--- title: "AI assistants: model, search and crawler changes, dated" canonical_url: https://cookiesforai.app/research/engine-changes last_updated: 2026-10-03 type: news summary: "The engine changes tracker lists dated changes to the models, web search and crawlers of Claude, ChatGPT, Google (Gemini, Search and AI features), Grok, Perplexity, Copilot and open models, one table per assistant, each row linked to the maker's own page." --- # AI assistants: model, search and crawler changes, dated Updated 2026-10-03. First published 2026-09-03. The engine changes tracker lists dated changes to the models, web search and crawlers of Claude, ChatGPT, Google (Gemini, Search and AI features), Grok, Perplexity, Copilot and open models, one table per assistant, each row linked to the maker's own page. ## Claude | Date | Change | Source | What it may change | Re-test | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2026-09-28 | Anthropic launched Claude Sonnet 5.5 (claude-sonnet-5-5) on the Claude API and through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud and Microsoft Foundry. | [Claude Platform release notes](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/release-notes/overview) | Answers from memory vs search; directory pages for little-known agent skills; general questions answered from memory | Re-tested: already in our Claude runs of 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-01 | | 2026-09-25 | Anthropic opened a developer portal for submitting plugins to the Claude directory, with review tracking and usage analytics after a plugin goes live. | [Claude apps release notes](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes) | Which directories assistants open | Not re-tested yet | | 2026-09-22 | Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5.5 (claude-opus-5-5) on the Claude API and through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud and Microsoft Foundry. | [Claude Platform release notes](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/release-notes/overview) | Answers from memory vs search; directory pages for little-known agent skills; general questions answered from memory | Re-tested: already in our Claude runs of 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-01 | ## ChatGPT | Date | Change | Source | What it may change | Re-test | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2026-09-29 | OpenAI released GPT-6.1 Sol in ChatGPT Work, Codex and the API (gpt-6.1-sol); OpenAI says it is not yet available in ChatGPT chat. | [OpenAI: Introducing GPT-6.1 Sol](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-6-1-sol/) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-22 | OpenAI released GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna in ChatGPT Work, Codex and the API; OpenAI says they are not yet available in ChatGPT chat. | [OpenAI: Introducing GPT-6 Sol and Luna](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-6-sol-and-luna/) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-03 | OpenAI introduced GPT-6 Astra, rolling out to paid ChatGPT plans and to the API as gpt-6-astra. | [OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra](https://openai.com/index/gpt-6-astra/) | Whether the assistant searches by default; assistants naming their own products; when an assistant searches | Not re-tested yet | ## Google (Gemini, Search, AI Overviews, AI Mode) | Date | Change | Source | What it may change | Re-test | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2026-10-01 | Google updated its guidance on generative AI content: AI-written text, titles, meta descriptions, structured data and alt text should be fact-checked by a person before publishing, with pointers to the rater guidelines on scaled content. | [Google Search Central documentation](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/using-gen-ai-content) | Crawl, index and snippet rules | Not re-tested yet | | 2026-09-30 | Google announced Gemini 4 Argon, released first only to vetted security teams in its Fairwind Program, not yet to the Gemini app or Search. | [Google blog: Gemini 4 Argon](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-4-argon/) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-30 | Google added skills to Gemini chat globally: reusable instructions a user saves and calls with a slash and the skill name; Workspace business and education customers follow in the coming weeks. | [Google: Let skills in Gemini tackle your most repetitive tasks](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/gemini/automate-tasks-with-skills/) | Small directories on narrow skill questions; assistants naming their own products | Not re-tested yet | | 2026-09-24 | Google Search Console added a multimodal search filter (Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads) to the Search results report and the Generative AI features report. | [Google Search Central blog](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/09/web-multimodal-in-sc) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-24 | Google started the September 2026 spam update for Search, global and in all languages, with a rollout of up to two weeks. | [Google Search Status Dashboard](https://status.search.google.com/incidents/XhUDXP7A67iHCD2kmbVu) | Crawl, index and snippet rules | Not re-tested yet | ## Grok | Date | Change | Source | What it may change | Re-test | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2026-09-21 | xAI introduced Grok 4.7 in the Grok API, Grok Build and Cursor; the announcement does not mention web search or citations. | [xAI news: Introducing Grok 4.7](https://x.ai/news/grok-4-7) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | ## Perplexity | Date | Change | Source | What it may change | Re-test | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2026-09-24 | Perplexity replaced the retrieval and ranking engine behind its search with Photon, an in-house engine that also runs a new fast preset of its Search API. | [Perplexity blog: Photon](https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/photon) | Whether the assistant searches by default; being cited vs being used; when an assistant searches | Not re-tested yet | ## Copilot | Date | Change | Source | What it may change | Re-test | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2026-09-29 | GitHub made GPT-6.1 Sol generally available in GitHub Copilot. | [GitHub changelog](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-09-29-gpt-6-1-sol-in-github-copilot) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-28 | GitHub made Claude Sonnet 5.5 generally available in GitHub Copilot. | [GitHub changelog](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-09-28-claude-sonnet-5-5-in-github-copilot) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-22 | GitHub added Claude Opus 5.5 to GitHub Copilot. | [GitHub changelog](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-09-22-claude-opus-5-5-is-now-available-in-github-copilot) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-22 | GitHub added GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna to GitHub Copilot. | [GitHub changelog](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-09-22-openais-gpt-6-sol-and-gpt-6-luna-now-available) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-21 | GitHub started rolling out Grok 4.7 in GitHub Copilot. | [GitHub changelog](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-09-21-grok-4-7-is-now-available-in-github-copilot) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | | 2026-09-04 | GitHub made GPT-6 Astra generally available in GitHub Copilot. | [GitHub changelog](https://github.blog/changelog/2026-09-04-gpt-6-astra-is-generally-available-in-github-copilot) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed | ## Open models (DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, GLM, Llama, Mistral) | Date | Change | Source | What it may change | Re-test | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2026-09-10 | DeepSeek released DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash with open weights on Hugging Face and made it the model behind its API; we do not measure DeepSeek's assistant. | [DeepSeek API news](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news260910) | Nothing we measured | No re-test needed |