Google deems attempts to manipulate AI answers in search results spam

Google updated its search spam-fighting rules and directly included attempts to manipulate generative AI responses in search results. The new wording covers not only regular search results, but also AI Overview and AI Mode in Google Search.

New Formulation

Google now treats as spam not only schemes that push pages higher in the classic search results, but also attempts to influence what exactly the built-in AI says in search. The policy directly states: techniques that deceive users or manipulate search engines for more prominent content display are considered spam, including influencing generative answers. This is an important clarification, because AI Overview and AI Mode gradually become separate entry points to the internet, not just an addition to a list of links.

"Techniques that deceive users or manipulate search engines" are

considered spam.

Previously, Google's anti-spam rules were mainly read through the lens of SEO and page ranking. Now the company explicitly states that the same logic applies to AI answers within search. This is not a cosmetic rewording: Google shows that it perceives generative blocks as part of the core search results, and therefore wants to protect them from artificial pressure just as much as regular results. If someone tries to promote not a page, but the model's output itself, that is also considered a violation.

How They Influence Answers

The reason for the update is clear: a separate layer of gray-area practices has already emerged around AI search. Publishers, SEO specialists, and marketers try not just to take a top spot, but to embed themselves directly in the model's answer. To do this, they use biased selections of "best" services, content with pre-built recommendations, and the so-called recommendation poisoning — when pages are deliberately filled with formulations that an LLM can pick up as if it were neutral advice. Outwardly, this looks like a regular article, but in fact works as pressure on the AI answer.

• Curations of "best" products where the winner is predetermined
• Texts disguising advertising as independent recommendation
• Pages written not for readers, but for citation by the model
• Repeated formulations and comparisons that push the AI toward the desired conclusion

The problem is that a user may not open a single link. If AI Overview immediately shows a ready-made answer, then manipulation at the level of source materials becomes manipulation of the user's decision itself. In such a scheme, it no longer matters much who ranks first in the usual search results. What matters more is whom the model will call the best, most recommended, or most suitable option — and this is precisely what the new battle is now about.

Why This Matters

For Google, the issue is not only about search quality, but also about trust in the new format. The company promotes AI Overview and AI Mode as a quick way to get a condensed answer without spending a long time browsing links. But such a format becomes vulnerable if more aggressive players learn to systematically serve the model the conclusions they need.

Then users will see not the most useful or accurate result, but the one whose creators best mastered manipulations for generative results. For the search engine, this is a direct risk: loss of trust in AI features will hurt the entire product. The update also looks like a signal to the SEO market.

Content optimization itself doesn't disappear: websites will continue to work on structure, clarity, and material authority. But Google draws the line where user or system deception begins for artificial advantage. In other words, it's no longer about making material clearer for the search engine, but about attempting to force the model to repeat a beneficial recommendation.

After such a clarification, gray experiments around AI Search face a much more explicit risk of sanctions.

What This Means

Google has formalized a new front in the battle for search traffic: spam now includes not only attempts to raise a page to the top, but also attempts to push the AI answer itself. For brands and SEO teams, this is a signal that the battle for visibility in AI search will take place under the same anti-spam rules as regular search results. For users, this is a chance to get less skewed AI summaries — if Google can consistently apply its own rules.