September 2026 showed how closely SEO, AI, and GEO have now grown together. Besides a new spam update and fresh data in Search Console, one topic in particular is causing a stir: ChatGPT is increasingly relying on its own search index. This means that ranking well on Google and Bing is no longer enough to be visible in AI answers. At the same time, many website operators are asking how Google handles AI-generated content. In this overview, we have summarized and categorized the most important developments of the month for you. Read on to find out what is currently moving the industry and what it means for your strategy.
ChatGPT Builds Its Own Search Index: What This Means for GEO
For a long time, it was assumed that ChatGPT retrieved its search results mainly from Bing or Google. However, new analyses show that OpenAI operates its own search index with “Labrador”, covering specialized areas such as Web, PDFs, YouTube, News, Local, Finance, and Shopping. According to K-Twelve, around 75% of answers in the free version of ChatGPT already come from this index, while the overlap with Google is only 33% and with Bing only 8%. OpenAI’s crawler is very active, retrieving around 35,000 pages per hour in tests. Nevertheless, ChatGPT does not work completely independently; it combines its own index with external sources such as Microsoft’s Web IQ and licensed partners like Yelp or TripAdvisor. For GEO optimization, specific rules apply: JavaScript content is ignored, pages should not be larger than 4 MB, and the first ~200 characters after the H1 often determine whether a page is used as a source. You should therefore place your key message directly beneath the main heading, allow the OpenAI crawler in robots.txt, and regularly check your visibility in ChatGPT directly.
Google Launches the September 2026 Spam Update
On September 24, 2026, Google released the September 2026 Spam Update, which applies globally and across all languages. According to Google, the rollout can take up to two weeks, so the effects will likely show in rankings until early October. This is already the fourth spam update this year, following a previous version rolled out in August. Such updates aim to demote sites that violate Google’s spam policies. However, legitimate websites can also experience fluctuations if individual content is classified as low quality. Therefore, monitor your rankings and traffic in Search Console particularly closely over the coming weeks. Taking a look at Google’s official spam policies helps identify potential weaknesses on your own site early on.
Knowledge Panel and Search Profiles: Why Content Can Differ
With Search Profiles, Google offers publishers and content creators the opportunity to present themselves in Google Search and Discover. The entry barrier was recently lowered so that having 10,000 followers on supported platforms is now sufficient. However, details from a Search Profile are not copied one-to-one into the corresponding Knowledge Panel. The reason for this is that Google gathers information for Knowledge Panels from various sources. Robby Stein from Google also clarified on X that information in the Knowledge Panel cannot be edited directly. For companies and individuals, this means that consistency across all channels is crucial. Make sure that your details in Search Profile, Wikipedia, and Google Business Profile are consistent and up to date.
AI Watermarking: What Google Really Pays Attention to with Content
In August 2026, Anthropic confirmed that all texts created with Claude since August 2nd contain an invisible watermark. This is created through targeted word choice, is recognizable only over several hundred words, and is preserved when copied into a CMS. Many SEOs therefore fear that Google could easily identify and penalize AI texts in the future. However, an article on Search Engine Land gives the all-clear here, because the watermark is proof of origin and not a ranking signal. Google has emphasized since 2023 that the appropriate use of AI does not violate guidelines, evaluating instead whether a page offers real value. It only becomes problematic with “scaled content abuse”—that is, the mass creation of pages without benefit for users. Therefore, rely on content that cannot be arbitrarily reproduced, such as original data, practical knowledge, interactive tools, or self-created graphics and videos.
Google Search Console: New Multimodal Filter in Performance Report
Since September 24, 2026, Google has been rolling out a new search type filter named “Multimodal” in the Search Console performance report globally. This allows visual search query data to be evaluated specifically for the first time. The filter includes searches via Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads in Google Search, and the Chrome feature “Search image with Google”. The filter is also available in the area for generative AI features, although click and search query data are still not displayed there. The first values appear as soon as your website receives traffic through these search paths. Google emphasizes that the new data should help better understand performance in the modern search landscape and optimize visual content more purposefully. For you, this is a good opportunity to review image quality, alt texts, and file names of your most important pages.
