Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly Digital Marketing News – your weekly breakdown of SEO, AI, digital marketing, and search trends shaping the industry right now.

Co-Hosts

Laura Iancu – https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-iancu-seo/

Stanislav Farkas – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/

Episode Overview

This episode covers major shifts across AI, search, media trust, and digital marketing - from AI-powered journalism workflows and regulatory pressure on Google, to declining trust in news and the growing use of AI in everyday decision-making like healthcare.

Key Topics Covered

- Announcement of Search With Sean Live 2, a charity-driven online event where speakers across SEO, AI, and digital marketing contribute talks, with applications closing mid-August and a planned September stream

- AI-powered journalism workflows around major events (e.g. World Cup coverage), where articles are pre-written using templates and rapidly edited when real-world events occur

- The role of speed vs human input in modern publishing, and concerns about whether AI reduces editorial quality or enhances efficiency

- UK CMA proposals around Google Search regulation, including transparency, ranking fairness, advance notice of core updates, and debate over whether implementation timelines are realistic

- Tension between increased transparency and the risk of enabling manipulation of search systems

- Record-low global trust in news media, with Reuters Institute data showing declining trust and increased reliance on social and video platforms

- Rising use of AI tools for health-related queries, including reported negative outcomes and particularly high-risk use in mental health contexts

- Why people are increasingly turning to AI for healthcare support due to limited access, delays, and pressure on traditional medical systemsThe growing trust gap between institutions (news, healthcare, media) and AI systems providing “synthetic reassurance”

- AI becoming embedded in cultural and marketing moments, including Messi x ChatGPT collaborations and large-scale World Cup advertising campaigns

- Critique of AI marketing claims and “AI visibility” reporting, particularly short-term growth narratives that may not reflect long-term outcomes

- SEO industry discussion around declining performance signals, CTR changes, and indexing behaviour that prioritises only high-value content

- GrowthX and “Mountain AI” style examples used to highlight volatility in AI-driven growth case studies

- Research showing differences in JavaScript rendering across AI assistants, impacting what content is actually visible when models ground responses

- Key finding that many AI systems used in Europe do not execute JavaScript, meaning rendered content may not exist to them

- llms.txt research showing adoption is increasing, but the vast majority of files are never actually requested

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About Search With Sean Live 2 - https://www.searchwithsean.com/search-with-sean-live-2026