What does the Search Console AI Overviews report show?
The Search Console AI Overviews report shows how many times links to your site were displayed inside Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. It reports impressions only. It has no clicks, no queries and no position. Use it to find which pages Google cites, then pair it with other data for the rest.
You find it under Performance, in the Generative AI section. Google's help page says the Search report covers AI Overviews and AI Mode, leaves out experiments in Search Labs, and puts Discover in a separate report (checked 28 Oct 2026). Google calls it the "generative AI performance report," so you will see both names.
You can group the data four ways: by page, country, device or date. Dates use Pacific Time. A search-type filter splits text-based searches from image-based ones such as Google Lens (checked 28 Oct 2026).
| What you might want to know | In the report? | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| How often my links appeared | Yes (impressions) | The only metric |
| Which pages appeared | Yes (Pages tab) | A list of the URLs Google pulls in |
| Where the searchers are | Yes (Countries tab) | Useful for checking new markets |
| Desktop vs mobile | Yes (Devices tab) | Search report only |
| Text vs image searches | Yes (filter) | Text-based is the default view |
| Clicks, CTR, average position | No | Clicks live elsewhere (see below) |
| The question that triggered the link | No | Query data is not included |
| Where in the answer the link sat | No | No citation placement data |
| AI Overviews and AI Mode as separate lines | No separate view | Google lists both as included, but none of its dimensions splits them |
| ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity | No | Google features only |
Table based on Google's help page and Search Engine Journal's list of omissions, checked 28 Oct 2026.
Is the report available to every site yet?
Mostly yes. Google began testing it on 3 June 2026 with a subset of UK site owners. A note on Google's help page now says that as of 31 August 2026 it has rolled out to all websites worldwide (checked 28 Oct 2026). Some older write-ups still say "UK first," so ignore that part.
A missing report doesn't always mean you lack access. Google says the usual cause is too few AI impressions. It can also happen if you excluded your site from Search generative AI features (checked 28 Oct 2026).
Why don't my chart and table totals match?
The chart and the table count in different ways, so the numbers can differ by design. Google's help pages explain it:
- The chart counts by property. If two URLs from your site appear in one AI answer, the chart counts one impression.
- The page table counts by URL. Each URL gets its own impression, so the page rows can add up to more than the chart.
- Other rules from Google's docs: the newest data can be preliminary and is drawn with a dotted line. The usual 1,000-row limit applies. Values shown as "~" or "-" export as zeros.
One more counting rule matters. Search Engine Journal reports that an AI Overview link counts only once it is scrolled or expanded into view. In AI Mode, a follow-up question counts as a new query, so one session can produce several impressions (Search Engine Journal, 4 Aug 2026).
The takeaway is that an AI impression is not the same unit as a classic search impression. Don't add the two together, and don't build a blended click-through rate from them.
How do you read the report step by step?
- Pick a long date range. Use at least several weeks. Google warns that recent days may still change, and AI Overviews don't appear for every search, so short windows are noisy.
- Check the search-type filter. Start with the text-based view so you are looking at ordinary searches.
- Open the Pages tab and sort by impressions. This is your list of pages Google finds easy to cite.
- Export it and put classic data next to it. From the normal Performance report, pull impressions, clicks and queries for the same URLs and dates. Google says clicks from AI features are counted in that report's Web search type, so the clicks are there, just not labelled as AI (Google Search Central, checked 28 Oct 2026).
- Sort the pages into four groups. See the table below.
- Read the trend, not the day. A slope over weeks says more than one Tuesday.
- Export once a month. Save the file. It is your own history to compare against.
| Pattern | What it may mean | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Ranks well, rarely appears in AI | Not every query triggers an AI answer, or the page is hard to quote | Check whether the answer is stated plainly near the top of the page |
| Ranks modestly, appears often | The page holds a clear definition, comparison or number | Study what it does differently and copy the pattern |
| AI impressions on only a few URLs | Most of the site isn't being used | Compare templates, topics and page layouts |
| Few impressions overall | May be a small site, or may be excluded | Check Settings and your indexing first |
What does the report leave out, and where do you get it?
Each gap has a workaround, though none is as clean as a click count.
| Your question | What the report says | Where to look instead |
|---|---|---|
| Did anyone click? | Nothing | Performance report (Web type) plus GA4 landing pages |
| Which questions trigger my links? | Nothing | A manual check of your target questions |
| Do ChatGPT or Claude mention me? | Nothing | Manual prompts, or an AI visibility tool |
| Why am I not cited? | Nothing | A review of the page itself |
| Did my edit help? | Only the trend | A dated change log next to the monthly export |
How do you pair the report with manual tracking?
A monthly check takes about 30 minutes and answers the questions Google doesn't.
- List 15 questions your customers actually ask, each tied to the page that should answer it.
- Search each one in Google. Note whether an AI Overview appears, whether your page is linked, and who is cited instead.
- Ask the same question in ChatGPT and Claude, and note whether your brand or page is mentioned.
- Add the report's impressions for that page over the same period.
- Repeat monthly and read the changes, not one result.
An illustrative row (not real data):
| Question | Page | AI Overview shown? | Cited? | Cited instead | Report impressions (28 days) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "how do I check my AI Overview citations" | /blog/example | Yes | No | Competitor A | [from report] | Answer buried below the fold |
One check is a single sample, because AI answers vary between runs. Repeat the check before drawing conclusions. If you use the free AEO audit template, you can add an impressions column to it.
Should you use the opt-out control?
Look at the report first. Google's control is a property-level setting in Search Console Settings, and inclusion is the default. Turning it off removes your links and content from AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative AI features in Discover. According to Search Engine Journal's summary of Google's announcement, it is not used as a ranking signal and doesn't affect AI training, which the separate Google-Extended control governs (Search Engine Journal, 31 Aug 2026). Opting out also means giving up the impressions and any traffic those features send, so it mainly suits licensed or paywalled content.
What is still missing?
As of Google's 31 August note, click reporting has not been added. Search Engine Journal reports that the UK regulator has given Google until March 2027 to add page-level controls, and that it also expects click-through data, with no date given. Google hasn't confirmed either. Plan around the report as it is today.
FAQ
Does the Search Console AI report show clicks?
No. It shows impressions only. Clicks from AI features sit inside the Web search type of the regular Performance report, mixed in with other organic clicks.
Can I separate AI Overviews from AI Mode?
Not in the report. Google lists both as included, but none of the dimensions splits them.
Why can't I see the report in my account?
The usual reason is too few AI impressions. It can also be that you excluded the site from Search generative AI features.
Can I pull the report through the API?
Google's help page doesn't mention API access. One third-party guide says the Search Console API rejects the values, so assume manual exports for now.
Does it cover ChatGPT or Claude?
No. It covers Google features only.
Sources (checked 28 Oct 2026)
- Search Console Help, "Generative AI performance report (Search)": https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139
- Search Console Help, "Performance report: About the data": https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/17011364
- Google Search Central, "AI features and your website": https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features
- Search Engine Journal, "Google Now Reports AI Search Impressions. Here's How To Read Them" (4 Aug 2026): https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-reports-ai-search-impressions-how-to-read-them/582824/
- Search Engine Journal, "Google Search Console AI Reports Rolled Out Worldwide" (31 Aug 2026): https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-search-console-ai-reports-rolled-out-worldwide/587836/
- NoGood, "How To Track AI Traffic To Your Website" (14 Sep 2026): https://nogood.io/blog/how-to-track-ai-traffic/