AI Search News: ChatGPT Image Ads, Try-On and More (Oct 7, 2026)

This week's AI search news is mostly about ChatGPT: OpenAI will test image ads, added virtual try-on to shopping, and put its audience at 1.2 billion weekly users. Google rewrote parts of its content guidance, and an informal test found AI Overviews on 93 of 101 brand-name searches. Here's what changed from September 28 to October 7, 2026, and what it means for your brand.

ChatGPT ads: OpenAI will test image ads during image generation

On October 5, OpenAI announced a visual ad format that will appear while Free and Go users generate images. Ads will be labeled and kept separate from the image. Testing starts later in October in the US with an initial group of advertisers. OpenAI also added measurement partners and "Negative Phrases," a placement control for qualifying advertisers.

Background: OpenAI's ads help page says ad testing started in the US on February 9, 2026, with ads shown below the end of a response on the Free and Go plans. OpenAI says advertisers "have no ability to shape, rank, or alter ChatGPT's responses."

Why it matters for brands: Paid and organic stay separate in ChatGPT. An ad can sit next to a conversation but can't get you into the answer, so being absent from answers is still an organic problem (see how to rank in ChatGPT). Treat the results in OpenAI's post, such as WeightWatchers' 15.3% lower attributed cost per acquisition, as partner-reported, not independent.

What to watch: Which advertisers join, and whether the format expands beyond the US.

ChatGPT shopping adds virtual try-on and Favorites

On October 1, OpenAI's release notes added a "Try on" button to clothing and accessory listings: shoppers upload a selfie and ChatGPT generates an image of them wearing the item. Shoppers can also save products to Favorites in their ChatGPT Library, on web and mobile. On October 6, SEO Brodie Clark spotted ChatGPT testing new labels on product results, including a green "best all-rounder" label and grey "best" labels for other criteria. OpenAI hasn't announced them.

Background: As of October 2026, OpenAI's merchant page says shopping is live for US users, Shopify and Etsy catalogs are already integrated, and other merchants can apply to share product feeds. A feed isn't required if ChatGPT crawls your site, but OpenAI says it gives more control over how products appear.

Why it matters for brands: Your product listing is now where shoppers try items on and save them for later. If the labels ship, ChatGPT's one-line verdict on your product will be printed on the result.

What to watch: Whether the labels roll out, and on what criteria.

ChatGPT news from DevDay: 1.2 billion weekly users and a bigger plugin platform

At DevDay on September 29, OpenAI said ChatGPT has 1.2 billion weekly users. It also opened plugin extensions, which let developers add sidebar panels and interactive views to ChatGPT, and said improved ranking and recommendations will help people find plugins "in the directory and in conversations."

Background: Plugins are becoming OpenAI's main third-party platform. On September 11, the release notes announced a planned retirement of custom GPTs, with a migration path to plugins. On August 21, OpenAI said plugin rankings now "prioritize plugins people keep using after installation."

Why it matters for brands: There are now two ways to show up in ChatGPT: being mentioned in answers, or being a plugin people use. Discovery rewards retention, so a plugin people abandon is unlikely to surface. For retailers, OpenAI's merchant FAQ says most merchants start with product feeds, and apps are best suited to larger merchants.

What to watch: Custom GPT retirement dates, and how often ChatGPT suggests plugins mid-conversation.

Google AI Overviews update: AI summaries now show on most brand-name searches

On September 30, SEO Chris Long posted an informal test of 101 brand-name queries run through SerpApi: 93 (92%) returned an AI Overview. Search Engine Roundtable, which reported the trend, noted that most overviews appeared below the company's own listing rather than at the top, and Google's own name and news publications were exceptions. This is third-party testing, not a Google announcement.

Background: A brand-name search is someone looking for you specifically, one of the highest-intent queries you have. Search Console's generative AI performance report, according to Google, shows impressions and "which pages appear in AI responses and in what countries."

Why it matters for brands: People searching your name may now read Google's AI summary of you on the same page as your site. If it gets your pricing or products wrong, your most interested visitors see that first. Our guide to ranking in AI Overviews covers how these summaries pick sources.

What to watch: Whether the overviews move to the top of the page, and whether Google comments.

Google tightens AI content, main content, and authorship guidance

On October 1, Google updated its guidance on generative AI content with material from its Search Quality Rater Guidelines. The page says it is "critical to manually factcheck and review all AI-generated content" before publishing, including titles, meta descriptions, structured data, and image alt text.

Google's helpful content page changed twice in the same window. On October 2, Search Engine Roundtable reported that it now calls main content quality "one of the most critical factors for assessing page quality" and lists four attributes of it: effort, originality, talent or skill, and accuracy. By October 5 (the page's last-updated date), it also warned that fabricated creator profiles, such as AI-generated headshots, made-up names, or false credentials, are "a form of deception."

Why it matters for brands: This is Google Search guidance, and AI Overviews and AI Mode are Search features. Invented author personas and unreviewed AI pages are now named directly. Ecommerce teams should note that AI-generated product titles and descriptions "must be specified separately and labeled as AI-generated."

What to watch: Whether the rater guidelines get a matching update.

Search Console's AI control now flags subdomain overrides

On October 6, Search Engine Roundtable noticed a new line on Google's Search generative AI control help page: top-level domain owners "will see a notification on the Search generative AI control page when one of their child properties overrides the parent setting." Child properties include subdomains.

Background: Google introduced the control in June and rolled it out worldwide as of August 31, 2026. It decides whether a site appears in and helps ground AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative AI features in Discover. Sites that opt out "will not receive traffic or impressions" from those features, and Google says the setting isn't a ranking signal outside them. It's separate from Google-Extended, which limits model training.

Why it matters for brands: If you run several subdomains, such as a blog, store, and help center, one team could opt its subdomain out of AI Overviews without the main domain owner knowing. The notification closes that gap.

What to watch: Whether Google adds click or query data to its AI reporting.

Perplexity updates: Wiley citations, GPT-6.1 Sol, and scheduled agents

Perplexity's October 5 changelog lets users search and cite Wiley journals and books on all plans, with premium allowances varying by plan. GPT-6.1 Sol is now available for searches to eligible paid subscribers. New Automations let Computer, Perplexity's agent, run tasks on a schedule or when something changes in a connected app, pausing for review before consequential actions.

Background: This is Perplexity's second major update in about two weeks; its September 21 changelog entry added Effort Mode, GPT-6 Astra, and a Skills Marketplace.

Why it matters for brands: Licensed publisher content gives Perplexity more authoritative sources to cite, which may compete with brand content on professional and technical topics. And Perplexity's own Automations example, checking listings for price cuts every morning, is the kind of recurring check that rewards accurate pricing pages. See our guide to ranking in Perplexity.

What to watch: Whether Perplexity licenses more publishers as citable sources.

What to do this week

1. Search your brand name in Google. If an AI Overview appears, fix anything wrong on your own site first, then check which of your pages appear in Search Console's generative AI performance report.
2. Check your products in ChatGPT shopping. Shopify and Etsy catalogs are already integrated; other merchants can apply to share a product feed. Make sure product images and titles are accurate.
3. Audit bylines and AI-assisted pages for real authors, fact-checked copy, and reviewed titles, meta descriptions, and structured data.
4. If you run subdomains, confirm that each Search Console property's AI control setting is a deliberate choice.