Do AI Crawlers Request Markdown? Test the Accept Header First
Test crawler Accept headers, negotiated Content-Type and cache variation before claiming an AI bot receives Markdown.
From this desk
Start with the most useful page
The featured page offers a strong introduction. The remaining cards help readers move through this editorial section without turning the archive into a service menu.
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Use the subject desks for focused browsing, or continue to the complete chronological archive below.
SEO
Crawling, content, and measurement
Reporting and practical analysis for technical, on-page, content, and publishing decisions.
AEO & AI Search
Answers, citations, and visibility
Platform changes, retrieval behavior, source attribution, and measurement without unsupported promises.
Research
Tests, methods, and evidence
Original protocols, observations, evidence reviews, and the limits on what each result establishes.
Workflows
APIs, automation, and verification
Implementation stories with reproducible inputs, failure states, evidence, and stopping conditions.
Complete archive
Every story, newest first
Open a story for its complete evidence, examples, limitations, author information, and reader discussion.
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Claude Text Watermark: Not Hidden Characters or SEO
Anthropic’s proposed Claude watermark uses statistical word-choice patterns in future models, not hidden Unicode characters, metadata, or an AI-detector score.
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ChatGPT Restaurant Reservations: Local Search Guide
ChatGPT now connects restaurant questions to reservation availability through OpenTable, Resy, and Yelp. Selection, inventory, and completed bookings remain separate outcomes.
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Perplexity Source Labels Apply to Domains, Not Every Page or Claim
Perplexity’s Government, Academic, and Trusted labels provide domain-level context. They do not endorse every page, verify every claim, or promise citation visibility.
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Google AI Search Console Logging Error: Aug 13–17
Google says a Search Console logging error underreported Generative AI impressions from August 13 through August 17. It was a reporting issue, not an actual traffic decline.
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Google Site-Reputation Enforcement in the EEA
Beginning August 30, Google says site-reputation manual actions will have different effects inside and outside the EEA. The policy remains in force, and third-party sections can still be separated to rank independently.
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Reddit’s ChatGPT Citation Share Fell 86%, but the Drop Was Platform-Specific
Promptwatch and an independent sample found a steep ChatGPT decline. A separate 7.3-million-citation report found Reddit stable or rising elsewhere, so the percentages cannot be combined.
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ChatGPT Search-Call Syntax: Evidence Review
A dated browser capture suggests ChatGPT changed how it represents search calls. The syntax is observable; its freshness and SEO meanings remain unproven.
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Freeze Perplexity Fast for Reproducible Tests
Perplexity’s dynamic fast preset now uses GPT-5.6 Luna and priority processing. A frozen configuration preserves the request, not the live web.
A useful standard
What every story should make clear
SearchEngineAnswer is an independent publication. Stories should help a reader understand what changed, what the evidence supports, and what to do next.
The reader job is explicit
A story should answer a focused question or support a concrete decision rather than merely announce a topic.
Sources remain inspectable
Material facts stay close to current primary documentation, reproducible evidence, or clearly attributed reporting.
Updates retain context
Meaningful changes, uncertainty, corrections, and publication dates remain visible so readers can judge freshness.
References and next steps