Playbook Friday
Playbook: the 20-minute AI Max auto-upgrade audit
Google moved some Search campaigns to AI Max in September. Here’s a calm, repeatable check for every client account.
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Map Pack Monday
Map Pack Monday: AI Overviews now sit on top of most branded searches
Two datasets show AI Overviews on more than 80% of branded queries by late September. When people search your client’s name, Google’s summary may come first.
The Local Signal
Google opens Search profiles to creators and publishers in Canada
Canada and India join the US; Brazil is next. Here’s who it’s for, and what Google says it does and doesn’t do.
The Local Signal
Google’s September 2026 spam update is rolling out in waves
A roughly two-week rollout means several bursts of volatility, the latest from Oct. 4 to 6.
Offer Teardown
Offer Teardown: how Meta packaged Muse for small business
A free core, an approval gate as risk reversal, and a 65-hour-week customer story. Five moves worth borrowing for your own agency offer.
Playbook Friday
Playbook: read Search Console’s new AI report without fooling yourself
Google’s generative AI performance report is now global. It shows impressions, not clicks. Here’s how to use it honestly with clients.
The Take
The Take: trust the auction, audit the invoice
Platforms are automating away the controls we used to rely on. The agencies that win will be the ones that verify.
AI for Local
ChatGPT will test image ads while people generate pictures
OpenAI’s new visual format starts with a small group of US advertisers later this month, alongside new measurement and brand-safety partners.
The Local Signal
Google rewrites its content guidance: fact-check AI copy, no fake authors
Google now says AI-generated content must be manually fact-checked, defines “main content,” and calls fabricated author profiles deception.
The Local Signal
Microsoft Ads drops Max CPC caps on new auto-bid campaigns
From Oct. 1, new non-portfolio campaigns on automated bidding can’t set a maximum cost per click. Existing campaigns keep theirs.
AI for Local
Meta’s Muse moves into small business, and it already talks to HighLevel
Meta’s AI agent can now connect to ad accounts, Pages, Shopify, QuickBooks and HighLevel in the US and Canada. Here’s what it does, what it doesn’t, and how to get your clients ready.
Stack Check
Stack Check: HighLevel × Muse, what the connector actually does
HighLevel is now an official app inside Meta’s Muse. We read the release notes so you know what access you’d be granting before you click “connect.”
The Local Signal
Meta starts an enterprise AI business
Meta Enterprise Platform will bring Meta’s models and agents to businesses and developers. The small-business piece arrived a day later.
The Local Signal
YouTube adds A/B testing for video cuts, Shorts series and new brand-deal tools
From Made on YouTube: test up to three versions of a video, edit Shorts by chat, and organize Shorts into seasons.
The Local Signal
Google is testing more ways to put ads inside AI Mode
Exact and phrase match can now trigger AI Mode ads in a small test, and new formats are appearing inside the answers themselves.
The Local Signal
ChatGPT Ads hits a $1B run rate and opens self-serve to more regions
OpenAI says small and medium-sized businesses are now a material share of its ad business, five months after Ads Manager opened.
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