Google has started rolling out a new Search Console report that shows how often websites appear in Google’s generative AI search features.
The new Generative AI performance report covers impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode. It gives website owners a clearer view of their visibility in Google’s AI-powered search experiences.
Google announced the new reports on June 3, 2026. The feature is currently being tested with a limited group of website owners.
What The New Report Shows
The new Search Console report helps website owners see which pages appear in Google’s AI search results.
Data can be broken down by:
- Page
- Country
- Device
- Date
The report currently covers impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Generative AI features in Google Discover are tracked separately through a Discover report.
What The Report Does Not Show
The new report is useful, but it does not provide a complete picture of AI search performance.
Currently, it does not show:
- Queries that triggered the AI result
- Clicks
- Click-through rate
- Average position
- Where the citation appeared
- Which content passage was used
- Conversions or revenue
This means website owners can see that their content appeared in an AI result, but they cannot yet see exactly how that appearance performed.
How Google Counts An AI Impression
Google defines an AI impression as an instance where a website link is shown to a user inside a generative AI feature.
There is also an important difference in how impressions are counted.
At the property level, multiple URLs from the same website appearing in one AI response count as one impression in the main chart.
So, the total impression number does not necessarily represent every individual URL appearance.
Google Is Also Testing An AI Search Control
Alongside the reporting feature, Google is testing a control that allows website owners to choose whether their content can appear in:
- AI Overviews
- AI Mode
- Generative AI features in Discover
The default setting is to allow inclusion.
If a website opts out, its content and links will not be used or shown in these generative features. However, the website can still appear in Google's traditional search results.
Should Websites Opt Out?
For most website owners, there is little reason to make that decision without first looking at the data.
The new report can help establish a baseline for AI visibility. Owners can then compare their AI impressions with their overall search performance before deciding whether to opt out.
There is also an important trade-off. Opting out removes potential visibility from AI search features and could also mean losing traffic generated from those features.
What This Means For SEO
The new report fills a major gap in Google Search Console.
Until now, website owners could not easily separate visibility from traditional Google Search and generative AI features.
But the report should not be treated as a complete AI search performance dashboard yet.
It mainly answers one question:
How often is my content appearing in Google's generative AI experiences?
Clicks, citations, conversions, and the actual impact on business are still missing.
For now, the report is better viewed as a diagnostic tool rather than a complete performance scorecard. To stay updated, get in touch with Vybepop Media.
