Top Takeaways From Google Search Central New York 2025

Find out the top takeaways and updates from Google’s Search Central Live New York 2025 event from attendee and resident SEO expert, Zack Kadish.

Google recently hosted a Search Central Live New York 2025 event where Google teams discussed the latest updates on Google Search, took questions from SEOs and webmasters, and reviewed what else might be changing in the near future.

ICYMI: There’s been a lot of changes in search this year and the event made it clear that these changes are not slowing down anytime soon.

Google is undergoing a drastic transformation following the launch of AIO in 2024 and ongoing testing of AI Mode . Search is evolving. Websites need to adapt to the new reality and understand that the traditional metrics used in the past to measure SEO success are going to change.

Let’s jump into what I felt were the main takeaways from the event.

Main takeaways

Google reported that AI Overviews are creating more engagement for users and more clicks to websites, but they will not be providing any tracking in the near future because it’s volatile, and this would create confusion.

People really, really, want AIO tracking.

AIO is still showcasing hallucinations and misinformation, and Google is aware of this but only mentioned to thumbs down the content if you don’t like it…

Structured data/schema markup is important, and Google reiterated that it’s cheaper for them to use, easy to read, and far more precise than what LLMs can extract on their own.

Google clarified that using generative AI for content creation is not inherently a problem and that it wouldn’t receive a penalty, but if you’re doing this to generate SEO traffic at scale, it would be considered a violation.

• Translation: Using AI to create high-quality content and optimize steps of the content creation workflow is the way to go moving forward.

The SERPs will continue to evolve with new features, and Google will continue to surface different mediums and content types (such as UGC, videos, etc.).

Long-standing traffic patterns will continue to shift, and past SEO success does not guarantee future success.

Google reported increased user engagement with AI Overviews, but no tracking on the horizon

At the New York Live 2025 event, Google made sure to express how loved AI Overviews are amongst the public and stated they have data to prove the following:

• AI Overviews are driving higher engagement, particularly among younger users (18-24)
• AI Overviews are driving more clicks to the referenced sites
• AI Overviews are encouraging users to visit a greater diversity of sites.

However, when pressed with questions from the audience, they stated that there will be no AI Overview tracking in GSC in the near future. The Google reps said, “Google still considers AI Overviews to be volatile, so tracking would be confusing. They want to see AIOs stabilize before creating more reporting here.”

In summary, don’t expect AIO-specific tracking anytime soon.

Sure, AI Overview data is included in Google Search Console, but there’s no way to see how your site specifically is doing in AI Overviews.

Google claims that sites are benefiting from being included in this new result type, but brands are seeing the opposite as it’s leading to fewer clicks and reduced traffic.

Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: AI Overviews are here to stay.

Google confirms structured data helps with AI results

One thing I did appreciate about the event was that Google confirmed that schema markup is important as AI features rely on structured data for better visibility.

A Google software engineer said schema markup makes it easier and cheaper for Google to understand what the page is about.

Overall, if you are optimizing content for Search, prioritizing Schema markup will help increase visibility in AI Overviews and AI Mode.

New features, changing traffic patterns, and opportunities

Google confirmed that traffic will continue to fluctuate, which means:

• Long-standing traffic patterns will continue to shift; this could create new opportunities but also unpredictability.
• Past SEO success won’t guarantee future performance.
• Sites that previously dominated search may see declining traffic as AI-driven content, personalization, and UGC rise in prominence.

Google continuously tests new features and ranking updates to align with evolving user behavior. This includes more AI-generated results, increased personalization, and a broader mix of content formats. Here’s a look at what that entails and what it means for you.

Evolution of search & expanding content diversity

The SERP, as we know it, is evolving and moving in a new direction.

Google confirmed they will test and launch new features and weave them into the Google Search experience.

The SERP will evolve from organic links/ads to continue to have elements like videos, GenAI features, cards, and more.

Google wants to solve multiple users' needs, as some users want links, others want quick answers, and some want to go deep into a topic. They mentioned that, of course, they want to solve this while trying to prioritize traffic to other websites, but currently, we are seeing the opposite.

Google confirmed that “Made for Search” content will NOT be successful, and they will incentivize high-quality content.

Overall, 2024 was the year of decreasing organic traffic, and it seems that this trend will continue. Traffic patterns will continue to fluctuate, which can create opportunities for new sites but also lead to unpredictability.

Google will continue to push different mediums and content into the SERPs such as UGC (videos, discussions, forums) and other results to make them more personalized to the user.

Google is pushing for increased relevancy and relatability by surfacing different content types, including:

• UGC (User-Generated Content) – forums, discussions, social media, personal experiences
• Video Content – particularly short-form, highly engaging formats
• Authentic Perspectives – personal insights, expert commentary, and community-driven knowledge
• Personalized results tailored to individual preferences

Google stated that they want to introduce more new result types and mediums because sometimes users come to search with a specific intent. However, Google also wants to encourage deeper exploration, exposing users to a broader range of web content.

What are the SEO implications? Here’s what to prioritize:

• Multimedia Integration: Enhance your content with videos, images, and interactive elements
• Authentic Content: Prioritize user-generated content and expert opinions to build trust
• Content Structure: Use concise and easily digestible formats to cater to quick browsing

AI Overviews vs. AI Mode: Understanding the differences

Google also discussed the differences between their AI features, specifically honing in on how AI Overviews and AI Mode are different:

• AI Overviews: Functions like an expanded featured snippet, pulling insights from multiple sources and linking back to them. Utilizing large language models (LLMs), AI Overviews generate concise summaries from diverse web sources, akin to advanced featured snippets.
• AI Mode: Designed for deep research and interactive AI exploration. An experimental feature in Google Labs, AI Mode offers in-depth research capabilities and provides users with comprehensive insights on complex topics.

Grounding in AI responses

One of my favorite topics covered at the Search Central Live event was the differences in grounding between their AI responses and how this works overall.

Phase 1: Grounding

AI Overviews incorporate what’s known as grounding links to authoritative sources, ensuring the reliability of the information presented.

• Grounding involves cross-referencing AI-generated content with reliable web sources to ensure accuracy and credibility.

Phase 2: Implementation

AI systems validate information by linking back to authoritative sites, enhancing the trustworthiness of AI-generated summaries.

• Before finalizing an AI-generated summary, Google’s systems check search index data to validate and attribute information accurately.
• Pages that provide clear, factual, and high-quality information with structured data have a better chance of being cited in AI Overviews.

Phase 3: Predictive Summaries

Google's AI generates predictive summaries that may differ from traditional search results, offering users diverse perspectives.

• Instead of simply retrieving and ranking search results, Google's AI synthesizes data from multiple authoritative sources to provide a more comprehensive answer upfront.
• These summaries may decrease direct website clicks but increase brand visibility.

Phase 4: Query Fan-Out Technique

When a user submits a query, Google expands it into multiple subqueries to retrieve a broader set of relevant information.

• The AI breaks the original query into multiple related questions, fetches relevant information from different web pages, and then synthesizes it into a cohesive summary.
• This technique increases the diversity of sources cited in AI Overviews.

I do think that grounding with AI Overviews is something that can help Google stand out from these other AI search engines, but that’s, of course, only if they provide the correct information.

Final thoughts on Search Central Live 2025

While there was nothing groundbreaking at this year’s Google Search Central event in NYC, it was a great opportunity to network with other SEOs and hear people talk about the future of search.

Google changed the entire search landscape once before, and they’re doing it again, this time with the help of AI.

Overall, with the search landscape rapidly changing, fellow SEO and search experts have to change how we measure success. Traffic and keyword rankings will be vanity metrics. We need to align with the future search state that Google is shifting to and start monitoring more qualified traffic, engagement metrics, and conversions instead to evaluate if organic search strategies are successful.