Google Updates Log
This page lists, newest first, the updates Google has officially announced since January 2023 that affect search visibility: core and spam updates, reviews and helpful content updates, major policy changes, AI search milestones and measurement changes that directly affect SEO. Every entry has been checked against the Google Search Status Dashboard, Google Search Central or Google's official blogs, and the source is linked. Rumoured volatility and unofficial impact figures are deliberately left out.
Dates follow Google's own announcements: the start date is the day the update was released, and the end date is the day Google reported the rollout as complete. Entries without an end date are one-off announcements or policy changes rather than rollouts. When you investigate a traffic change, compare the day the drop began in Search Console with these dates first; if nothing lines up, the cause is more likely a technical issue, seasonality or competitor activity.
Don't panic after an update. Avoid permanent changes until the rollout has finished, then identify the affected pages and queries and assess the content honestly against Google's guidance on helpful, reliable, people-first content. Core updates are not penalties; recovery usually comes with later updates and genuine improvements to the content. With spam updates, the priority is to comply with the relevant policy and resolve any manual action.
2026
- Spam –
September 2026 Spam Update
Google released the September 2026 spam update, which applies globally and to all languages. The update improves Google's spam detection systems, and the rollout was completed on October 8, 2026.
What to do If a visibility drop matches these dates, review your site against Google's spam policies and check Search Console for any manual action.
Official source ↗ - Policy
Site Reputation Policy Update (EEA)
Google updated the site reputation policy it introduced in 2024 and adjusted its enforcement approach in the European Economic Area (EEA). According to the spam policies documentation, affected third-party pages can be treated separately from the main domain for EEA users instead of receiving a manual action, while manual actions can still apply outside the EEA.
What to do If you host third-party content such as coupon or sponsored sections, make sure it relates to your site's purpose and is properly overseen; outside the EEA, manual actions remain possible.
Official source ↗ - Spam –
August 2026 Spam Update
The August 2026 spam update was released globally and for all languages. Google said the rollout could take a few days and reported it complete on August 21, 2026.
What to do After this short rollout, check the Security & Manual Actions section in Search Console and clean up any problematic link or content practices.
Official source ↗ - Spam –
June 2026 Spam Update
Google released the June 2026 spam update, which applies globally and to all languages. The rollout was completed on June 26, 2026.
What to do Stay clear of practices such as scaled low-value content and link manipulation; recovery after a spam update can take time even once the issue is fixed.
Official source ↗ - Metrics / tools
Search Console Generative AI Performance Reports
Google introduced dedicated Search Console performance reports for generative AI features in Google Search, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. Site owners can now track visibility in these surfaces separately from the overall performance report.
What to do If the report is available in your property, track which pages appear in AI surfaces and add it to your reporting; see the SEO reporting guide.
Official source ↗ - Core –
May 2026 Core Update
Google released the May 2026 core update, noting that the rollout could take up to two weeks. It was completed on June 2, 2026. Core updates are broad changes to how Google's ranking systems assess the overall quality of content.
What to do Don't draw conclusions before the rollout ends; then assess affected pages against Google's helpful content questions. Step-by-step plan: Core update traffic drop.
Official source ↗ - AI search
Google I/O 2026: New AI-Powered Search Box
At I/O 2026 Google announced what it called the biggest upgrade to the Search box in over 25 years, accepting text, images, files and Chrome tabs as input; it is rolling out in every country and language where AI Mode is available. Gemini 3.5 Flash became the default model in AI Mode globally, and follow-up questions from AI Overviews into AI Mode went live worldwide.
What to do Focus on original, clearly structured and trustworthy content so you can be cited in AI answers; see the GEO implementation guide.
Official source ↗ - AI search
Guide to Optimizing for Generative AI Search
Google published an official optimization guide for generative AI features in Search. It says AI Overviews and AI Mode are rooted in Google's core ranking and quality systems, and that you don't need new machine-readable files, AI-specific text files or content chunking to appear. On the same day Google clarified that its spam policies also apply to generative AI responses.
What to do Rather than chasing a separate AI SEO playbook, invest in crawlable, indexable and original content; more on the approach on the GEO consulting page.
Official source ↗ - Metrics / tools
FAQ Rich Results Retired
Google announced in its documentation changelog that the FAQ rich result feature would no longer appear in Google Search from May 7, 2026. The FAQ rich result documentation was removed entirely on June 15, 2026.
What to do Don't expect rich results from FAQPage markup; keep FAQ sections only where they help users and revisit your structured data priorities with the Schema guide.
Official source ↗ - Policy
Back Button Hijacking Spam Policy
Google added back button hijacking to the malicious practices section of its spam policies. It covers sites that manipulate browser history to stop users from immediately returning to the page they came from with the back button, and it can lead to spam actions.
What to do Test that your ad, pop-up and redirect scripts don't insert fake browser history entries, including third-party ad code.
Official source ↗ - Core –
March 2026 Core Update
Google released the March 2026 core update and said the rollout could take up to two weeks. It was completed on April 8, 2026.
What to do Because it followed the spam update by only days, review Search Console data day by day and analyse changes at query and page level to separate the two effects.
Official source ↗ - Spam –
March 2026 Spam Update
The March 2026 spam update was released globally and for all languages. The rollout finished in less than a day, on March 25, 2026.
What to do If you saw a sudden drop on these dates, review Google's spam policies, especially the scaled content and link spam sections.
Official source ↗ - AI search
AI Mode and AI Overviews Launch in Türkiye
Google Türkiye announced that AI Mode and AI Overviews, powered by the Gemini 3 model family, were launching in Google Search in Türkiye. The features are rolling out gradually on Android and iOS, in the Google app and on the results page, and AI Overviews appear only when Google's systems judge generative AI to be useful for a query.
What to do Track which Turkish queries now show AI Overviews and how click-through rates change; see Google AI Mode in Türkiye for local effects.
Official source ↗ - Core –
February 2026 Discover Core Update
Google released a core update focused solely on Discover for English-language users in the US, saying it would look to expand it to other countries and languages later. The aim was to improve the overall quality of Discover, and the rollout was completed on February 27, 2026.
What to do If you get Discover traffic, follow Google's core update and Discover guidance together; avoid clickbait headlines and publish original, timely content.
Official source ↗
2025
- Core –
December 2025 Core Update
Google released the December 2025 core update, noting that the rollout could take up to three weeks. It was completed on December 29, 2025.
What to do Compare against the same period of the previous year so you don't confuse holiday-season demand shifts with the update's impact.
Official source ↗ - Spam –
August 2025 Spam Update
Google released the August 2025 spam update, applying globally and to all languages, and said the rollout could take a few weeks. It was completed on September 22, 2025.
What to do During this long rollout, monitor changes weekly and remove content or links that breach spam policies. For link building, see the Backlinks and digital PR guide.
Official source ↗ - Core –
June 2025 Core Update
Google released the June 2025 core update and said the rollout could take up to three weeks. It was completed on July 17, 2025.
What to do Assess whether affected pages truly satisfy search intent and offer original information; for planning, see the Content strategy guide.
Official source ↗ - AI search
AI Mode Rolls Out to Everyone in the US
At I/O 2025 Google announced that AI Mode would start rolling out to everyone in the US. This moved AI Mode beyond a Labs experiment and into Search itself.
What to do Track which sources are cited in AI answers for your topics and strengthen your content with clear, verifiable information.
Official source ↗ - Core –
March 2025 Core Update
Google released the March 2025 core update and said the rollout could take up to two weeks. It was completed on March 27, 2025.
What to do Compare pages that gained and lost, noting differences in quality and intent; improve holistically instead of chasing a single signal.
Official source ↗ - AI search
AI Mode Announced (Search Labs)
Google introduced AI Mode as an early experiment in Labs, expanding on AI Overviews with more advanced reasoning and multimodal capabilities. Using a custom version of Gemini 2.0, it runs several related searches at once and combines the results into one answer; Google One AI Premium subscribers were invited first.
What to do Create comprehensive content that answers longer, multi-step questions; plan for AI search with the GEO implementation guide.
Official source ↗
2024
- Spam –
December 2024 Spam Update
Google released the December 2024 spam update, applying globally and to all languages. The rollout, expected to take up to a week, was completed on December 26, 2024.
What to do As it came a week after the December core update, pinpoint by day which update your drop started with.
Official source ↗ - Core –
December 2024 Core Update
Google released the December 2024 core update a week after the November update finished. The rollout was completed on December 18, 2024.
What to do With back-to-back updates, avoid hasty changes and run a combined review once all rollouts have finished.
Official source ↗ - Policy
Site Reputation Abuse Policy Clarification
Google updated the wording of its site reputation abuse policy. Using third-party content on a site in an attempt to exploit its ranking signals is a violation, regardless of any first-party involvement or oversight.
What to do Review partner or coupon sections unrelated to your main topic and, if needed, move them to a separate domain or noindex them.
Official source ↗ - Core –
November 2024 Core Update
Google released the November 2024 core update, saying it could take up to two weeks. The rollout took longer than expected and was completed on December 5, 2024.
What to do Analyse the change by category and page template; issues often cluster in one content type rather than a single page.
Official source ↗ - Core –
August 2024 Core Update
Google released the August 2024 core update, which it said could take up to a month, alongside a Search Central blog post about it. The rollout was completed on September 3, 2024.
What to do Keep up the content improvements you've made after earlier updates and measure results only once the rollout has finished.
Official source ↗ - Spam –
June 2024 Spam Update
Google released the June 2024 spam update and said the rollout could take up to a week. It was completed on June 27, 2024.
What to do Audit your site against the spam policies, especially the new ones added in March 2024.
Official source ↗ - AI search
AI Overviews Launch in the US
At I/O 2024 Google announced that AI Overviews would begin rolling out to everyone in the US, with more countries to follow. AI Overviews replaced the Search Generative Experience (SGE), and Search Central added a dedicated AI Overviews page for site owners.
What to do No special markup is needed to be cited in AI Overviews; make sure your pages are indexable and eligible to show a snippet.
Official source ↗ - Metrics / tools
INP Replaces FID as a Core Web Vital
Interaction to Next Paint (INP) officially became a Core Web Vital on March 12, 2024, replacing First Input Delay (FID). INP measures how responsive a page is to user interactions overall, and Google recommends aiming for under 200 milliseconds.
What to do Find URL groups with INP issues in the Search Console Core Web Vitals report and cut heavy JavaScript tasks; details in Core Web Vitals 2025.
Official source ↗ - Core –
March 2024 Core Update
Google released the March 2024 core update, which it said could take up to a month; it aimed to better identify pages that are unhelpful, offer a poor user experience or feel made for search engines instead of people. With this update the helpful content system became part of the core ranking systems. The rollout was completed on April 19, 2024.
What to do Helpful content is now assessed by the core systems rather than separate updates, so audit your content continuously against people-first criteria.
Official source ↗ - Policy
New Spam Policies: Scaled Content, Site Reputation and Expired Domain Abuse
Google added three spam policies: scaled content abuse, covering content produced at scale to manipulate rankings whether by automation, humans or both; site reputation abuse, covering low-value third-party content hosted on reputable sites to exploit their ranking strength; and expired domain abuse, covering expired domains bought and repurposed to boost low-quality content. Enforcement of the site reputation policy began on May 5, 2024.
What to do If you generate pages at scale with AI or templates, make sure each one adds real value for users; see AI content and Google's policy.
Official source ↗ - Spam –
March 2024 Spam Update
The March 2024 spam update was released on the same day as the March 2024 core update and the new spam policies. The rollout, expected to take up to two weeks, was completed on March 20, 2024.
What to do As a core update ran at the same time, look at sudden sharp drops through a spam lens and gradual shifts through a quality lens, and check for manual actions.
Official source ↗
2023
- Content –
November 2023 Reviews Update
Google released the November 2023 reviews update and said the reviews system would now be improved at a regular and ongoing pace, so future updates would no longer be announced. The rollout was completed on December 7, 2023.
What to do In review content, provide original evidence that you actually used the product, such as photos, measurements and comparisons.
Official source ↗ - Core –
November 2023 Core Update
Google released the November 2023 core update shortly after the October one. The rollout, expected to take up to two weeks, was completed on November 28, 2023.
What to do As it overlapped with the reviews update, analyse review content and other pages separately.
Official source ↗ - Core –
October 2023 Core Update
Google released the October 2023 core update. The rollout, expected to take up to two weeks, was completed on October 19, 2023.
What to do A spam update ran at the same time, so compare daily data to attribute the impact correctly; for the technical side, see the Technical SEO guide.
Official source ↗ - Spam –
October 2023 Spam Update
Google released the October 2023 spam update, which applied globally and improved spam coverage in many languages, including Turkish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi and Chinese. The rollout was completed on October 20, 2023.
What to do This update mattered directly for Turkish sites; remove practices such as auto-generated, scraped or cloaked content.
Official source ↗ - Content –
September 2023 Helpful Content Update
Google released the September 2023 helpful content update, which improved its classifier. The same day it added guidance on hosting third-party content and self-assessing content after an update. The rollout was completed on September 28, 2023.
What to do Improve, merge or remove pages created mainly for search traffic that add nothing new for readers.
Official source ↗ - Core –
August 2023 Core Update
Google released the August 2023 core update. The rollout, expected to take up to two weeks, was completed on September 7, 2023.
What to do Assess affected pages for expertise, experience and trustworthiness; for an independent review, see SEO consulting.
Official source ↗ - Metrics / tools
Changes to FAQ and HowTo Rich Results
Google announced it would show FAQ and HowTo rich results less often. FAQ rich results became limited to well-known, authoritative government and health websites, while HowTo rich results stopped showing on desktop and mobile and their documentation was removed on September 14, 2023.
What to do Removing this markup isn't required, but don't invest in new FAQ or HowTo markup expecting rich results.
Official source ↗ - AI search
Search Generative Experience (SGE) Announced in Search Labs
At I/O 2023 Google announced SGE, bringing generative AI into search results as an experiment in Search Labs. It was initially limited to the US and English on Chrome desktop and the Google app for Android and iOS, and later evolved into AI Overviews.
What to do This marked the start of AI-powered search; make sure your content is clear enough to serve as a source in both classic results and AI summaries.
Official source ↗ - Content –
April 2023 Reviews Update
Google released the April 2023 reviews update. Unlike the earlier product reviews updates, it covered reviews of services and other things as well as products. The rollout was completed on April 25, 2023.
What to do For service and venue reviews too, provide first-hand experience, pros and cons and concrete comparisons.
Official source ↗ - Core –
March 2023 Core Update
Google released the March 2023 core update and said the rollout could take up to two weeks. It was completed on March 28, 2023.
What to do Compare at least two weeks before and after the update when measuring changes.
Official source ↗ - Content –
February 2023 Product Reviews Update
Google released the February 2023 product reviews update, applying globally in 11 languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese and Polish. The rollout was completed on March 7, 2023.
What to do Turkish wasn't on the list, but Google's guidance on writing high-quality reviews is still a good quality benchmark for any language.
Official source ↗ - Policy
Google Search Guidance on AI-Generated Content
Google published official guidance on how AI-generated content fits into Search: the focus is on the quality and helpfulness of content, not how it was produced. Using automation or AI primarily to manipulate rankings violates the spam policies, and current documentation ties this to the scaled content abuse policy.
What to do Always review, fact-check and enrich AI output with your own expertise before publishing.
Official source ↗
Frequently Asked Questions
My traffic dropped during a core update. What should I do?
First wait for the rollout to finish and confirm in Search Console that the drop really lines up with the update dates. Then identify the pages and queries that lost the most and assess the content honestly against Google's questions on helpful, reliable content. Core updates are not penalties; recovery usually follows genuine content improvements, often at the next core update.
How often does Google release updates?
Google makes small changes to its ranking systems almost every day, and most are never announced. Officially announced core updates have come around two to four times a year recently, with spam updates also released several times a year. This page lists only officially announced updates.
What's the difference between a core update and a spam update?
Core updates are broad changes to how Google assesses the overall quality and relevance of content and don't target a specific violation. Spam updates improve the systems that detect practices breaking Google's spam policies. If a spam update hit your site, bringing it in line with the relevant policy comes first.
When did AI Overviews and AI Mode launch in Türkiye?
Google Türkiye announced the launch of AI Mode and AI Overviews in Türkiye on February 18, 2026. The features are powered by the Gemini 3 model family and are rolling out gradually on Android, iOS and the results page. Globally, AI Overviews opened to everyone in the US in May 2024 and AI Mode in May 2025.
Do I need separate optimization to appear in AI search?
According to the guide Google published in May 2026, AI Overviews and AI Mode are rooted in its core ranking and quality systems. You don't need new machine-readable files, AI-specific files such as llms.txt or content chunking to appear. Crawlable, indexable, original and genuinely helpful content remains the foundation.
Will using AI to create content get my site penalized?
Google looks at the quality and helpfulness of content, not how it was produced. However, generating many pages with AI or other tools without adding value for users can violate the scaled content abuse policy. Fact-checking AI output and enriching it with your own expertise before publishing is the safest approach.