If your Google traffic has been sliding while your rankings hold steady, this week explained why. Fresh research shows that 68% of Google searches now end without a single click to a website, and Google has responded with a string of changes to AI Overviews designed to send more clicks back out. At the same time, Meta confirmed that ads on Threads roll out globally within days, and two major AI model releases changed the tools available to your business. Here is what happened, and what it means for you.
SEO & Search
Google makes links more prominent in AI Overviews as zero-click searches climb
Google updated AI Overviews and AI Mode this month to show more prominent links, bullet-point citations, a live news carousel and credit for original posters on forums and review sites. The backdrop is stark: research published this week puts zero-click searches at 68% of all Google queries, and inside AI Mode roughly 93% of searches end without a click. Google says its five recent changes are aimed at curbing exactly this loss.
Why this matters for your business: Fewer clicks does not mean fewer customers, but it does mean your website is no longer the only shopfront. Your content needs to be quotable inside AI answers: clear headings, direct answers to real questions, and up-to-date business information. Measure enquiries, calls and direction requests, not just sessions in Google Analytics.
Search Console now shows how you perform inside AI results, and lets you opt out
Google Search Console’s new Search Generative AI performance reports are now live, with data back to 18 May 2026. You can finally see impressions and clicks earned inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, separate from classic blue links. Alongside the reports sits a new control under Settings that lets site owners block their content from appearing in AI responses altogether.
Why this matters for your business: For the first time you can put a number on how much visibility AI search actually gives you. Check the new report before making any decisions; for almost every local business we would advise staying opted in, because being cited in an AI answer is fast becoming the new position one.
A quiet month for rankings: no core update in July
After the May core update settled in early June and a short spam update ran at the end of June, July has been a month of refinement rather than upheaval. Ranking volatility is comparatively low, which makes this a rare stable window.
Why this matters for your business: Stable weeks are the right time to fix technical issues, refresh key landing pages and build content, because you can see the effect of your own changes without an algorithm update muddying the water. Do not waste the calm.
Social Media
Threads ads go global next week
Meta confirmed on 24 July that ads on Threads will roll out to all advertisers globally in the coming week. Threads inventory becomes available through Meta Ads Manager placements, joining Facebook and Instagram. Meta also added a new conversion count breakdown and website highlights feature to Ads Manager.
Why this matters for your business: New placements usually mean cheap reach before the crowd arrives. If you already run Meta campaigns, review your automatic placements so Threads inventory works for you rather than simply absorbing budget, and watch early cost-per-result closely against Facebook and Instagram benchmarks.
Meta launches Creator Fast Track monetisation
Meta launched Creator Fast Track, a content monetisation programme aimed at creators posting across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube who hold a Facebook account, while Instagram shipped a set of updates to its Edits app including bilingual captions and a business hours banner test.
Why this matters for your business: Platforms are competing hard for creators, which strengthens the case for working with local micro-influencers: they now have better tools and more incentive to produce consistently. If you use creator content in your marketing, lock in rates now before monetisation pushes them up.
Content Marketing
IAB launches Global Creator Week as creator revenue heads for $20.6 billion
The IAB launched Global Creator Week across 17 markets this week, pushing professional standards into creator marketing. Creator revenue is projected to grow 16.2% this year, yet two-thirds of brands investing in influencer marketing still cannot say whether it worked. The strategic shift the industry is talking about: from rented reach on platforms to owned audiences via newsletters and communities.
Why this matters for your business: Before you spend another rand on creator content, define what success looks like: promo codes, UTM-tagged links or landing pages per campaign. And start building at least one owned channel, typically an email list, so your audience is not entirely borrowed from an algorithm.
AI Tools
Claude Opus 5 arrives; China’s Kimi K3 rattles the market
Anthropic released Claude Opus 5 on 24 July with a one-million-token context window at unchanged pricing, immediately topping independent intelligence benchmarks. Days earlier, Chinese lab Moonshot AI released Kimi K3, an open model that matches frontier performance at a fraction of the cost, with its full weights due to be published on 27 July. Markets wobbled; capability per rand keeps climbing.
Why this matters for your business: The practical takeaway is that serious AI capability is getting cheaper every quarter. If you tested AI for content drafts, customer replies or reporting six months ago and found it wanting, test again: the tools have moved. Just keep a human editing everything customer-facing, as accuracy still varies sharply between models.
What to do this week
- Open Search Console and review the new Search Generative AI performance report for your site.
- Check your Meta Ads Manager placements before Threads inventory switches on for everyone.
- Use the quiet algorithm period to fix technical SEO issues and refresh your top landing pages.
- Set one measurable goal for any creator or influencer spend before your next campaign.
- Re-test one AI tool on a task it previously handled poorly.
Not sure where to start, or short on hands? We help South African businesses turn weeks like this into a plan. Get in touch with Maple Leaf Agency and we will take it from there.
Sources
- Search Engine Land: Google zero-click searches reach 68% in early 2026
- eMarketer: Google’s 5 AI search updates aim to curb zero-click losses
- Search Engine Land: Search Console AI performance reports and controls
- Google: New opportunities, control and insights for website owners
- Numinix: July 2026 SEO news and algorithm updates
- SocialBee: Meta and Facebook updates, July 2026
- Morningstar: IAB Global Creator Week launches
- Releasebot: Anthropic release notes, July 2026
- Fortune: Markets experience new DeepSeek shock after Kimi K3 release