Google Adds AI Search Visibility Reports to Search Console

Google has begun testing a dedicated performance report in Search Console that allows website owners to track how often their URLs appear in generative AI features across Search and Discover [1]. The move provides the first granular view of AI-driven visibility, addressing a long-standing measurement gap for publishers concerned about how AI search experiences impact their organic traffic [1].

Tracking the AI shift

The new Search Console features include a visibility toggle that lets site owners opt out of appearing in generative AI search experiences, such as AI Overviews [1]. Google states that using this control will not act as a ranking signal for traditional search results [1]. Alongside the toggle, the new performance reports provide impression data for AI features, broken down by page, country, device, and date, with granularity down to the hourly level [1].

Despite these additions, the reports currently omit click data and query-level metrics, which remain the primary concern for site owners attempting to quantify the impact of AI on their referral traffic [1]. While Google has confirmed it is working to add more metrics over time, the current data only reveals how often a page is surfaced within an AI response, not how often users engage with those links [1]. This measurement gap persists even as Google’s search revenue has accelerated, reaching $63.07 billion in Q4 2025, a 17% increase compared to the same period in 2024 [2].

Competitive context

Google’s latest testing follows a period of rapid growth in AI-integrated search, with CEO Sundar Pichai noting that daily AI Mode queries per user in the U.S. have doubled since launch [2]. As Google experiments with monetizing these interactions through pilot programs like "Direct Offers," it faces pressure to provide more transparency to the publishers whose content powers these AI responses [2].

The company is currently trailing Microsoft’s Bing Webmaster Tools, which launched an AI Performance dashboard in February and added grounding query-to-page mapping in March [1]. While Google maintains that its AI features expand search activity rather than cannibalizing it, the lack of click-through data leaves publishers without a clear picture of how these AI-generated results affect their bottom line [1, 2].

What to watch

• Global Expansion: Monitor for the transition from the current UK-only test to a broader, global rollout of the AI visibility reports and toggle [1].
• Metric Additions: Watch for future updates to Search Console that may finally include click-through data or query-level insights for AI-driven placements [1].
• Monetization Pilots: Observe the expansion of "Direct Offers" and checkout features within AI Mode, which Google is currently testing to monetize longer, more complex search queries [2].

The success of these tools depends on whether Google can bridge the gap between impression data and actual traffic. Until click-level metrics are provided, site owners will continue to rely on their own analytics to determine if AI search features are a net positive for their business or a source of traffic erosion.