Engine changes | CitedBy

The Search generative AI control rolls out to all sites worldwide

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Open Settings > Search generative AI in Search Console and confirm each property is set to include the site, unless the owner chose otherwise.

What CitedBy checks: Not checked. The setting lives in Search Console and CitedBy cannot see it.

Source: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16908024

Generative AI performance reports roll out to all sites worldwide

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Check the Generative AI performance report is now visible for every property, in every country you serve.

What CitedBy checks: Not read. Same as the launch entry: CitedBy does not read this report.

Source: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports

Google launches AI Overviews and AI Mode in France

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Read the French AI impressions in the Generative AI performance report and check which French questions now show an AI Overview.

What CitedBy checks: Not checked. CitedBy does not measure whether a question shows an AI Overview.

Source: https://blog.google/intl/fr-fr/nouveautes-produits/explorez-obtenez-des-reponses/recherche-ia-apercus-mode/

Google says llms.txt is not needed for Search

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Keep llms.txt optional: publish it for other tools if wanted, but do not expect Google Search visibility from it.

What CitedBy checks: Checked. A missing llms.txt shows as an optional notice, never an error, because no major assistant is confirmed to read it.

Source: https://developers.google.com/search/updates

Search Console launches Generative AI performance reports

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Open the Generative AI performance report in Search Console and read AI impressions by page, country and device.

What CitedBy checks: Not read. The Search Console connection checks which pages Google has indexed; the Generative AI report is read in Search Console itself.

Source: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports

Google Analytics adds a channel for AI assistant traffic

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Open the Default Channel Group in GA4 reports, check that the AI Assistant channel shows, and add a custom rule only for AI referrers that still land in Referral.

What CitedBy checks: Not checked. CitedBy reads your pages, not your analytics.

Source: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320

Lighthouse adds an agentic browsing category with an llms.txt audit

Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Make /llms.txt answer 200 or 404, never a server error: Lighthouse flags server errors on it and marks a 404 Not Applicable.

What CitedBy checks: Partly. Every crawl requests /llms.txt: 200 counts as present, 404 or 410 as missing (an optional notice). CitedBy does not flag a server error on it as an issue.

Source: https://github.com/GoogleChrome/lighthouse/releases/tag/v13.3.0

Search Console's branded queries filter reaches all eligible sites

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In the Search Console Performance report, apply the branded and non-branded filter and read the two groups separately.

What CitedBy checks: Not checked. It changes how you read Search Console, not how your pages are built.

Source: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/11/search-console-branded-filter

Bing adds AI Performance to Webmaster Tools (public preview)

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Verify the site in Bing Webmaster Tools, open AI Performance and export citations, cited pages and grounding queries each month.

What CitedBy checks: Not read. With a Bing Webmaster Tools API key CitedBy shows how many pages Bing holds, the sitemap's state and crawl errors; the AI Performance report is read in Bing Webmaster Tools itself.

Source: https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/2026/2/Introducing-AI-Performance-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Public-Preview/