Google Spam Update Completes Rollout, but Search Volatility Remains High

Some websites seem to have been hit, but overall, the impact has been fairly modest. One pattern worth noting is that websites publishing large volumes of content, potentially at the expense of quality, appear to have been among those affected.

However, what happens next might be far more interesting than the spam update itself.

Is Google Preparing for Another Core Update?

One of the more interesting developments is that Google's next core update feels overdue.

At the same time, we're seeing increased volatility in Google's search results following the completion of the spam update. Historically, periods of heightened volatility have sometimes preceded major core updates, although this is far from a reliable indicator.

With that in mind, I wouldn't be surprised to see a Halloween Core Update or even a Thanksgiving Core Update.

There is another interesting detail worth paying attention to.

On October 1, 2026, while the spam update was still rolling out, Google updated its guidance on AI-generated content.

The updated documentation placed additional emphasis on the importance of manually fact-checking and reviewing AI-generated content before publication, particularly because of the risks associated with hallucinations, factual inaccuracies, and misleading information.

Google explained that the changes were intended to align its documentation with presentations from developer events, rather than introduce a new ranking factor.

Still, the timing is interesting, especially considering how much AI-generated content is being published across the web.

Could We See Another Panda, Penguin, or Helpful Content Update?

History has a habit of repeating itself in SEO.

Whenever webmasters gain access to tools that make scaling easier, Google eventually finds ways to raise the bar.

We've seen this happen with link building, content production, and various other SEO tactics over the years.

Panda targeted low-quality content. Penguin addressed manipulative link-building practices. The Helpful Content Update raised the stakes for websites producing content primarily to attract search traffic rather than genuinely help users.

Now, AI has made it possible to produce and publish content at a scale we've never seen before.

We've already seen examples of websites relying heavily on AI-generated content being negatively affected by Google updates. However, we haven't necessarily seen a broad, clearly identifiable update targeting low-quality AI content at the scale some might expect.

That raises an interesting question:

Are we approaching another major quality-focused update, similar in impact to Panda, Penguin, or the Helpful Content Update?

It certainly wouldn't surprise me.

Importantly, I don't think Google will target AI-generated content simply because it was created using AI. The bigger issue is likely to be websites using AI to scale content production without maintaining sufficient quality, originality, accuracy, or value for users.

And that distinction matters.

Or Are the Days of Major Google Updates Coming to an End?

There is, however, another possibility worth considering.

Instead of introducing one major update that dramatically reshuffles the search results, Google may increasingly rely on smaller, continuous improvements to its ranking systems.

From Google's perspective, this approach could make a lot of sense.

Rather than making significant changes all at once, Google could gradually adjust how it evaluates content quality, authority, and spam, making it harder to identify exactly when a particular change takes effect.

And perhaps this is exactly what webmasters are already experiencing.

Search rankings seem more fluid than ever. In the past, websites could often maintain relatively stable positions for extended periods, with the biggest ranking shifts occurring around major algorithm updates.

Today, that stability feels increasingly rare. Rankings fluctuate more frequently, even without a confirmed Google update, making it harder to distinguish between normal volatility and actual algorithmic changes.

Could this be a sign that Google's ranking systems are already evolving more continuously, rather than relying primarily on major updates to reshape the search results?

If so, the days of waiting for the next core update to understand where your website stands might already be behind us.

And perhaps that's the bigger shift we should be paying attention to.

Instead of waiting for the next major update, we may be entering a period where ranking systems evolve more continuously and where the impact of individual changes becomes increasingly difficult to isolate.

My Take

The latest spam update may not have caused significant disruption across the iGaming websites we track, but I wouldn't interpret that as a sign that things will remain quiet.

The combination of increased search volatility, Google's recent clarification of its AI-content guidance, and the growing volume of AI-generated content makes the coming months particularly interesting.

Whether we get a major core update around Halloween or Thanksgiving, or Google continues making smaller adjustments behind the scenes, I believe content quality and scaled content production will remain important areas to watch.

The real question isn't whether Google will continue improving its ability to identify low-quality content. It's whether those improvements will arrive through one major update or gradually, without a clearly defined rollout.

And judging by how increasingly fluid search rankings have become, there's a possibility that this shift is already happening.