Valhalla watches the platforms for you
What changed.
Only what affects your business. Not news.
Platforms change every month. Here are the changes that change a decision: what happened, who is affected, what to do. And what Valhalla does for Guided Optimisation clients — automatically.
Nothing new that changes anything for your business in recent months — we check monthly.Latest change: 15 September 2026 · we check monthly.
AI bots: search bots get you cited, training bots do not. Cloudflare now blocks some by default
OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity run separate bots: some collect content to train models (GPTBot, ClaudeBot), others search and cite sites in answers (OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot, PerplexityBot). OpenAI states that sites blocking OAI-SearchBot are not shown in ChatGPT search answers, while blocking GPTBot does not remove them. Google-Extended only controls Gemini training and does not affect Google Search. Since 15 September 2026, Cloudflare blocks training and agent bots by default on new domains, on pages that show ads; search bots stay allowed.
- Who is affected
- Any site that wants to be recommended by ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity, especially sites on Cloudflare or with a robots.txt copied from a template.
- What to do
- Open /robots.txt. Keep the search bots of the assistants you want customers from allowed (OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, Claude-SearchBot, Claude-User, PerplexityBot). You can block the training bots without losing citations. On Cloudflare, also check the AI bot policy in the security settings.
- What Valhalla does
- The daily scan reads robots.txt and flags blocked AI search bots; affected clients get a recommendation. Blocks set in a firewall (for example the Cloudflare policy) do not show in robots.txt and are not seen automatically. Affected clients are checked automatically. A client? Does it affect you? →
The lesson: What GEO is: how to get cited inside AI answers →Source: OpenAI — Overview of OpenAI crawlersVerified 2 October 2026
AI Act: transparency rules apply from August 2026; high-risk rules pushed to December 2027
From August 2026 the AI Act transparency rules apply: people must know when they are talking to a machine (a , for example), and AI-generated content must be identifiable; deep fakes and texts on matters of public interest are labelled visibly. Also from 2 August 2026, the AI Office and national authorities implement and enforce the regulation. The AI Omnibus (in force since 27 July 2026) pushes the rules for high-risk systems in certain areas to 2 December 2027.
- Who is affected
- Any business with a chatbot or AI assistant that talks to customers, and anyone publishing images, video or text generated with AI.
- What to do
- The assistant says in its first sentence that it is an AI and offers a human one step away. Label AI-generated images and video. If you use AI in hiring, credit or health, prepare the documentation now — you have until December 2027, not longer.
- What Valhalla does
- The daily scan sees whether the site has a chat or an assistant. If it does, Valhalla prepares a recommendation: we check that it says in its first sentence that it is an AI and offers a human one step away. Assistants built inside Guided Optimisation already do this. Affected clients are checked automatically. A client? Does it affect you? →
The lesson: A chatbot that actually helps: what it must do for a Romanian SME →Source: European Commission — Regulatory framework for AIVerified 30 September 2026
AI Act: the first obligations apply; chatbot transparency is next
The EU AI Regulation applies in stages: prohibited practices since February 2025, obligations for general-purpose models (GPAI) since August 2025, the rest — including transparency duties for systems that interact with people — through 2026.
- Who is affected
- Any business with a customer-facing chatbot or AI assistant, especially in sensitive fields (health, finance, HR).
- What to do
- Say clearly that the user is talking to an AI, keep a human one tap away, never let the assistant take decisions with legal or medical effect. Document what it does and does not do.
- What Valhalla does
- Assistants built inside Guided Optimisation already carry explicit disclosure, an emergency gate and human handoff. The chat on the client's site is checked under the entry on the August 2026 transparency rules, so you never get the same recommendation twice.
The lesson: A chatbot that actually helps: what it must do for a Romanian SME →Source: European Commission — Regulatory framework for AIVerified 28 September 2026
The European Accessibility Act applies to online shops and digital services
Since 28 June 2025, covered digital products and services (including e-commerce) must meet accessibility requirements across the Union, with exemptions for micro-enterprises.
- Who is affected
- Online shops and digital services selling in the EU. Check whether the micro-enterprise exemption applies to you.
- What to do
- Run a WCAG audit on product pages and checkout: contrast, keyboard navigation, form labels, alt text. Accessibility helps too.
- What Valhalla does
- The scan checks one accessibility signal automatically: image descriptions on the homepage. Clients with undescribed images get a recommendation; labels, contrast and keyboard navigation are checked in an audit session. Affected clients are checked automatically. A client? Does it affect you? →
The lesson: Website architecture that grows with you (and does not hold you hostage) →Source: European Commission — European Accessibility ActVerified 28 September 2026
Google removed support for seven rich result types
Google announced in June 2025 that it no longer shows rich results for several rarely used types (among them: course info, claim review, estimated salary, vehicle listing). The markup stays valid; only the special display goes away.
- Who is affected
- Sites that implemented these types expecting extra space in the results.
- What to do
- Do not remove them for the sake of it — machines reading the page still use them. Focus the effort on Organization, LocalBusiness, Product/Offer, Article and Breadcrumb.
- What Valhalla does
- Valhalla reads the structured data on the homepage. If you use one of the removed types, you get a short recommendation: we keep the markup and spend no more sessions on it. Affected clients are checked automatically. A client? Does it affect you? →
The lesson: Structured data for AI search: schema.org, JSON-LD and what Google really shows in 2026 →Source: Google Search Central — Simplifying search resultsVerified 28 September 2026
AI Mode: Google answers conversationally, with sources, in its own tab
Launched in the US in May 2025 and expanded to more countries and languages since, turns search into a conversation that cites websites. Traffic increasingly arrives from a citation, not a blue link.
- Who is affected
- Any business that depends on purchase- or information-intent searches. Check availability in your language on your phone.
- What to do
- Consistent facts everywhere, pages that fully answer one question, visible author and date, clear structure. Measure impressions and clicks in , not just positions.
- What Valhalla does
- Valhalla does not measure AI Mode citations automatically. In a GEO session we check the client's key questions and which sources the answers cite.
The lesson: What GEO is: how to get cited inside AI answers →Source: Google — AI Mode in SearchVerified 28 September 2026
Chrome is not removing third-party cookies — but nothing changes for consent
After years of delays, Google announced in April 2025 that it keeps the current approach: third-party cookies stay in Chrome, with no new choice prompt. Safari and Firefox keep blocking them.
- Who is affected
- Anyone doing remarketing or measuring conversions in the browser.
- What to do
- Relax nothing: , Conversions API/server-side and first-party data remain the foundation. Third-party cookies survive in one browser, not all of them.
- What Valhalla does
- No new check for this change: the daily scan keeps checking the cookie banner and what is sent before the choice (see Consent Mode v2). Server-side tracking is not visible from outside; we check it in a session.
The lesson: Consent Mode v2, explained: a banner without signals is worth nothing →Source: Privacy Sandbox — Next stepsVerified 28 September 2026
Video Action campaigns moved into Demand Gen
Google stopped the creation of Video Action campaigns and automatically migrated existing ones into during 2025. Formats, placements and reporting changed.
- Who is affected
- Accounts running YouTube for conversions or leads.
- What to do
- Review the migrated campaigns: creatives (vertical, short), audiences, excluded placements and the conversion you optimise for. Do not leave the migration unsupervised.
- What Valhalla does
- There is no automatic check: the data from connected ads accounts does not show which campaigns were migrated. We review them in an ads session.
The lesson: Performance Max: when it makes sense and how to keep it under control →Source: Google Ads Help — About Demand Gen campaignsVerified 28 September 2026
e-Factura became mandatory for sales to consumers (B2C) too
Since 1 January 2025, invoices issued to consumers in Romania are also transmitted through the system, not only B2B ones. For online shops this means integration with the invoicing platform and with ANAF.
- Who is affected
- Romanian online shops and service providers that invoice consumers.
- What to do
- Check the flow with your accountant: order → invoice → e-Factura transmission, automated. Manual does not scale. Keep billing data correct in the checkout.
- What Valhalla does
- There is no automatic check. The order → invoice → e-Factura flow is a typical automation-session objective inside Guided Optimisation.
The lesson: Conversion checklist for a Romanian online store →Source: Ministerul Finanțelor — e-FacturaVerified 28 September 2026
llms.txt — a convention for describing your site to AI models
An open proposal: a text file at the site root that summarises what the site is and where the important pages are, for AI systems. Not a standard officially adopted by engines; cheap and risk-free.
- Who is affected
- Any site that wants to be understood correctly by AI assistants.
- What to do
- Publish /llms.txt with the canonical facts: who you are, what you sell, to whom, at what price, links to key pages. Keep it in sync with the site.
- What Valhalla does
- The daily scan checks whether /llms.txt exists; clients without it get a recommendation. The file's content is not checked automatically. Affected clients are checked automatically. A client? Does it affect you? →
The lesson: What GEO is: how to get cited inside AI answers →Source: llmstxt.orgVerified 28 September 2026
Google answers with AI above the results (AI Overviews, then AI Mode)
For more and more searches, a generated answer appears before the links, with cited sources. Site traffic drops for informational questions; visibility depends on being cited.
- Who is affected
- Anyone who depends on informational searches: clinics, services, guides, e-commerce with content.
- What to do
- Answer customers' real questions clearly on dedicated pages, keep facts consistent everywhere, measure impressions in Search Console.
- What Valhalla does
- Valhalla does not measure AI Overviews citations automatically. In a GEO session we check the client's key questions and which sources the answers cite.
The lesson: What GEO is: how to get cited inside AI answers →Source: Google — AI features and your websiteVerified 28 September 2026
INP replaced FID in Core Web Vitals
Interaction to Next Paint measures how fast the page responds to any interaction, not just the first. Many script-heavy sites dropped from "good" to "needs improvement".
- Who is affected
- Sites on heavy builders, with many plugins or third-party scripts.
- What to do
- Check the report in Search Console; the target is INP ≤ 200 ms. Reduce third-party JavaScript.
- What Valhalla does
- The daily scan measures how fast the server answers on the homepage, not INP. The real INP is read from Search Console in a speed session.
The lesson: Website speed and Core Web Vitals: what you pay for twice when the page is slow →Source: web.dev — INPVerified 28 September 2026
Consent Mode v2 is mandatory for any account advertising in the EEA
Google requires the ad_user_data and ad_personalization signals on top of ad_storage and analytics_storage. Without them, and conversion measurement for EU users degrade or stop.
- Who is affected
- Any Romanian business with Google Ads, GA4 or remarketing. Practically everyone.
- What to do
- Check in Tag Assistant that all four signals leave correctly after the banner interaction. A visible banner does not mean signals are sent.
- What Valhalla does
- Valhalla reads each client's latest scan: the cookie banner, what is sent before the choice and the Consent Mode v2 signals (with a real browser). Affected clients get a recommendation with evidence. Affected clients are checked automatically. A client? Does it affect you? →
The lesson: Consent Mode v2, explained: a banner without signals is worth nothing →Source: Google — Consent modeVerified 28 September 2026
Discovery campaigns became Demand Gen
Google automatically migrated Discovery campaigns to Demand Gen (YouTube, Discover, Gmail), with video formats and lookalike audiences. Structure and reporting changed.
- Who is affected
- Accounts running Discovery for awareness or remarketing.
- What to do
- Review creatives (vertical video), audiences and which conversion you optimise; do not leave the automatic migration unsupervised.
- What Valhalla does
- There is no automatic check: the data from connected ads accounts does not show which campaigns were migrated. We review them in an ads session.
The lesson: Performance Max: when it makes sense and how to keep it under control →Source: Google Ads Help — Demand GenVerified 28 September 2026
FAQ rich results were restricted to authoritative government and health sites
Google no longer shows FAQ expansions for most sites. FAQPage markup stays valid and useful for machines reading the page, but no longer earns extra space in results.
- Who is affected
- Sites that implemented FAQ schema expecting rich results.
- What to do
- Keep FAQs for users and for AI; stop building them for the SERP.
- What Valhalla does
- No separate check: correctly marked-up FAQs need no change. The scan only flags structured data that is missing entirely.
The lesson: Structured data for AI search: schema.org, JSON-LD and what Google really shows in 2026 →Source: Google Search Central — FAQ & HowTo changesVerified 28 September 2026
Universal Analytics stopped; GA4 is the only Analytics
UA properties stopped processing data in July 2023 and were deleted in 2024. is event-based, not session-based; "conversions" became "".
- Who is affected
- Businesses still reporting with UA logic or old dashboards.
- What to do
- Mark key events, set data retention to 14 months, link Google Ads and Search Console, rebuild the reports.
- What Valhalla does
- With GA4 connected, Valhalla sees whether the property has traffic but no key events, and prepares a recommendation. Retention and the Google Ads and Search Console links are checked in a session. Affected clients are checked automatically. A client? Does it affect you? →
The lesson: GA4 in 30 minutes: what a business owner needs to know (and what to ignore) →Source: Google — GA4 key eventsVerified 28 September 2026
The pixel alone is no longer enough: Conversions API is the Meta standard
Since iOS 14.5 and browser tracking restrictions, some events no longer reach Meta through the alone. Meta recommends pixel + with deduplication.
- Who is affected
- Any Meta Ads account optimising for conversions or purchases.
- What to do
- Implement CAPI (direct or via server-side GTM), send event_id for deduplication, watch Event Match Quality.
- What Valhalla does
- The scan sees the Meta pixel on the site. The Conversions API runs on the server and is not visible from outside, so it is not checked automatically; we check it in the Meta account, in a session.
The lesson: Meta Conversions API: why the pixel alone is not enough and what a correct setup looks like →Source: Meta — Conversions APIVerified 28 September 2026