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Google’s AI Spam Rules: What Marketers Need To Know

11 0
08.07.2026

When Andrew Wheeler first got into the SEO business, he fought old-school keyword stuffing: Hiding keywords that are the same color as the website’s background (invisible to the human eye, but enshrined in code), as well as in every unrelated code field—many times not even relevant to the legitimate purpose of the website.

Today’s equivalent is using AI to create fake articles and blog posts that serve no legitimate purpose, but might answer a common query. And Google is catching on to it, recently updating its spam policy to disallow tactics that confuse AI overviews or Gemini searches. Wheeler, now the CEO of enterprise content marketing agency Skyword, works with CMOs on utilizing better SEO tactics for AI search. I talked to him about the best ways to legitimately get picked up by AI search, and an excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

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Last week, Sony made a decision that could change the future of gaming as a whole: Starting in 2028, the company will no longer release new games for its PlayStation systems on physical discs. A company blog post announcing the change said it would “align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.” The decision won’t impact games that have already been released, or those planned for release in the next year and a half, Sony said. But physical games have been waning in popularity in recent years. According to Sony’s 2025 corporate report, they made up just 3% of the company’s revenue in 2024.

Some members of the gaming community have made it known that they prefer physical discs. Forbes senior contributor Paul Tassi is following the reactions online, noting Sony has previously reversed unpopular decisions about PlayStation games and pricing. However, he writes, this change is likely to stay. Sony is expected to release its next console in 2028 or later, and the new system may not have a disc drive at all, Tassi writes. The company has also begun reassigning some of its disc factories to make other components for the game consoles.

However, Tassi writes, Sony knew its decision would be unpopular. PlayStation’s social media accounts stayed dark for a week after the announcement, fearing backlash from gamers.

A big component of the pushback is a digital-only model eliminates........

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