Google Ranking Volatility Hits New Heights Amidst Leadership Shake-Up

Google search ranking volatility has been on the rise, with two unconfirmed updates occurring on August 5th and 6th. The company denied that Reddit receives special preference in its search rankings or AI results, despite its significant presence on the platform.

Google Search Console now displays AI Mode queries, but not where users would expect to see them. Meanwhile, Google crawlers have expanded their HTTP requests, including HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE methods. The company has also announced plans to shut down Google Assistant on mobile devices by September 4th.

Additionally, Bing Webmaster Tools is introducing page and query level filtering in its reports. Google Ads is testing the use of anchor text hyperlinks in ad descriptions and has introduced new Deal Ends annotation pilot for Product Listing Ads. Microsoft Advertising has also expanded its audience ads placements within PMax campaigns.

Google's AI department has undergone significant leadership changes, with Jeff Dean leaving his position and Demis Hassabis taking on a new role. The company is migrating Automatically Created Assets (ACA) and campaign-level broad match settings to AI Max starting September 1st, 2026.