Two big things landed in the same week: WordPress 7.0 was released, and Google started rolling out what it calls intelligent search, which on the face of it looks to be a huge change to search, SEO and Google Ads. Here is what we are seeing and what to keep an eye on.

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WordPress 7.0 released

WordPress 7.0 was released this week. We have seen a number of customer sites have issues after the upgrade was rolled out automatically, so keep an eye on your site. If it starts acting funny, that might be why.

As you would expect there are some big changes, but probably the biggest is the ability to integrate with AI tools. If you are already using ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude in your workflow, this is worth checking out. Also important: if you are running WooCommerce, it now has an MCP that lets you work with your store through AI tools. Here is how to enable it: https://developer.woocommerce.com/docs/features/mcp/

If you are on our WPAlpha hosting, our AI SmartUpdates system should test the update in advance to ensure your site is compatible, and block the upgrade if it anticipates problems.

Search Engine Journal has a good rundown of what you need to know about WordPress 7.

Google rolling out intelligent AI search

This week Google is rolling out what it is calling intelligent search: basically AI integrated far more heavily into search results.

Over the last 12 months we have seen click through rates drop dramatically, from 15 to 20% CTR for a number one position down to 1 to 2% CTR, with the majority of clicks going to AI overviews. The new intelligent search will likely see that trend continue.

You can read more about intelligent search at Search Engine Roundtable.

Open Graph images matter more than ever

One thing we have seen that is particularly important with the rise of ChatGPT and AI search is Open Graph images. This is the image that displays when your site is featured in AI search results, and the same image that appears when a page is shared on social media and in messaging apps.

I have repeatedly talked about “hidden SEO”: the simple, not obvious SEO improvements like Open Graph images that can make a huge difference to click through rate in some instances. With this change they will continue to be important, so if your pages don’t have a proper Open Graph image set, that is the first thing to fix.

New Google Ads formats

Google has some new ad formats that go along with the new AI search. If you are running Google Ads, make sure you read about them and are taking advantage of them: https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-search-ads/

Check your site is behaving after the WordPress 7 update, set Open Graph images on your key pages, and if you run ads, look at the new formats. None of it is complicated, but all of it is easy to ignore until the traffic graph starts sliding.

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