Google updates · 2026
Google made more changes to search in 2026 than in any year in a decade. Here’s each update in plain English, who won, who lost, and how to protect your business.
Short answer
In 2026 Google ran three core updates (March, May and late June to July), at least three spam updates (March, June and September), and moved to smaller, continuous core changes from July onwards. At the same time it expanded AI Overviews and AI Mode. The pattern is consistent: Google rewarded original, expert content from real businesses, and hit thin, mass-produced, AI-generated or copycat pages and spammy links.
Key takeaways
- Three core updates and three or more spam updates in 2026
- Mass-produced and AI-spun content lost
- Original, expert content from real businesses won
- Spammy links are riskier than ever
- Recovery usually comes with the next core update
The 2026 timeline at a glance
| Update | Dates (2026) | What it went after |
|---|---|---|
| Discover core update | 5–27 Feb | Clickbait headlines in Google Discover. Favoured local, in-depth content |
| March spam update | 24–25 Mar | General spam, under 24 hours |
| March core update | 27 Mar – 8 Apr | Favoured official, original sources over “middleman” and aggregator sites |
| May core update | 21 May – 2 Jun | Hit thin, scaled and generic content. Favoured original work and known brands |
| June spam update | From 24 Jun (about 2 days) | Mainly scaled content abuse |
| Core update | 28 Jun – 9 Jul | Hit AI-generated content sites and small affiliate sites hardest |
| Continuous core changes | July onwards | Smaller updates without names or announcements |
| September spam update | 24 Sep – 8 Oct | General spam, worldwide, all languages |
Dates as reported by Google’s Search Status Dashboard and industry trackers (ALM Corp, Coalition Technologies). Google rarely gives detail on what each update targets, so the “what it went after” column reflects what SEOs observed.
What’s a core update vs a spam update?
- A core update is Google re-weighing how it judges quality across all websites. Nobody is “penalised”. Some pages simply look better than others under the new weighing. You can drop without doing anything wrong.
- A spam update improves Google’s automatic spam detection (called SpamBrain). If you’re hit, it’s because something on or around your site breaks Google’s spam policies, such as paid links, scaled low-value content or hidden text.
The 5 big lessons from 2026
Mass-produced content lost
Sites that pumped out hundreds of similar or AI-written pages saw big drops in the May and July updates. Google doesn’t ban AI-assisted writing, but it treats content made at scale mainly to rank as spam (its scaled content abuse policy).
What to do: Publish fewer, better pages. Every page should include something only you can say: your prices, your photos, your projects, your opinion.
Real businesses and original sources won
The March update favoured the original source, such as the business, the official body or the expert, over sites that just summarise others.
What to do: Show you’re real. Use team names and photos, your address, case studies, reviews and credentials.
Expertise is judged per topic
Google’s Discover update and later core updates leaned towards judging expertise topic by topic, not site by site.
What to do: Stick to what you know. A plumber’s site full of posts about crypto or travel doesn’t help.
AI Overviews took clicks, but created new chances
Studies found organic clicks fell by around 58–61% on searches showing an AI Overview. But only about 38% of pages cited in AI Overviews also rank in the top 10, so well-written pages further down can still get quoted (Search Engine Journal).
What to do: Put clear, direct answers at the top of your pages. Use FAQs, tables and real numbers. See our AI SEO guide.
Spammy links became riskier
Three spam updates in one year means link schemes, private blog networks and “100 links for €99” deals are a bigger risk than ever.
What to do: Earn links through PR, partnerships and genuinely useful content. If someone built cheap links for you in the past, get them reviewed.
Did a 2026 update hit my site? How to check
- Open Google Search Console, then Performance.
- Set the date range to the last 12 months and look for sudden drops in clicks.
- Match any drop to the dates in the table above.
- Check which pages dropped. Was it the whole site (a quality or spam issue) or a few pages (those pages lost to better ones)?
- Look at Security & Manual actions. A manual action is a human penalty, and it’s listed there.
Recovery checklist
If you dropped after a core update:
- [ ] Compare your page with the pages now ranking above you. What do they answer that you don’t?
- [ ] Add first-hand experience: photos, prices, examples, named authors.
- [ ] Merge or delete thin pages that say the same thing.
- [ ] Improve speed and mobile layout.
- [ ] Be patient. Recovery often comes with the next core update, not overnight.
If you think a spam update hit you:
- [ ] Review your backlinks for paid or spammy links.
- [ ] Remove auto-generated or near-duplicate pages.
- [ ] Check for hacked content or hidden spam pages (search
site:yourdomain.ieon Google).
Go deeper Get a full SEO audit →We find exactly what an update hit
Go deeper Safe link building →Earned links that survive spam updates
Frequently asked questions
How many Google updates were there in 2026?
Google confirmed several named updates in 2026: a Discover core update, core updates in March, May and late June to July, and spam updates in March, June and September. From July it also moved to smaller, ongoing core changes without names, plus thousands of minor changes during the year.
What was the biggest Google update of 2026?
The May 2026 core update had the widest impact. It ran from 21 May to 2 June, right after Google announced major AI Mode and AI Overviews changes, and it hit thin, scaled and generic content especially hard.
Does Google penalise AI content?
Not because it’s AI-written. Google penalises content created mainly to manipulate rankings, especially low-value pages produced at scale. AI-assisted content that’s checked, edited and improved by a real expert is fine.
How long does it take to recover from a Google core update?
Usually until the next core update, which in 2026 meant one to three months, assuming you’ve made real improvements. With continuous updates since July, recovery can now come more gradually.
Will there be more Google updates in late 2026?
Almost certainly. Google now rolls out smaller core changes continuously, and forum reports suggested more volatility in October 2026. Focus on quality rather than chasing each update.
Worried about an update?
We’ll check your Search Console data against every 2026 update and tell you whether you were affected and what to fix.