04/01/2026
What Just Happened: Core Update, AI Overviews & A New Visibility Paradigm
The Headlines
- Google completed the December 2025 Core Update (the third this year—brutally aggressive on news sites).
- AI Overviews now appear on 88% of informational queries; organic CTR dropped 61% where they show.
- GEO (visibility in AI answers) is becoming more critical than traditional SERP rankings.
- DeepSeek released cheap LLM architecture; agentic AI is hitting mainstream.
I. Google December 2025 Core Update & AI Overviews
What Happened
The December core update (started ~December 5, finished ~December 18) hit news and media sites hardest. Over two years, their organic traffic share collapsed from 51% to 27%—nearly half gone. The culprit: simultaneous expansion of AI Overviews.
The Numbers:
- AI Overviews appear on 88.1% of informational queries (was ~50% a month ago).
- Organic CTR in clusters with AI Overviews dropped 61% (example: was 18%, now ~7%).
What Just Happened: Core Update, AI Overviews & A New Visibility Paradigm The Headlines Google completed the December 20