Google September 2026 Spam Update Finished, Manual Penalties Rising
Google has finished rolling out its September 2026 spam update, and the search results have shown continued volatility in the days since. Publishers are also reporting a rise in manual action penalties, while Google has published new guidance on fact-checking AI content, evaluating main content quality, and avoiding fake authorship signals.
What changed in the Google September 2026 spam update
The spam update moved through three phases and completed its final phase in early October 2026. Search rankings showed extra movement after the rollout finished, a pattern Google has previously associated with spam systems settling in and recrawling affected pages.
Manual action penalties also appear to be on the rise. Manual actions are human-reviewed penalties applied by Google’s web spam team, and a higher volume suggests Google is taking a closer look at sites that automated systems flagged.
How Google wants publishers to handle AI content
Google has reinforced that AI-generated content is allowed in search, but it should be reviewed for accuracy before publication. The company’s guidance is to fact-check AI-written material the same way a human-written draft would be reviewed.
Google’s quality rater guidelines now include expanded sections on E-E-A-T, which stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. The additions help raters judge whether the core content on a page meets Google’s quality bar, and they indirectly shape how the ranking systems evaluate pages.
Why fake authorship is a problem
Google has warned against deceptive authorship signals, meaning content that lists a made-up author, a real person who did not write the piece, or an inflated byline meant to imply credentials the writer does not hold. The warning is part of Google’s broader effort to make sure trust signals in content reflect reality.
Separately, Google has confirmed that its search spam systems use AI to find AI-generated spam. The implication for publishers is that mass-produced, low-quality AI content is a target, not a shortcut.
Crawling, indexing, and new Search Console options
Google published fresh numbers on crawling, indexing, and serving timelines, giving site owners a clearer sense of how long it takes for a page to move from discovery to ranking. Alongside that, Google has recommended using the retry-after HTTP header to slow crawling when a site is under strain, rather than blocking crawlers outright.
Google Search Console has added multi-select country filters to the performance report, and the Search Generative AI control page now surfaces top-level domain details, so site owners can see how pages perform across regions and AI surfaces.
Other Google search changes worth noting
- Nano Banana 2.1 is now available in Google AI Mode in Search.
- Google Search profiles have expanded to India and Canada, with Brazil coming next.
- Google has stopped showing review snippets for healthcare web pages.
- A new UGC fresh data program gives eligible publishers a path to faster indexing of user-generated content.
- Google local panels are testing a WhatsApp button as a contact option.
Preferred Source emails and publisher tools
Google has emailed publishers the number of users who have selected them as a preferred source, giving news sites and content owners a direct view of how their subscriber base is growing through that surface.
Google Ads and Merchant Center updates
Google Ads introduced AI Max columns covering brand inclusion, commission, and locations-of-interest optimized targeting, giving advertisers a clearer view into automated campaign performance. Self-service conversion lift measurement is now available, automated promotions are coming to Search and Performance Max campaigns, and a new AI campaign localization tool is in beta.
Google Merchant Center launched a UCP integration hub, a single place for merchants to connect feed and product data sources.
OpenAI product labels and ad format tests
OpenAI is testing product labels on ChatGPT results, so items shown in answers can carry clearer attribution, and is also running a visual ad format test that places ads during AI image generation.
FAQ
What was the Google September 2026 spam update?
A three-phase spam update that finished rolling out in early October 2026, with continued ranking volatility afterward and a reported increase in manual action penalties.
Does Google penalize AI content?
Google does not penalize content simply for being AI-generated, but it does require publishers to fact-check AI content before publishing. Spam systems also use AI to find low-quality, mass-produced AI spam.
Why did Google drop review snippets for healthcare pages?
Google stopped showing review snippets for healthcare web pages, likely to reduce the risk of misleading medical information appearing directly in search results.
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