How to track AI Overview impressions in Google Search Console
By Daniela Ricaud, founder of Pretty CitableSince June 3, 2026, Google Search Console has a Generative AI performance report that shows how often your pages appear in Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. It shows impressions by page, country, device and date. It doesn't show clicks, the questions people asked, or a split between AI Overviews and AI Mode.
What the report shows
- Impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode, counted together.
- Which pages earned those impressions.
- Country, device and date breakdowns.
Generative AI features in Discover have their own separate report, and experimental Search Labs features aren't included.
What it doesn't show
- Clicks. Clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode are still counted inside the standard Performance report under web search, mixed in with regular results.
- The questions. You see which pages appeared, never what people typed.
- AI Overviews versus AI Mode. Both are grouped into one view.
- Other engines. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude aren't in Search Console at all.
Who has it
Google started rolling the report out on June 3, 2026, and on August 31, 2026 said it had reached all websites worldwide. Look for it under the main Performance report. The data starts from May 18, 2026, with no earlier history. If you still don't see it, your site may not have enough AI impressions yet for the report to appear. The standard Performance report still counts AI feature activity inside its web search totals.
How to use it
- Find your AI pages. List the pages earning AI impressions. These are the pages Google already trusts enough to use in answers.
- Compare against your money pages. If your best-selling product and category pages are missing from that list, that's your first gap.
- Check the main report for clicks. A page with AI impressions and few clicks may be answering the question so completely that nobody needs to click. Add a clear reason to visit: price, comparison, offer.
- Track it monthly. Note the totals for the same pages each month, next to your direct tests of the other engines.
Fill the gap with direct testing
Search Console tells you where Google showed your pages. It can't tell you whether ChatGPT, Perplexity or Claude name your brand. For that, ask them directly. Here's the method.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports (June 3, 2026)
- Search Engine Journal: Google reports AI search impressions, how to read them
- Quattr: what the Generative AI report shows and who gets it
- Neil Patel: GSC generative AI report (data from May 18, 2026)
- Search Engine Journal: Search Console AI reports rolled out worldwide (Aug 31, 2026)
- Search Engine Roundtable: where to find the report, and why some sites don't see it
- Wellows: clicks stay in the main Performance report
See where your brand stands
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