Announcement Overview

Google has introduced updates to Core Web Vitals that place greater emphasis on responsiveness and visual stability. The changes arrive alongside refreshed guidance for developers and SEOs preparing for the next ranking update.

New Metrics

Interaction to Next Paint (INP)

INP will replace First Input Delay as Google's primary responsiveness signal. Pages should complete critical interactions in under 200 milliseconds for a good user experience.

Smoothness Evaluation

Long tasks and layout shifts are now measured together to evaluate overall smoothness. Google recommends profiling JavaScript execution and deferring non-critical work.

What Site Owners Should Do

Audit INP performance in Google Search Console and Lighthouse

Trim unused JavaScript and prioritize hydration

Preload key resources and adopt modern image formats

Rollout Timeline

Google begins the gradual rollout in Q4 2025, with full enforcement by early 2026. Sites that address responsiveness and stability issues early are more likely to maintain rankings.

Further Resources

Core Web Vitals documentation on developers.google.com

Web.dev guides for INP and long tasks

LogInsight dashboards for monitoring performance regressions

Google Announces New Core Web Vitals Update