Share This Article
Google Search Console’s Generative AI report shows how often your pages appear as links in AI Overviews and AI Mode. It reports impressions only, broken down by page, country, device, date and search type. It doesn’t show clicks, the questions people asked or your position in the answer, so it measures visibility, not traffic.
For two years, site owners had no way to know whether Google’s AI answers were using their pages. The AI data was there, but mixed into the normal Performance report. In June 2026 Google announced a dedicated view, and by the end of August it had reached all sites. Here’s how to read it without over-reading it.
What the report is
The report sits under Performance in Search Console. There are two versions: one for Google Search (covering AI Overviews and AI Mode) and a separate one for generative AI features in Google Discover.
It works like the familiar Performance report, with the same data rules, time zone (Pacific Time) and aggregation. The difference is that it only counts appearances inside generative AI features.
An important detail: these impressions aren’t new data. They were always included in your overall Search performance totals. The new report simply separates them out so you can see them.
What it shows
| View | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Impressions over time | Whether your visibility in AI answers is growing or shrinking |
| Pages | Which URLs are shown as links in AI answers most (and least) |
| Countries | Where those AI answers were shown |
| Devices | Desktop, mobile or tablet |
| Dates | Daily, weekly or monthly trends |
| Search type | Text searches, or “multimodal” searches where an image was part of the query |
How an impression is counted
An impression is recorded when a link to your site is shown in a generative AI feature. If several of your pages appear in the same AI answer, Google counts that as one impression for your site in the site-level total. The Pages view shows which specific URLs were involved.
What it doesn’t show
- Clicks and click-through rate. You can see that you were shown, not whether anyone clicked.
- Queries. You can’t see which searches or questions triggered the AI answer.
- Position. There’s no indication of where your link appeared in the answer.
- Search Labs experiments. Features still in testing aren’t included.
Because of these gaps, don’t treat the report as a traffic report. It’s a visibility report. For visits, you still need Google Analytics, where clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode are counted as Organic Search. We explain that side in our guide to tracking AI traffic in GA4.
Why you might not see the report
Google gives three reasons a property may not have the report:
- The rollout hasn’t reached your property. (Google said it had reached all sites by 31 August 2026, so this is now less likely.)
- Your site hasn’t had enough impressions in AI features yet. This is common for new or small sites.
- You’ve opted your site out of generative AI features in Search Console.
Five practical ways to use it
1. Find the pages AI already trusts
Sort by pages with the most impressions. These are the pages Google’s AI features consider useful enough to link to. Keep them accurate, fresh and well linked from the rest of your site.
2. Compare AI visibility with normal search
Put the same page’s numbers side by side from the normal Performance report and the Generative AI report. A page with strong AI impressions but weak clicks in normal search may be answering the question so well that fewer people need to click. That isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s worth knowing.
3. Spot pages that never appear
If an important guide gets plenty of normal impressions but none in AI features, ask why. Is the answer buried? Is the page thin compared to others? Is it missing first-hand detail? Our piece on non-commodity content covers the kind of material Google says it wants.
4. Watch the trend after updates
After you rewrite or update a page, check its AI impressions over the following weeks. It’s not a controlled test, but a clear rise or fall is a useful signal.
5. Check by country and device
AI features aren’t identical in every market. If most of your audience is in one country, filter to it so global numbers don’t hide what matters.
The opt-out setting: should you use it?
Alongside the report, Google introduced a Search Console control that lets you choose whether your site appears in, and helps ground, its generative AI features, including AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI features in Discover.
If you opt out, your pages won’t be shown or used in those features, and you’ll get no impressions or traffic from them. Your normal search rankings aren’t affected. For most businesses and publishers the answer is simple: leave it on. The setting mainly suits sites with specific licensing or commercial reasons to keep content out of AI answers.
Where it fits in your wider AI reporting
| Question | Best source |
|---|---|
| Are my pages shown in Google’s AI answers? | Search Console Generative AI report |
| Are people clicking through from AI Overviews? | Not separable yet (counted in Organic Search) |
| How much traffic comes from ChatGPT, Gemini and others? | GA4 AI Assistant channel, plus a custom channel group |
| Does Microsoft Copilot cite my pages? | Bing Webmaster Tools AI Performance |
| Am I named in ChatGPT, Perplexity or Claude answers? | A manual monthly prompt check or a paid tracking tool |
Frequently asked questions
Does Search Console show AI Overviews clicks?
Not separately. The Generative AI report shows impressions only. Clicks from AI features are counted within your overall Search performance.
Is AI Mode included in the report?
Yes. The Search version of the report covers generative AI features on Google Search, including AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Why does my report show no data?
Your site may not have enough impressions in AI features yet, or you may have opted out. New sites often take time to appear.
Will opting out improve my normal rankings?
No. Opting out only removes your site from generative AI features. It doesn’t change how you rank in regular results.
Will Google add clicks or queries later?
Google hasn’t given a date. Check the report and Google’s Search Central blog for updates.
The bottom line
The Generative AI report answers one question well: are Google’s AI answers using my pages? Use it to find the pages AI trusts, spot the ones it ignores and track trends after updates. Just don’t mistake impressions for traffic. For how these features choose sources in the first place, see our explainer on AI Mode vs AI Overviews.
Sources
- Search Console Help, Generative AI performance report (Search)
- Google Search Central Blog, Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console
- Google, New opportunities, control and insights for website owners
