July 17, 2025
This round of updates spotlights major moves in AI, SEO, and ad policy from industry leaders. OpenAI and Perplexity are challenging Chrome with AI-powered browsers. Yoast brings real-time SEO help into Google Docs. Google weighs in on link disavow delays, AI-content penalties, and legal pushback in the UK and EU. Meanwhile, enhancements to Search Console and People Also Ask reflect Google’s evolving support for structured data and AI-generated content.
Table of Content
- Google search can now call local businesses for you using AI
- Confirmed Core Web Vitals reporting glitch in Google Search Console
- WordPress 6.8.2 update ends security support for 0.9% of sites
- Google’s graph foundation model catches spam up to 40× better
- Google’s June 2025 core update rollout is complete
- Google Search Console adds 24‑hour comparison views to performance reports
This week in digital marketing, week 29 ,2025
1. Google search can now call local businesses for you using AI
Google has launched a new AI-calling feature in Search that automatically contacts local businesses, like pet groomers or dry cleaners, to collect pricing, availability, and service details on the user’s behalf . After providing a few preferences via a form, the AI uses Duplex technology powered by Gemini to place the calls and afterward sends a consolidated summary back to the user, with premium subscribers getting higher usage limits .
Users nationwide in the U.S. can access this from standard search results, and business owners have the option to opt out. The service aims to simplify information gathering, especially for those who prefer not to call, and highlights Google’s continued investment in agentic AI tools .
2. Confirmed Core Web Vitals reporting glitch in Google Search Console
Google Search Console's Core Web Vitals (CWV) reporting experienced a widespread drop in data, especially for mobile, beginning around July 10. This wasn’t limited to specific sites but was caused by an issue in the CrUX data pipeline . Google confirmed these metrics were not due to site-level changes but rather a backend reporting glitch.
The problem has been acknowledged by Barry Pollard from the Chrome team, and a future fix is expected. Site owners are advised to be aware of this anomaly rather than assume page performance has degraded .
3. WordPress 6.8.2 update ends security support for 0.9% of sites
WordPress released a minor maintenance update, version 6.8.2, that includes 35 core and block editor fixes . In addition, WordPress officially ended security support for older versions 4.1 through 4.6, which make up just 0.9% of active sites .
This update patches issues like broken Mac screenshots and outdated HTML attributes and introduces a dev mode for block editor style changes. For the vast majority of sites on newer versions, there’s no immediate impact, though anyone still on legacy versions is now unprotected from future security risks.
4. Google’s graph foundation model catches spam up to 40× better
Google unveiled a new Graph Foundation Model (GFM), designed to process complex relational data and detect spam with up to 40× greater precision compared to previous methods . Built to handle billions of interconnected nodes using scalable infrastructure, the model generalizes well across diverse datasets—proving its effectiveness in ad spam detection at scale .
By leveraging graph learning and tabular machine learning, GFM showcases Google’s push toward more capable, generalist AI frameworks that can manage relational tasks without retraining—heralding improvements in securing search and ad integrity.
5. Google’s June 2025 core update rollout is complete
The June 2025 Core Update, which began June 30, has now fully rolled out as of July 17, taking 16 days and 18 hours in total . Google describes this as a regular ranking update aimed at improving the relevance and user satisfaction of search results across all site types.
Site owners are encouraged to review changes in performance, some are already reporting partial recoveries from prior helpful content impacts. As always, Google’s guidance is to focus on quality content creation and UX, rather than chasing quick fixes .
6. Google Search Console adds 24‑hour comparison views to performance reports
Search Console now allows users to compare performance metrics from the last 24 hours to the prior 24-hour period or the same day last week . This is accessible via the "Compare" menu in the performance report and rolled out around July 16.
This addition empowers site owners to spot sudden performance shifts during events like core updates and respond more quickly to anomalies.
Stay tuned for next week's digital marketing highlights!
A quick recap of the latest and most important trends, insights, and news shaping the digital marketing landscape, see you next week.
Junior content marketer
Aron is a 22-year-old Junior content marketer with a focus on digital strategy and audience engagement. He is gaining experience in creating and optimizing content to improve brand visibility and connect with target audiences. Always eager to learn, Aron stays updated on content trends and marketing techniques to contribute effectively to campaigns and projects.
