Latest posts
-
When Generative Answers Go Viral for Being Wrong, the Brand in the Answer Pays Twice
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. The first round of AI Overview mistakes is arriving more or less on schedule. About a week after Google made the feature the default for U.S. searchers, people…
-
AI Overviews Have Left Labs. The First Impression on Google Just Changed by Default
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. For a year, Google’s generative answers were something you had to opt into. You joined Search Labs, switched on the Search Generative Experience, and saw what it had…
-
GPT-4o’s Demo Is Smooth. The Reputation Question Is What It Says When You Are Not Watching
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. A product demo is the most controlled environment a technology will ever work in. The prompts are rehearsed, the presenters know where the edges are, and if something…
-
If ChatGPT Learns to Search With Citations, Who Audits the Sources It Chooses?
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. Two pieces of OpenAI news landed on the same day this week, and they make more sense read together. First, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI is developing a ChatGPT…
-
“We Host It, So It Must Be Fine” Is Not a Reputation Strategy Anymore
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. On Sunday, Google begins enforcing a policy it announced two months ago. Its name, site reputation abuse, sounds technical. The assumptions it targets come straight out of partnership…
-
Perplexity’s Moment Is Less About Beating Google Than About Cited First Screens
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. Perplexity has spent April being described as the startup coming for Google. Forbes ran a long feature on it under roughly that framing earlier this month. This week…
-
Site Reputation Abuse Is a Ranking Problem With a Communications Name
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. Google’s spam team has a habit of naming things precisely. The phrase it chose in March, “site reputation abuse,” is unusually revealing. It describes a search-ranking tactic using…
-
After Eleven Months of SGE, the Reputation Job Is Still Corroboration
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. The most useful test question in the Washington Post’s recent review of Google’s AI search was also the most ordinary one: what is Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth? Regular…
-
Boeing’s Whistleblower Week Shows How Old Safety Narratives Reattach Themselves
This article was AI-generated as part of an experimental historical-content project. The date reflects the period being analyzed rather than the date the article was originally written. Today’s Boeing story is about a different airplane. You would not necessarily know that from the way it is being read. On Tuesday, the FAA confirmed it is…