What did Google add to Search Console?
Google added a Generative AI performance report to Search Console that shows how often a site's pages appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode. It was announced in June 2026 and finished rolling out to all websites worldwide on August 31, 2026.
Until this report, a business could not tell from Google's own data whether its pages were being shown inside AI answers. Now it can, at least for impressions. The primary source is Google's announcement, Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console, and the Search Console help page for the report.
What does the Generative AI report measure?
The Generative AI report measures impressions: how many times links to your site were shown to a user in a generative AI feature in Google Search. You can break impressions down by page, country, device and date. It does not show clicks or the questions that triggered the AI answer, at the time of writing.
What the report shows and what it does not
| Shows | Does not show (at the time of writing) |
|---|---|
| AI feature impressions | Clicks from AI features |
| Which pages appeared | The queries or prompts behind them |
| Country, device, date | Your position inside the AI answer |
These impressions were already counted inside your total Search impressions. The report separates them out; it does not add new exposure.
How should a business use the Generative AI report?
Use the Generative AI report to find which of your pages Google already uses in AI answers, compare those pages' AI impressions with their normal clicks, and improve the pages that appear often but earn few clicks, starting with a clear answer in the first two sentences.
Using the report, step by step
- Open Search Console, then the Generative AI report, and sort pages by impressions.
- For the top pages, open the normal Performance report filtered to the same page and compare clicks.
- Check that each page answers its main question directly and links to the next step, such as pricing or booking.
- Recheck monthly. Google says more metrics will come over time.
Microsoft offers a similar report for Copilot citations in Bing Webmaster Tools, so add your site there too.
What does this mean for small business websites?
For small business websites, this report turns AI search from a guess into something you can measure. It will usually show that service, pricing and comparison pages appear in AI answers far more often than generic blog posts, which is a good guide to what to write next.
We explain what the published studies say about clicks in how AI Overviews change clicks. If your site gets impressions but few leads, the problem is usually what happens after the click; see lead automation. More updates are on the news page, and you can reach us through the contact page.
Related: Google's AI search guide, FAQ rich results retired, local SEO automation, and what better traffic turned into for a client in the dental case study.
