TL;DR
- Google has announced dedicated Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console
- For the first time, site owners will have impression data for AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative AI features in Discover
- The report breaks down visibility by page, country, device, and date
- Click data and query-level data are not included yet
- Currently limited to a subset of UK site owners
- No confirmed timeline for a global rollout
It’s finally happened. Google has announced the rollout of dedicated Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console, giving site owners impression data for AI features including AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative AI features in Discover for the first time.
For business owners, SEOs and broader marketers, this is the first step toward actually measuring visibility in the AI-driven search landscape that has been reshaping how people find information online.
What Google's New AI Performance Report Shows
The new reports sit inside Search Console and break down your site’s impressions across generative AI features in both Search and Discover. Data is available by page, country, device, and date, with granularity down to the hourly level. Impression data starts from 18 May 2026 going forward.
Until now, AI-driven visibility data from Google has been pretty ambiguous. It’s been bundled into overall Search Console performance figures with no way to isolate it. This gives site owners a dedicated, separate view for the first time.
That distinction matters. Third-party tools have been doing their best to estimate AI visibility, but this is Google’s first hand data.
How This Helps You Optimise For AI Search
AI features like AI Overviews and AI Mode are increasingly answering search queries directly on the results page, meaning fewer clicks are making it through to websites.
In this environment, the click, long one of organic searches’ clearest signals that content is working, has been disappearing. Understanding whether your pages are satisfying searcher intent becomes more challenging without it
It’s not the complete picture, but it’s certainly a starting point. For the first time, SEOs and site owners have a dedicated, reliable signal for whether their content is being surfaced in AI features at all.
That means optimisation efforts, whether that’s AI SEO work, content structuring, or technical-focused, can now be measured against real Google data rather than third-party estimations. Strategies can be adjusted based on what’s actually working.
What AI Data Is Still Missing
While thee introduction of impression data is good news, it’s important to note that the initial rollout leaves some significant gaps. Notably absent from the report:
- Click data: impressions tell you your content appeared, not whether anyone clicked through
- Query-level data: you can’t see what searches are triggering your content to appear in AI features
- A global rollout: the report is currently limited to a subset of UK site owners, driven by regulatory pressure from the UK’s CMA.
- There’s no confirmed timeline for when it reaches Australian site owners
Google has acknowledged the gaps, stating they are “continuing to work with website owners to understand what insights will be most helpful” and will introduce additional metrics over time, though no specifics or timelines have been given.
It’s worth noting that Microsoft has had AI performance reporting in Bing Webmaster Tools since February, with query-to-page mapping and impression data already available. Google is catching up, not leading.
How The SEO Community Has Responded
Keen to get your brand AI-ready for the new frontier of search?
Here at nimbl we are helping businesses stay visible across both traditional and AI-driven search. Explore our AI SEO solutions and broader SEO services to find out how.
