SEO 101 Ep 522: SEO Reality Check, AI Click Losses, and Fixing SEO Mistakes in 2026

Podcast: SEO 101
Hosts: Ross Dunn & Scott Van Achte
Date: February 19, 2026
Episode: 522

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ross and Scott deliver an unfiltered reality check on the rapidly evolving SEO and AI landscape in early 2026. The discussions tackle recent AI-related disruptions (like alarming click losses from Google’s AI Overviews), dissect the latest Google Discover and Core updates, share tales of SEO troubleshooting and technical mishaps, and comment on notable industry shifts like Bing Webmaster Tools' new AI performance reporting. Throughout, the hosts offer practical perspectives for both SEO newcomers and seasoned practitioners, emphasizing the ongoing (and even increasing) importance of foundational SEO in an AI-driven world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI-Powered Search: Ads, Click Losses & Content Integrity

• OpenAI ChatGPT Ads:

  • Ads will now appear for all users except Pro or Enterprise subscribers—though Ross is skeptical this will last (“I expect it will happen.” – Ross, 03:05).
  • Ads won't show for sensitive topics and should be visually separated, but skepticism abounds ("I have some doubt that ads will remain visually separate... They'll probably follow the Google path and end up making it very difficult to tell them apart.” – Ross, 04:20).

• Perplexity Drops Ads Due to Trust Concerns:

  • Perplexity ends its experiment with sponsored placements, fearing it undermines user trust (Scott, 05:14).
  • A Perplexity exec says users “need to believe this is the best possible answer and that once ads appear, users may second guess responses” (Scott, paraphrasing, 05:33).

• Sustainability of AI Tools Without Ads:

  • Perplexity claims 100 million users and ~$200M in revenue—but Scott doubts subscriptions can alone support the intense costs of AI (06:36).

• Claude vs. Perplexity vs. ChatGPT:

  • Ross shares he’s dropped Perplexity in favor of Claude (“I just can't get enough of how much better it is… The results are so much better.” – Ross, 07:09).
  • AI landscape is in flux; market diversity is important to prevent Google-like dominance (Ross, 07:50).

2. AI Overviews Dramatically Reduce Click-Through

• Click Loss Quantified:

  • Ahrefs finds that in December 2025, “the presence of an AI overview now correlates with a 58% lower average click through rate for the top ranking page” (Ross, quoting, 08:23).
    • “Wow.” – Ross, 08:58
    • “It’s huge.” – Scott, 09:08
  • This is a major escalation from the earlier 3–4.5% decline noted in April 2025.

• SEO's Role Amidst AI Changes:

  • Ross rejects the narrative that "SEO is no longer important" (“AI is a layer on top of SEO. SEO is the foundation... You follow the principles of SEO, you’re going to do much better in AI.” – Ross, 09:28).
  • Memorable rant:
    • “I wish I could shoot whoever said that SEO is diminishing in value. It's not. It's everything. It's more.” – Ross, 09:59

3. AI for SEO: Helpful Assistant or Dangerous Crutch?

• Erratic Results From AI:

  • Scott shares failed experiments with generative AI for things like meta descriptions—sometimes AI produces wildly off-base outputs (“What even is this? It’s so wrong and so bad.” – Scott, 10:22).

• Article Recommendation:

  • Ross recently published: “AI Can Handle Your SEO Basics—Here’s What It Can't Do” (11:11). He stresses:
    • AI can assist with the basics but falls short on deeper, more complex SEO tasks (“What we actually do to make real needle-moving, ranking changes is so much more than that.” – Ross, 11:41).
    • Warns against “false confidence” from those relying solely on AI (“Oh… they’re going to do more harm than good unless they have some background.” – Scott, 10:47).

• Future of SEO Work:

  • Increasing importance as SEO consultants reviewing in-house efforts (“Our job will become more and more as consultants reviewing clients’ in-house SEO efforts… There’s going to be some major guffaws and mistakes.” – Ross, 12:31).
  • Undetected technical disasters remain rampant without professional oversight (Scott’s story of catching a client’s hack, 13:40).

4. Case Studies: Real-World SEO Recovery and Technical Fails

• Hacked Site Diagnostic (Semrush Discovery):

  • Scott tells how sudden ranking spikes for irrelevant terms led to detection of a hack generating hidden adult product pages (13:40–14:47).

• Invisible Google Presence (htaccess Disaster):

  • Ross recounts a consulting gig where a plugin had fatally blocked Googlebot via wild htaccess rules since 2022, erasing a site's presence from Google for years (“From 2022 to now they’ve had zero Google presence because of this.” – Ross, 16:34).
  • After fixing: site finally being indexed again (16:34–17:14).

• Takeaway:

  • “There isn’t—even on our worst day—we wouldn’t miss that. Why is Google Search... I couldn’t even register them on Google Search Console because Google's like, well, no, I don't see anything because I couldn't get on there. It was being blocked.” – Ross, 17:14

5. Google Discover Core Update (Feb 2026): Aims For Relevance

• Update Features:

  • Rolling out to U.S. English users, soon expanding globally.
  • Focus: more local content, less clickbait, more in-depth/original/timely material, higher “expertise” weighting (Scott, 18:40).

• Host Takes:

  • Ross welcomes less clickbait in Discover (“That’s the bane of my existence. I hate that stuff so much.” – Ross, 19:51).

6. AI Performance Reports in Bing Webmaster Tools

• New Beta Tool:

  • Bing now offers limited data on how your content is cited within Copilot and partners; currently views are only citation frequency, not rankings (Scott, 20:46). Data is backfilled to Nov 1, 2025.

• Hope for Google to Follow:

  • Ross: “Google, are you paying attention?” (22:17)

7. Google to Make Links More Visible in AI Overviews

• UI Changes:
  • Links will appear in pop-ups on hover (desktop), and be more prominent on mobile.
  • “Our testing shows this new UI is more engaging, making it easier to get great content across the web.” (Ross quotes Google’s Robby Stein, 22:17–23:32)
  • Unclear if this will improve CTR; need more independent studies (Scott, 23:32).

8. Removing Personal Info From Google Search

• ‘Results About You’ Hub:
  • Lets users provide personal details and get alerted if they appear in Google’s search results—option to request removal.
  • New process for explicit images as well.
  • Both hosts debate the privacy trade-offs (“I don’t know if I’d want to put my Social Security number in Google…” – Scott, 27:04).

9. Search Console: New Weekly & Monthly Views and AI Config Tool

• New Features:
  • Search Console now allows for date-aggregation viewing; AI-powered configuration tool is underwhelming so far (“It guesses regex which half of the time don’t do what you want them to.” – Helmut, quoted by Ross, 30:03).

10. Local SEO: Google Removes Call Button for Organic Listings

• Pay to Play:

  • Organic local pack results now lack a “Call” button, unless the listing is an ad (Ross, 31:16).
  • “In Google’s great greed… no longer can people simply click and call you right from local results. I just have no words. When I saw this, I was so cheesed off.” – Ross, 32:13
  • Scott confirms this is widespread (32:49).

• Advice:

  • “If you’re not doing paid ads right now, you’re going to get hurt. Now you have to pay to play.” – Ross, 34:12
  • Strong warning against using Google’s ‘suggested ad experience’—pushes clients into overspending (Ross, 35:40).

11. Mueller Files: Hidden HTTP pages Affecting Google Listings

• Discovery:

  • John Mueller (via Bluesky) describes how an old, leftover HTTP version of a site caused Google to show the wrong favicon and site name in search.
  • “Chrome automatically upgrades the insecure to the secure so you don't see the insecure page. However, googlebot sees and uses it to influence the site name and fave icon selection.” – John Mueller, quoted by Scott, 38:11

• Fix:

  • Delete or 301 redirect the insecure HTTP version.
  • Not easy to find; critical technical hygiene reminder (Scott, 39:27).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On SEO’s Ongoing Importance

  • “AI is a layer on top of SEO. SEO is the foundation. You do not ever want to forget about SEO.” – Ross Dunn, 09:28

• On AI Overviews’ CTR Impact

  • “The presence of an AI overview now correlates with a 58% lower average click through rate for the top ranking page. Wow.” – Ross (08:23), “It's huge.” – Scott (09:08)

• On Google’s Monetization Moves

  • “This is not creating the search experience that Google always promised. It’s just greedy.” – Ross Dunn, 32:13

• On Tech Mistakes Only Human SEOs Would Find

  • “Even on our worst day, we wouldn’t miss that… That’s just a tiny taste of what we come across, guys, listeners, it’s pretty amazing.” – Ross Dunn, 17:14

• On Overreliance on AI

  • “I could just see these people that rely solely on AI… they're going to do more harm than good unless… they know.” – Scott, 10:47

• On Google's AI Tools for Users’ Privacy

  • “I don’t know if I’d want to put my Social Security number in Google.” – Scott, 27:04

Timestamps for Important Segments

• AI Ads in ChatGPT & Perplexity’s Move – 03:06 to 07:09
• AI Overviews Decimate Organic CTR – 08:23 to 09:59
• AI Can Help, But SEO Pros Still Needed – 10:19 to 12:31
• Real-World SEO Recovery Stories – 13:40 to 17:14
• Google Discover Core Update Details – 18:40 to 20:31
• Bing Webmaster Tools' New AI Reports – 20:46 to 22:17
• Google Making Links More Visible in AI Overviews – 22:17 to 23:43
• Personal Information Removal via Google – 24:31 to 28:44
• Local SEO: Loss of Call Button in the Pack – 31:16 to 34:12
• Mueller Files: HTTP Page Messes Up Listings – 37:18 to 40:21

Final Thoughts

SEO is far from dead (in fact, it’s more essential than ever). The ongoing AI-driven changes demand deeper technical skills, constant vigilance against both hacks and platform surprises, and a clear-eyed view of how search engines’ profit agendas shape the user (and site owner) experience. Automation and AI, while powerful, offer no substitute for expertise, experience, and human troubleshooting.

If you own a business, manage a site, or are learning SEO, don’t believe the hype—keep your foundations strong, stay adaptive, and never underestimate the value of real SEO knowledge and real human support.

For more resources and to join the conversation:

• Find the hosts at the SEO 101 Facebook group
• Show notes and links available on their website