Short News September: web

In September, the main question in the fields of web and AI was: How is digital visibility changing as people move beyond traditional search to use AI-powered answers, visual search, and conversational tools?

Three developments illustrate quite well where this is headed.

OpenAI has made self-service access to ChatGPT Ads available via Ads Manager for 31 European markets, including Germany. This brings a new environment within reach for advertisers: Ads can appear right where people are researching, comparing options, or preparing to make decisions.

What’s interesting here isn’t so much whether ChatGPT Ads will immediately become a standard channel. What’s more interesting is that advertising is moving closer to conversational search and advisory situations—that is, moments when people are sorting through a problem, weighing options, or seeking guidance.

For businesses, this means digital visibility is expanding. In addition to traditional search, social media, and performance channels, new touchpoints are emerging that could become more relevant in the future.

Google is also making AI visibility more measurable. Search Console now offers performance reports for generative AI features in Google Search, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. According to Google, these insights have been available worldwide for all websites since late August.

For website owners, this is an important step because it brings AI visibility more prominently into reporting. Companies can better assess whether their content appears in generative search features and how visible it is there.

At the same time, the topic is still evolving. The new reports provide additional guidance but do not replace a solid content strategy. Anyone who wants to be visible in AI responses needs content that is understandable, factually sound, and well-structured.

Google is also expanding Search Console to include reporting for multimodal searches. This includes searches via Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads in Google Search, and the “Search this image” feature in Chrome.

This brings to light an area that has been difficult for many companies to grasp until now: People no longer search using text alone. They take photos of products, highlight parts of images, use visual references, and expect relevant results.

For websites, this means that images, product visuals, visual content, and clear image metadata are becoming more important. Especially for businesses with products that require explanation, technical solutions, or highly visual offerings, it’s worth taking a close look at how well their content can be understood visually.

Search isn’t getting any easier, but it is becoming more versatile. ChatGPT Ads bring advertising into conversational AI environments, Google is making AI visibility more measurable, and multimodal search shows that visual content is playing a bigger role.

For businesses, it’s therefore becoming more important to take a holistic approach to their websites, content, SEO, AI visibility, and visual assets.