As a website owner, I know ‘Google Update’ normally fills you with dread. Traffic dropping, confusing algorithm changes and a to-do list of fixes you don’t have time for.
But after seeing the latest news from Google I/O, I’m genuinely hopeful because for once, this update rewards real expertise over generic content, and that’s good news if you run a service business.
Google is going all-in on AI search
The search experience is getting a significant overhaul, what Google is calling the biggest change to search in 25 years. Google is moving toward a more conversational, AI-driven interface where users can write detailed prompts, drop in images and get answers compiled from multiple sources at once.
The part worth knowing: Google AI Mode, which now has 1 billion monthly users, is being updated to send more traffic to websites. More links, more snippets pulled from social platforms and forums, and more routes for the right people to land on your site. Whether that plays out in practice is a fair question, which I’ll cover below.
The commodity content problem
Buried inside all the AI announcements was something useful. Google published its first official guide on how to show up in AI search results and AI Overviews. And it draws a very clear line between two types of content:
- Commodity content is information that anyone (including AI) could write. The generic advice and tips lists that could apply to any business. The kind of content that gets produced in bulk for affiliate traffic. Google gave this example: “7 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers.”
- Non-commodity content is unique, first-hand perspective from someone who’s actually been inside the problem. Google’s example: “Why We Waived the Inspection and Saved Money: A Look Inside the Sewer Line.” It’s specific, personal and only possible to write from real experience.
This is the distinction worth keeping in mind. Google wants to send its users to the most genuinely helpful, most human answer available. And generic content that AI could produce on its own is what Google is trying to move away from. The May 2026 Core Update puts that into practice.
What Google’s AI updates mean for your service business website
For creative service businesses, that distinction is actually a useful way to look at your content strategy.
The content that’s struggling right now belongs to publishers whose entire model depends on churning out high volumes of generic, keyword-targeted posts. That’s the content taking a hit now.
But you have real expertise, real client experience and real opinions about your industry. That’s what Google is now trying to surface and it’s what it will increasingly reward. It’s worth really focusing on sharing your specific situations, conversations, processes and solutions, the stuff only you can write.
Maybe you’re writing about the client who changed their brief the week before their photoshoot, how you handled it and what you’d do differently. Or the exact conversation that helped a coaching client finally make a decision. Or why you recommend one booking system over another based on three years of using both.
New policy: AI manipulation is now spam
One more thing worth knowing. With a wave of people trying to game AI search results through what’s being called AEO (AI Engine Optimisation), Google has updated its spam policies to make it explicit. Attempting to artificially manipulate your rankings within AI Mode or AI Overviews is classified as spam.
This matters because there’s a lot of advice floating around right now about prompt-stuffing your pages to trigger AI mentions. That’s not the strategy. Google wants organic inclusion based on genuine expertise, not tactics.
Is SEO still worth it?
‘SEO is dead’ is something I hear a lot, but it’s still worth doing. It has drastically changed over the years, especially with the rise of AI. But with AI-generated content taking over, people are looking for human perspectives more and more. You can see this shift on social media too, and now with this Google update. Blog posts that demonstrate genuine expertise, connect with your audience and support your sales process are still performing.
The related question is whether people will actually click through to a website if Google or AI summarises the answer. Honestly, sometimes people won’t. AI Overviews and AI Mode have affected traffic, but this is mostly seen with commodity content. AI can easily summarise generic, informational posts.
Content built around your specific experience, your client stories, your process and your opinions is harder to summarise. It gives people a reason to click, because the value is in the human behind it, not just the information itself.
3 ways to improve your website SEO after this Google update
1. Audit one page for commodity content
Pick your most important pages or posts and paste them into Google Gemini. Ask: “Does this contain original information and first-hand experience, or does it read like something anyone could have written?”
If Gemini flags it as generic, rewrite one section to include a specific client scenario, your opinion or something from your own experience that no one else could have written.
2. Go back to your clients’ actual words
Before you plan your next piece of content, read through three or four enquiry emails, intake forms or DMs. The exact words your clients use when they describe their problem are your best keyword strategy right now.
3. Your content needs a purpose
Every piece of content on your website should be serving your sales process in some way. It should be demonstrating your expertise, answering a question your ideal client has before they book or pointing them toward the next step. It’s about content that supports a real business, not just one that gets traffic for the sake of it.
Why Google’s AI updates are good news for small businesses
Google is, ultimately, a business. Its job is to connect people who have a problem with the businesses that can solve it. The better it gets at that job, the more people use it, and the more revenue it generates. Every single update is Google trying to get better at that one thing.
If you’re a real service business, with real expertise and real clients, you are what Google wants to recommend. The challenge is making sure your website communicates what you know and who you help in a way Google can file correctly.
That’s what the Google Gap Workbook is designed to fix. It helps you find the gap between the language your clients are searching for and the language your website is using.
