Google is bringing back GBP Messaging

and more local SEO updates

June 29, 2026

Bonjour!

Here’s the gist 👇️

1. Claude is asking for IDs now

AI is getting totally crazy. The US government shut down Fable 5 and Mythos, and now Anthropic is requiring some people to upload their government ID to continue using it.

It sounds like Anthropic is working on a way to be able to release these powerful models to the public, but they can’t unless they can track usage to real identities (so that if you use Claude to hack into the Pentagon, they’ll be able to trace it back to you).

The good news is that we may get access to Fable 5 again. The bad news is that privacy is totally dead (if it wasn’t already).

People are really split on this whole thing. Check out these Facebook comments for some diverse opinions.

2. If I were just starting SEO today, this is one of the first free tools I would install

Detailed is hands-down my favourite SEO Chrome extension because it’s super simple to use and gives you tons of useful SEO insights in just a few clicks.

Watch this reel to see how I use it 👇️

Instagram Reel

Save this on Instagram for later!

3. Breaking news: Google is bringing back GBP Messaging

It looks like Google’s giving you an AI Chatbot that can answer questions about your business from your GBP (and your website?), and then hand the chat off to the business owner if/when it needs you to step in.

Watch this short video for the details 👇️

@darrenshawseo

Google is bringing back GBP Messaging - with an AI chatbot for your business. Native messaging is coming back to Google Business Profiles,... See more

No TikTok? Watch this on YouTube Shorts.

4. 3 major local SEO developments you missed from the last 3 months

Here they are:

  1. Google gave us the ultimate shortcut to “rank” number 1 in AI Mode and AI Overviews with preferred sources.

  2. You can now just prompt Gemini to update your Google Business Profile.

  3. Google is being forced to tell you before they make any changes to their ranking algorithm (thank you UK regulators).

Read about 20 more important local search developments in Miriam Ellis's Q2 2026 Roundup 👇️

5. Wanna know when your competitors change their categories?

We’re launching competitor change tracking in Local Ranking Grids very soon. It will provide detailed reporting about when your competitors change their name, categories, hours, and website URL.

6. Catch up on the pod

A new Seer Interactive study found that negative comments from super old reviews can keep showing up in AI answers.

They tested this on themselves and found a negative review from 2018 still being repeated by AI.

Why? Because that same complaint appeared on multiple review sites, and AI saw that as proof of an issue.

The bigger study looked at over 800,000 AI answers and found that review sites are one of AI’s biggest trust signals, especially when someone is close to making a decision.

So, don’t just focus on getting more reviews. Pay attention to the story your existing reviews tell about your business.

Claire and I cover this on today’s podcast, plus:

  • This is the AI prompt you need to track and aren't (Wil Reynolds)

  • The Click Is Now Optional. Here’s What Isn’t. (Amanda Natividad)

  • Colorado Banning Lead Gen Companies from Selling Legal Leads to Law Firms (Jason Hennessey)

  • Apple introduces Siri AI

  • Internal Data Mining and Strategic Review Acquisition (Krystal Taing, Near Media)

  • Social Signals as a Ranking Factor (Michael B. Snow, SOCi.ai)

Watch the episode here 👇️

🎧 Or if you prefer listening, find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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