat being up or down.
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Google's AI Mode: should publishers worry?
In last week's edition we touched on Google's new 'AI Mode' search tool/AI bot. As the industry learns more about the new feature, which seems confusingly positioned to cannibalise both publisher traffic and Google's own search business, AI in publishing guru David Buttle analyses for Press Gazette its deeper implications and points out what it is missing.
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Pinterest labels AI-Generated images with new metadata tag
Wanting a steer on how to mark up AI images for front-end tagging? Global metadata standards body IPTC has plenty of guidance: take a look at how Pinterest has started using the "trainedAlgorithmicMedia" tag based on the IPTC Photo Metadata User Guide for some pointers.
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UK ICO urges AI transparency
The UK data big boss, the Information Commissioner's Office, has wafted into the country's ongoing debate around AI firms gobbling up content. It has called for urgent transparency from AI developers, especially when it comes to web crawlers and using copyrighted content, while also advocating for business models that fairly compensate creators and support AI innovation. The best of both worlds, it hopes, promoting responsible AI growth in the UK alongside privacy, copyright and innovation.
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Old reviews news
Ever wonder why outdated Google reviews from the last decade hang around to offer an aspic-preserved snapshot of disgruntlement of businesses and products that might not even exist any more?
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