Google’s May 2026 update did a lot, but the biggest change was revealing who was creating useful, unique content and who was not. Originality is now the name of the game. It’s not easy to mass-produce AI content while maintaining unique expertise. Here’s an example:
Someone just searched for the exact service your business provides.
Maybe they need a commercial painter. Maybe they’re looking for a roofing contractor after last week’s storm. Maybe they’re trying to find an AV integrator for a new commercial building project. Google’s job is to return the very best result.
For years, winning that spot could often be influenced by who published the most content, targeted the right keywords, or followed the latest SEO playbook. Then AI writing tools changed everything. Websites across the internet started filling up with what a lot of people now call “AI Slop,” e.g., generic, interchangeable content that doesn’t add any real value. Once anyone with an internet connection could generate content at scale, the internet got flooded.
For years, Google had been pushing E-E-A-T signals to nudge content creators toward original, experience-based work rooted in experience, expertise, authority, and trust. Alas, the temptation to take shortcuts proved too great. As redundant content kept piling up, Google needed a more aggressive way to identify content that is actually good: unique, distinct, and written in a way that only someone who actually did the work could produce.
Enter the May 2026 Google Core Update
Google applied a series of changes that affect how search works for businesses and customers alike.
The plain-English takeaway:
If you are still using AI tools to churn out generic content that any tool can aggregate, rephrase, and repackage, Google is going to push your pages toward the bottom of the pile.
May 2026 Google Core Update: Key Takeaways
Back in March, Google ran what I’d describe as a cleanup operation. It targeted AI-generated filler, spam, and websites gaming the system with keyword tricks. May was a different kind of move. Where March cleared out the bad, May started rewarding the good more aggressively than ever before.
Google has recalibrated its systems to match what people actually want, not just what keywords they typed. That matters because buyers aren’t searching the way they used to. They’re typing full questions into the search bar the way they’d ask another person. The businesses that came out ahead weren’t necessarily the ones publishing the most content. They were the ones answering those questions with real experience, in a specific and natural way that only someone who’s actually done the work could manage.
The May update touched a lot of signals at once. Here’s a quick look at what Google adjusted:
- Content quality and E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
- Intent matching: making sure the type of content ranking for a search actually matches what the person wants to do
- Technical performance, including page speed and mobile experience
- AI-generated content signals
- Link authority and third-party credibility
- Local signals, including Google Business Profile completeness and review quality
Your web developer and marketing team should be on top of all of it. But for most business owners reading this, the single biggest lever you have, and the one most likely to be underutilized in your market, is the first one on that list. The rest of this article is about exactly that.
If you have questions about any of the other items on that list — technical performance, link authority, local signals — that’s exactly what we do. Reach out and let’s talk.
Read more: What the March 2026 Google Update Means for Service Business SEO
Your Team Knows More Than Your Website Shows
Think about the knowledge your best people carry around every day. The estimator who can walk a job site and immediately see why this project will cost more than it looks. The technician who diagnoses the real problem in the first five minutes. The account manager who knows exactly what a client needs to hear before they’re ready to move forward.
That knowledge is genuinely valuable. In many cases, it’s the very thing that separates your company from the competition. The challenge is that most of it never makes it onto your website.
That’s why this update matters specifically to your business. Buyers aren’t limited to short keyword searches anymore. They’re asking detailed, specific questions:
“Why are two commercial painting estimates for the same building so different?” or
“What should I know before replacing the AV system in a space that already has sound problems?”
The businesses that can answer those questions with real, firsthand experience are better positioned for both traditional generative AI search. With this new core algorithm update, Google is now rewarding this type of expertise-driven content more aggressively than ever. They even have a term for it.
Two Kinds of Content. Only One Is Getting Found.
Google has started drawing a clear line between two kinds of website content: commodity and non-commodity content.
Commodity content is the type of information that anyone could publish: generic tips, basic explainers, how-to lists that exist in thousands of identical forms. Think: 7 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers. Any website in that category could run that article. AI could generate it in seconds.
Non-commodity content is information that only comes from real experience, such as, a take on a specific project, a pattern noticed across hundreds of jobs, or an answer that could not have been written by someone who was not actually there. Google says they want to see “unique expert or experienced takes that go beyond common knowledge and the ordinary.”
The difference is that only someone who has actually done that work can write it. The problem is, it’s easier to chase keywords than to document expertise. But for businesses willing to do it consistently, a little real content goes a long way.
What That Looks Like in Your Industry
If you run a roofing company, an article titled “What to Do After a Hail Storm” is commodity content. On the other hand, an article like “What We Found When We Inspected Dozens of Hail-Damaged Roofs in One Neighborhood Last Spring, and Why Several Were Misclassified by the Adjuster” is rooted in firsthand experience.
If you are a commercial painter, “How Much Does Commercial Painting Cost” is commodity content. “Why Two Office Buildings With the Same Square Footage Can Differ by $38,000 in Painting Costs” is experience-based content. That article requires real estimating experience and judgment built from hundreds of jobs.
If you are an AV integrator, “What Is Sound Masking?” is commodity content. “The Three Office Environments Where Our Clients Consistently Regret Not Installing Sound Masking” is the kind of content only an experienced integrator can create. It comes from real project outcomes and conversations with clients long after the installation is complete.
If you are a financial advisor or CPA, “What Is Estate Planning?” is commodity content. “The Estate Planning Mistake We See High-Income Professionals Make Repeatedly” reflects expertise earned through years of advising clients. It requires pattern recognition that can only come from doing the work.
The Pattern Worth Noticing
The non-commodity version still answers a question buyers are searching for. The topic has not changed. What has changed is who is answering it and with what firsthand knowledge behind it. That combination of relevant question and real experience is what is earning visibility right now.
This is why the Inform phase of the GUIDE™ Marketing Framework focuses on helping businesses answer buyer questions with useful, trustworthy content. The goal isn’t to create content for content’s sake. It’s to provide the information buyers need to make confident decisions while demonstrating the expertise your team already has.
Want to learn more about the Inform phase of GUIDE? Check out this episode of the Growth-Minded Marketing Podcast, where we break down how content helps build trust, educate buyers, and support business growth.
What Google Actually Says About AI Search Optimization
One thing worth saying plainly, because the internet is full of vendors who disagree: Google’s own published guidance lists several things businesses are doing in the name of AI optimization that explicitly don’t work in the Google search environment.
- Creating special AI text files (llms.txt). Not needed for Google Search — Google ignores them for ranking purposes. For other AI systems and emerging agentic features, the picture is more nuanced.
- Chunking content specifically for AI. Not needed. Google’s systems understand complex pages already.
- Rewriting existing content in a special format for AI systems. Not needed.
- Seeking out inauthentic mentions to appear in AI results. Worse than ineffective: it’s against Google’s policies.
There are tools and agencies selling AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) services built around exactly these tactics. Google’s documentation says to evaluate those claims carefully, because they’re not grounded in how their systems actually work. Look for principles, not promises.
How to Show Google (and Buyers) Your Professional Expertise
A commercial painter has learned, across hundreds of jobs, exactly why estimates diverge in ways that catch property managers off guard. A roofing contractor can read a storm-damaged property in ways a desk adjuster simply cannot. An AV integrator can walk into a space and immediately identify the acoustic problems that will frustrate the client six months after installation. A financial planner has watched the same planning mistake repeat across dozens of client portfolios.
That is exactly what Google and AI search want to serve up to their users. And in most service businesses, that level of detail is trapped in your team’s heads with no clear way to get it on paper. Publish content like that and you show Google exactly who the real experts are.
After more than 30 years working in marketing, I know that getting that knowledge out of your team’s heads and into a place buyers can actually find it is both a process question and a content question. The answer isn’t complicated, but it does require intention. Real project write-ups that explain not just what was done but what was learned. Honest FAQs built from the questions your sales team answers every week. Case studies that document actual outcomes, not just deliverables.
Nobody has all the answers on AI and search right now, and I’m no exception. But one principle isn’t changing: the business that can clearly demonstrate what it knows, who it’s helped, and what it’s learned from years of doing the work is the business that earns the referral, shows up in AI recommendations, and ranks where it belongs in search.
Read more: SEO in 2026: Google and AI Are Evaluating Your Entire Business
How Service Businesses Should Respond to the May 2026 Google Core Update
If I were sitting across from you right now, having this conversation over coffee, this is where I’d tell you to start:
- Look at your most important service pages and ask a hard question. Could a competitor swap their logo onto this page and have it apply equally? If yes, that’s commodity content. The fix isn’t a rewrite for its own sake. Start a conversation with whoever on your team has the most project experience, and pull out something specific and real that only your business could say. Want to take it a step further? Make a video to go with the copy.
- Think about what your sales team answers every week. Those questions are what buyers are searching for. If your website doesn’t answer them clearly, with real context and real experience behind the answer, someone else’s will. This is the core idea behind what Marcus Sheridan calls the Big 5, and it’s more relevant now than it’s ever been.
- Stop prioritizing traffic over buyer intent. The hard pill to swallow for most content marketers is that a significant chunk of website traffic is being eaten alive by zero-click search. That’s when Google answers the question directly in the search results and the user never clicks through to your website at all. The remedy is to target long-tail keywords, even if the volume looks small in your research tools.
- Make sure your website and online profiles confirm you are a real, active, trustworthy business. Google is rolling out search agents that can contact businesses or book services without the buyer ever visiting your website first. If an AI agent can’t instantly verify your hours, phone number, or service area, it moves on. Google Business Profile, reviews, project photos, and third-party mentions all help answer the same question buyers and AI systems are asking: can this business be trusted? Keep your name, address, phone, and hours identical everywhere they appear online.
- Check your Search Console. As Google adds more reporting around AI-assisted search, businesses will have more ways to see how things are changing. Don’t overreact to one report or one update, but do pay attention to whether your most important pages are gaining or losing impressions and clicks over time.
- Ignore the noise. If someone is pitching you an AI optimization product that requires special file formats, content chunking, or guaranteed AI citations, apply some healthy skepticism. Google itself has been clear that those approaches don’t reflect how their systems work. The real work is documenting your expertise. It’s less exciting to sell, but it’s what actually compounds.
The Next AI Search Shift Worth Watching
The May 2026 update didn’t land in isolation. It rolled out the same week as Google I/O 2026, where Google announced a significant expansion of what it calls agentic AI — systems that don’t just surface information but take action on a user’s behalf.
The announcement most relevant to service businesses: AI-powered booking agents. Google said these agents, which are capable of calling businesses, asking qualifying questions, and scheduling appointments, will roll out to home repair and other service categories in the U.S. this summer. The buyer doesn’t lift a finger. The AI does it for them.
That changes the question your business needs to be ready to answer. It’s no longer just “can buyers find you?” It’s “when an AI agent evaluates your business, does it find enough to make a recommendation?” Your Google Business Profile, your hours, your phone system, and your reviews are no longer just trust signals for human buyers. They’re inputs that AI agents use to decide who to recommend and who to skip.
The full implications of agentic search for service businesses deserve their own article, and that’s exactly where we’re headed next. For now, the foundation is the same one this article has been building: a real business, with documented expertise, and a website and online profiles that prove it. That’s what earns the referral from a client, the click from Google, and increasingly, the recommendation from an AI acting on someone else’s behalf.
Your Competitors Are Still Waiting for an Easier Answer
Many businesses in your market won’t do this. Not because they don’t care, but because they’re busy, and this feels like one more marketing task on an already long list. Businesses that build consistently now will own authority in their market, and that advantage compounds in ways that become very hard to close once it’s established.
Hope is not a strategy. Neither is waiting to see how this shakes out. The way your buyers are searching has changed. The companies positioning themselves for growth are doing it by publishing content that reflects what they actually know and do. The ones waiting for a shortcut are falling further behind.
What Do Buyers, Google, and AI See When They Research Your Business?
Not sure whether your expertise is actually visible online? Our free B2B Marketing Assessment helps you identify gaps in your content, authority, and online profiles, so you know where to focus before someone else closes the window.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Google’s May 2026 Update
Q: What did the May 2026 Google Core Update change for service businesses?
The May 2026 Google Core Update rewarded businesses whose content demonstrates genuine, firsthand expertise. It reduced visibility for businesses publishing generic or interchangeable content. It didn’t penalize service businesses directly. It elevated the ones actively documenting their knowledge and experience, and left everyone else further behind by comparison.
Q: What is the difference between commodity and non-commodity content?
Google defines commodity content as generic information anyone could publish: tips, how-to lists, and explanations that exist in thousands of identical forms online. Non-commodity content requires real experience to produce. Think: a roofing company’s write-up on a specific type of storm damage, a CPA’s take on a planning mistake they see repeatedly, an AV integrator’s breakdown of what goes wrong in a particular type of installation. The May 2026 update increasingly rewards the latter.
Q: Do I need to optimize my website differently for AI search tools like ChatGPT or Google’s AI Mode?
For Google’s own AI features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, the answer is largely no. The signals that make content perform well in traditional Google Search are the same signals that inform its AI-assisted results. Google explicitly says you don’t need to rewrite content for AI, create special file formats, or chunk content differently.
For tools outside of Google like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and others, the picture is more nuanced. Each has its own sourcing and citation logic. The most reliable path to appearing across all of them is the same: high-quality content that demonstrates real expertise, a consistent and accurate online presence, and the kind of authority that earns third-party mentions and citations. There is no separate AI optimization playbook. The fundamentals compound across every platform.
Q: Will creating an llms.txt file help my business appear in AI search results?
For Google Search rankings, the answer is clear: llms.txt has no effect. Google has confirmed it ignores these files for ranking purposes.
The fuller picture is more nuanced. Google’s own Chrome Lighthouse now checks for llms.txt as part of its Agentic Browsing audit — which evaluates how ready your site is for AI agents acting on behalf of users. Other AI systems may use it as well. If your web developer can add one easily, it doesn’t hurt. It’s not a pressing priority but it’s also not something to dismiss entirely as AI agents become more common.
Q: My business has real expertise. Why isn’t it showing up online?
Usually, because the things that make your business good at what it does never make it onto your website. Your team knows how to solve problems, guide clients, avoid mistakes, and answer hard questions. But if that knowledge only lives in conversations, estimates, emails, or project meetings, buyers can’t find it when they’re researching you.
That’s why some businesses are earning more visibility right now. They aren’t just publishing more content. They’re doing a better job of showing what they actually know.
Start with the questions your sales team answers every week. Those are often the same questions buyers are typing into Google or asking AI tools. Answer them clearly, honestly, and with real examples from your work. Build from there.
Q: How does Google decide whether a service business is a credible expert?
Google evaluates a cluster of signals that together form what is called “E-E-A-T”: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. For service businesses, that includes the depth and specificity of your published content; the completeness of your Google Business Profile and reviews; consistent business information across the web (name, address, phone); third-party mentions and citations; and whether the person behind your content can be verified to have genuine credentials. It’s less about any single tactic and more about whether your entire digital presence confirms you’re a real, experienced business that has done the work.
