Google Search is no longer limited to traditional organic listings. Websites can now appear inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, creating another layer of organic search visibility for marketers to measure.
Until recently, Search Console offered limited dedicated reporting for these experiences. Google has now introduced a Generative AI performance report that helps website owners understand where their pages appear in supported AI-powered search features.
This guide explains where to find that data, how AI impressions and clicks are counted, which pages are gaining AI visibility, and how to use the information to make better SEO decisions.
Can You Track AI Overviews and AI Mode in Google Search Console?
Yes. Google Search Console now provides a dedicated Generative AI performance report covering AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google states that these insights were rolled out worldwide as of August 31, 2026.
The important point is that the Generative AI report and the standard Search Performance report serve different purposes.
The standard Performance report provides broader Google Search data, including clicks, impressions, CTR, average position, queries, pages, countries, and devices.
The Generative AI performance report focuses specifically on impressions generated when your website appears within supported generative AI features.
This means you should use both reports together rather than treating the AI report as a replacement for normal Google Search Console performance data.
What Is the Generative AI Performance Report?
The Generative AI performance report shows how often your website appears within Google’s supported AI-powered Search experiences.
What Does the Report Measure?
It’s main metric is impressions. Google defines these as instances where links to your website are shown to users within supported generative AI features.
The report can therefore help you determine whether your AI search visibility is increasing or decreasing over time.
An impression does not mean that someone visited your website. Your page can be displayed as a source or link within an AI-generated result without receiving a click.
What Data Can You See?
The report currently includes impressions from:
- AI Overviews
- AI Mode
You can analyze those impressions by page, country, date, and device.
Google has also stated that the supported feature list may change as Search develops. Data from Search Labs’ experiments is not included because those experiences are still considered experimental.
How to Find the Generative AI Report in Google Search Console
Step 1: Open Google Search Console
Sign in to Google Search Console and select the property you want to analyze.
Make sure you are working with the correct domain or URL-prefix property, particularly if your account contains multiple websites.
Step 2: Open the Generative AI Performance Report
Open the Generative AI performance report for the selected property. Google’s official Search Console documentation also provides an “Open the Generative AI performance report” shortcut.
Google’s current documentation does not specify a universal left-menu path that should be assumed across every interface, so avoid relying on outdated screenshots or navigation instructions.
Step 3: Select a Useful Date Range
Do not evaluate performance from only one or two days.
Where enough data exists, useful comparisons include:
- last 28 days versus previous 28 days;
- month-over-month performance;
- a longer three-month trend.
Step 4: Review the Available Dimensions
Check Pages, Countries, Dates, and Devices to understand where AI visibility is coming from.
How to Track AI Overview and AI Mode Performance
The total AI impression number is only the starting point. The real value comes from analyzing patterns.
Check AI Impressions Over Time
Start by reviewing whether AI impressions are:
- increasing;
- decreasing;
- relatively stable.
Compare meaningful date ranges instead of reacting to daily changes.
Google notes that the newest data can sometimes be preliminary. Preliminary values appear with a dotted line and may change while data collection is still being completed.
Find Pages Appearing in AI Search
Open the Pages dimension to identify URLs receiving Generative AI impressions.
This helps answer an important question: which pages from your website is Google already surfacing within AI-powered search experiences?
Review whether those URLs contain:
- detailed explanations;
- comparison content;
- clear definitions;
- original research or data;
- authoritative service information;
- strong supporting evidence.
These formats are not guaranteed to appear in AI results. The objective is to identify patterns among the pages already performing well on your own website.
Check Visibility by Country
Country data is particularly useful for websites targeting several markets.
For example, an article might receive substantial AI search visibility in India but very few impressions in the UK. That difference can highlight opportunities to improve localization, examples, terminology, or market-specific information.
Check Device Performance
Use the Devices dimension to compare mobile, desktop, and tablet impressions.
Device data does not explain why Google selected a page, but it can show where your AI search exposure is concentrated.
How Are AI Overview Clicks and Impressions Counted?
Google has documented how Search Console handles AI Overview and AI Mode interactions.
| Metric | AI Overviews | AI Mode |
| Click | Clicking an external website link counts as a click | Clicking an external website link counts as a click |
| Impression | Standard Search Console impression rules apply | Standard Search Console impression rules apply |
| Position | Links share the position assigned to the AI Overview element | Standard Google Search position methodology applies |
For AI Mode, a follow-up question is treated as a new query. Any impressions, clicks, and position data produced by that new response are counted against the new query.
For AI Overviews, the entire AI Overview occupies a single Search result position, so the links within it share that position.
Can You See Exactly How Many Clicks Came from AI Mode?
Not through the dedicated Generative AI performance report in the same way that you can isolate AI-specific impressions.
Google confirms that a click on an external link within AI Mode or an AI Overview counts as a Search Console click. However, the Generative AI report currently focuses on impression data.
Those AI-related clicks are included within the broader Web search data in the standard Search Performance report.
This creates an important reporting limitation: marketers should not assume that they can cleanly separate every AI Mode click from traditional organic Search clicks.
Use the Generative AI report to measure AI-specific visibility, then compare it with standard Search Console clicks, CTR, page performance, and overall organic trends.
If both AI impressions and organic clicks rise, there may be a relationship, but the available reporting does not automatically prove that the additional clicks came specifically from AI Mode.
How to Use AI Search Data to Improve SEO
Collecting AI impressions is useful only if the data helps guide your next actions.
Identify Pages Already Gaining AI Visibility
Start with pages receiving the highest Generative AI impressions.
Review their:
- topic depth;
- content structure;
- factual clarity;
- supporting evidence;
- internal links;
- important entities;
- source quality.
These pages can provide practical clues about the content Google is successfully understanding and surfacing.
Find Pages with Visibility but Weak Engagement
AI visibility does not automatically mean traffic, leads, or conversions.
Compare high-impression pages with their standard Search Console performance. Look at clicks, CTR, average position, and broader landing-page behavior.
A page with growing AI visibility, but weak engagement may need clearer messaging, stronger supporting information, or a more useful next step for visitors.
Strengthen Related Topic Coverage
If one page receives consistent AI visibility, research related questions around that topic.
Create supporting content where it adds genuine value and connect related pages through contextual internal links. Avoid publishing multiple articles that answer essentially the same question.
Improve Factual Clarity
AI-search content should still follow sound SEO and editorial principles.
Use:
- clear definitions;
- accurate claims;
- current information;
- credible evidence;
- direct answers to important questions.
Avoid vague statements when specific information is available.
Strengthen Entity Relationships
Clearly identify relevant companies, people, products, tools, platforms, locations, and concepts.
For example, instead of repeatedly referring to “the platform,” clearly state “Google Search Console” when that distinction matters.
Better entity clarity can make content easier to understand, but it should not be presented as a guaranteed method for appearing in AI Overviews.
Why Is the Generative AI Report Not Showing in My Search Console?
Google says the report may not appear if a property does not have enough impressions from supported generative AI features. Its documentation also notes that report access can vary during rollout.
Another possible reason is that the website has been excluded from Search generative AI features.
You can check this setting under:
Settings > Search generative AI
Google’s Search generative AI control covers AI Overviews, AI Mode, and supported generative AI features in Discover. The default option allows eligible website content to appear in these features.
If your site is included but you still cannot see the report, insufficient eligible impressions may be the reason.
Common Mistakes When Analyzing AI Search Performance
- Treating every AI impression as a visit – An impression shows visibility, not a website session.
- Looking only at AI data – Compare the Generative AI report with standard Search Console performance to understand the broader picture.
- Judging results too quickly – A few days of data can be misleading, especially when recent figures are preliminary.
- Monitoring only the homepage – Blogs, guides, service pages, and other informational URLs may generate significantly more AI visibility.
- Focusing only on rankings – Traditional rankings remain important, but AI search adds another layer of visibility that should be evaluated alongside clicks, conversions, and organic performance.
Conclusion
Google Search Console’s Generative AI reporting gives SEO teams a clearer view of how their content appears across AI Overviews and AI Mode. Analyze it alongside standard Search Performance data to identify pages gaining AI visibility, monitor meaningful trends, and make SEO decisions based on actual search data rather than assumptions.