The global rollout started June 24 with no new policies attached, but practitioner-reported churn is outpacing what sensor tools are showing; go straight to Search Console.
Why it matters: Organic drops this week have a named cause — verify against Search Console directly before recommending content or link changes.
Google's detailed June 25 explainer on its new AI content controls confirms only linked citations create measurable signal; the opt-out toggle (UK-live, global rollout pending) blocks AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Discover simultaneously.
Why it matters: The link-only impression rule is the most important calibration detail for AI visibility reporting — non-linked citations are real but invisible in first-party data, making link placement inside AI responses the real citation KPI.
Users who trigger it land in the traditional blue-link tab with zero AI features, giving Google first-party data on how many searchers actively want to bypass the generative layer.
Why it matters: If this ships broadly it defines a measurable segment of searchers who prefer traditional results — a signal that classic SEO precision still has a distinct audience alongside GEO citation work.
Crawling and indexing are unaffected, but the primary tool for verifying new content is indexed is showing 14 days of stale data.
Why it matters: Use URL Inspection as the fallback for indexing validation until this is fixed — a traffic lag on recently published content may reflect a reporting gap, not an actual indexing failure.