AI agents, Google updates & search trust signals | April 2026 SEO Update

Is your site ready for Google’s expanding AI Mode, the rise of agentic AI, and evolving search trust signals? Join Alex Moss and Carolyn Shelby for the April 2026 SEO Update by Yoast, where they discuss Google’s latest search changes, the March 2026 core and spam update rollout, and what these developments mean for the future of search. Topics: 00:00 - Introduction 06:08 - Google adds new Google-agent user agent​ 07:26 - Google introduces TurboQuant for AI efficiency​ 10:48 - Google adds AI bot labels to forum Q&A structured data 11:42 - Elementor launches Angie agentic AI for WordPress 13:44 - Google completes March 2026 spam update and core update rollout 16:04 - Cloudflare introduces EmDash as a WordPress alternative 19:53 - Google CEO says search will become an AI agent manager 21:34 - WebMCP proposes a standard for AI agents to interact with websites 24:07 - Google updates spam policy for back button hijacking and improves spam reporting tools 26:18 - Google Search Console glitch sends incorrect impression notification 27:20 - Anthropic launches Claude Design for AI-generated visuals and prototypes 29:47 - Anthropic previews Mythos, a highly capable cybersecurity-focused AI model 32:52 - OpenAI tests AdsBot and introduces ChatGPT ad manager interface 34:28 - What Search Engines trust now: ​authority, freshness & first-party signals 37:19 - Google adds new task-based features to AI Mode in Search 38:19 - Google says commodity content does not perform well in search 42:02 - Google adds read more deep link best practices to snippet documentation 43:09 - Bing previews AI Citation Share in Webmaster Tools 44:42 - Also in the news... 48:43 - Yoast AI Brand Insights free trial for eligible Yoast users 49:29 - The Yoast Perspective 2026 52:22 - Q&A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Topics & Sources 🤓 → https://yoa.st/april-2026 Join the SEO for beginners webinar 📚 https://yoa.st/56