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The Top Three

🏆 THE INDUSTRY’S MOST IMPORTANT STORIES TODAY

🥇 STUDY: AIOs ARE KILLING CLICKS

A new user experience study reveals what many marketers have suspected: Google's AI Overviews are gutting organic search traffic and rewriting the rules of the SERP. Desktop click-through rates can drop by two-thirds when an AIO shows up, while mobile loses nearly 50% of its clicks.

• Most users don’t scroll: While 88% of users expand truncated AIOs, 70% never read past the top third, meaning early brand visibility is critical.

• Demographics play a role: younger mobile users accept AI answers, while older users and those with high-stakes queries (e.g., financial or medical) seek traditional blue links.

• When users do click out, they follow the crowd: about a third of outbound traffic heads to Reddit, YouTube, and forums. Social proof is the new SEO.

🥈 ALL ROADS LEAD TO GOOGLE

Google: “What search monopoly?”
Also Google: 43% of AI Overviews link... back to Google.

New research shows that Google’s $GOOGL ( ▲ 0.68% ) AI Overviews frequently point users back to its own properties, fueling the platform's walled garden and keeping traffic away from the open web. more

• AIOs now appear in about 30% of all searches.

• Nearly half of those AIOs link back to Google — Each answer typically includes 4-6 internal links.

• Google appears as a source in 45% of all AIOs, far ahead of YouTube, Reddit, Quora, and Wikipedia, each appearing around 13% of the time.

• Users now average 10 clicks within Google before they bounce.

🥉 GOOGLE SEARCH RANKING VOLATILITY

🎢 Buckle up: Google Search may be pushing out another ranking update. Over the past 24 hours, volatility has spiked, with SEO tools picking up movement and the community reporting major shifts starting yesterday, May 12 and continuing into today, May 13. more

• This follows previous spikes on May 8, April 25, April 22–23, and April 16.

• So far, Google’s only confirmed one official update this year: the March 2025 Core Update.

Today’s Other News

📰 EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MATTERS

• Google has a new tool that turns 2D product images into 3D visuals for Google Shopping listings, letting businesses create 3D images from three pictures. Key features include Neural Radiance Fields for 360° views, a view-conditioned diffusion model for more accurate predictions, and the new Veo model for generating 360° spins.

• Microsoft Advertising $MSFT ( ▼ 0.03% ) has launched Report Builder, letting advertisers create customized reports for performance analysis. This tool provides flexibility without predefined templates and is designed for all experience levels. It supports performance insights, campaign comparisons, and strategy optimization. more

• 💸 Tip and slip: Research shows that observing customers while they decide how much to tip can backfire, making them 25% less likely to return. To avoid pressure, have employees look away during card payments or place the card machine out of sight. For cash tips, use a discreet tipping jar or train staff to walk away. Consumers will be more likely to return and recommend your business to others. more

• TikTok has launched AI Alive, a new feature that turns static photos into animated videos within TikTok Stories. Available exclusively through the Story Camera, AI Alive uses smart editing tools to add motion, effects, and atmosphere, letting users create dynamic, short-form content from still images.

• Just days after indie agency Madwell shut its doors following financial troubles and cofounder drama, David Eisenma is back, this time solo. He’s launched Cosmic Charlie, which bills itself as an AI-first, full-service ad agency with no clients, no partners, and no staff... just big ambition and a bet on AI. more

• Amazon’s $AMZN ( ▲ 1.31% ) warehouse bots still need training. In testing, the “Stow” robot moved items correctly 85% of the time but fumbled with fragile goods and lagged slightly behind human speed. The “Pick” robot hit a 91% success rate but struggled with item recognition. Amazon's tech shows promise, but they're not ready to replace humans... yet. more

  • At least they won’t be forced to pee in bottles? 🫠 

The Ticker

📈 HOW DIGITAL MARKETING STOCKS ARE DOING

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