# The Search Console Generative AI Performance Report Explained

> How the Search Console generative AI reports work: impressions in AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover, dimensions, limits and how to read them.

Source: https://mentionx.ai/learn/search-console/search-console-generative-ai-performance-report  
Author: Dipuck Jones, founder of MentionX  
Updated: 4 November 2026  
Level: Practitioner

**Search Console now has a dedicated report for generative AI features: it shows how often your pages appear in AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative AI features in Discover, by page, country, device and date.** It answers "are we being used as a source?" but not "how many clicks did that bring?".

*Checked 4 November 2026 (CET) against Search Console Help and Google Search Central documentation. Search Console reports and rollouts change often, and some features only appear for eligible properties, so confirm in your own property. "Our view" marks MentionX opinion. Ledgerline is a fictional company used for illustration.*

> **Key takeaways**
>
> - The report covers AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search, with a separate view for generative AI features in Discover.
> - It shows **impressions only**, by page (canonical), country, device, date and search type (text-based or multimodal).
> - Tables are limited to 1,000 rows and Search Labs experiments are excluded.
> - AI features are also counted inside the Web search type of the main Performance report, unlabelled.
> - Read it next to Performance clicks for the same pages to form hypotheses.

## What does the report cover?

Google's [generative AI Search report help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139) describes impressions for your pages when they appear as links in AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google [announced the reports](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports) in June 2026, with data available at hourly, daily, weekly and monthly granularity. A separate [Discover generative AI report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16983858) covers generative AI features in Discover.

| | Search generative AI report | Discover generative AI report |
|---|---|---|
| Metric | Impressions | Impressions |
| Dimensions | Pages, countries, devices, dates, search type | Pages, countries, dates |
| Aggregation | Canonical page | Page |
| When an impression counts | The link appears in the AI feature | The link must be scrolled into view; one impression per result per session |
| Row limit | 1,000 | 1,000 |

## How is this different from the Performance report?

Google's [AI features documentation](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features) says AI Overviews and AI Mode are counted in the **Web** search type of the Performance report, using the same rules as other results. So the Performance report already includes AI feature impressions and clicks, mixed in with everything else. The generative AI report isolates the impressions, so you can see which pages are used as sources.

| Question | Report |
|---|---|
| Which pages appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode? | Generative AI report, Pages |
| Is AI exposure growing? | Generative AI report, Weekly chart |
| Did we lose clicks to AI features? | Performance: clicks and CTR trend; no direct measure |
| Which queries trigger AI Overviews? | Not available |
| Do image-led searches use our content? | Generative AI report, Web: multimodal |

## How should you read multimodal data?

Google added **Web: multimodal** as a search type in September 2026 for searches that start with images, such as Lens, Circle to Search and uploaded images. In the generative AI report, splitting text-based and multimodal shows whether your product photos or diagrams lead people to AI answers that use your pages. Lesson 15 covers multimodal reporting in full.

*Our view:* treat generative AI impressions as a **source-share** signal. Rising impressions on pages you care about mean Google trusts them as grounding. It's a better signal for content quality than rankings on a single keyword, but it says nothing about revenue.

> **Pro move:** compare the generative AI pages list with your [measurement of AI referrals in GA4](https://mentionx.ai/learn/ga4/ga4-ai-assistant-channel-regex). Pages that show up in both Google AI features and ChatGPT or Perplexity referrals are your strongest AI-era assets; protect them in every redesign.

## Reading the generative AI report alongside Performance

The generative AI report has impressions only. To understand what AI features do to your traffic, put it next to the Performance report for the same pages and dates.

| Generative AI impressions | Performance clicks for the page | Likely reading |
|---|---|---|
| Rising | Stable or rising | Being shown as a source without losing clicks |
| Rising | Falling, impressions stable | AI features may be answering the query; check CTR by query |
| Falling | Falling | Losing both visibility and clicks; check indexing and content |
| None | Stable | The page isn't shown in AI features; may be fine for transactional pages |
| None | Falling | Look at rankings, demand and competitors first |

These are hypotheses to test, not conclusions. Search Console doesn't show clicks from AI features separately, so you can't measure AI Overview CTR directly.

## Troubleshooting

| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Report not in the menu | Not yet available for your property or no impressions | Check under Performance; wait or use a Domain property |
| Page totals don't match Performance | Different counting rules and canonical-level reporting | Compare trends only |
| Only 1,000 rows | Table limit | Filter by page section with regex |
| Search Labs experiments missing | Excluded by design | Nothing to fix |
| A page you excluded still shows | The control takes 1-2 days, sometimes longer | Recheck after a week (lesson 8) |

## What the report doesn't tell you

- **Clicks.** Impressions only. Clicks from AI features are in the Performance report's Web totals, unlabelled.
- **Queries.** There's no query dimension, so you can't see which prompts triggered your page.
- **Position inside the answer.** You don't know if you were the first or the fifth source.
- **Other assistants.** ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Copilot are invisible here (lesson 20).

## A repeatable analysis, from export to decision

1. **Export generative AI impressions by page** for the last 3 months, Weekly.
2. **Export Performance by page** (Web search type) for the same dates, with clicks, impressions, CTR and position.
3. **Join on URL** in a sheet. Remember the generative AI report uses the canonical URL, so normalise trailing slashes and parameters before matching.
4. **Add a section column** (blog, glossary, product, help) using the URL path.
5. **Pivot by section**: generative AI impressions, Web clicks and Web CTR. Look at direction over the period, not the ratio between reports.
6. **Pick actions**: protect pages with high AI exposure and stable clicks; improve pages that should be sources but aren't; accept that some definition pages will lose clicks.

## Edge cases

- **Canonical consolidation.** If several URLs share a canonical, their AI impressions appear under the canonical only. A page that "has no AI impressions" may be credited to its canonical.
- **Hourly view.** Useful on launch days or after changing the generative AI control, but preliminary data changes, so don't report from it.
- **Small sites.** You may see very few rows, or none. That's normal for low-volume properties; check again monthly.
- **Country splits.** AI Overviews and AI Mode availability varies by country and language, so compare countries only with care.

## Worked example: Ledgerline's AI source check

*Ledgerline is a fictional accounts-payable software company. Details and numbers are illustrative.*

Ledgerline's SEO lead exported the generative AI pages list. Five glossary pages accounted for most AI feature impressions, but the pricing comparison page, a priority, didn't appear. Performance showed the glossary pages' CTR easing while impressions held, consistent with AI Overviews answering definitions. The team decided not to fight that: they added a short "how Ledgerline handles this" section with a link to the product page on each glossary entry, and annotated the change to check in two months.

### Walkthrough

1. Open **Performance > Search generative AI** (the label may differ slightly as the report evolves).
2. Set the date range to the last 3 months and Weekly granularity.
3. Open the **Pages** tab and sort by impressions. Export the list.
4. Switch the search type between **Web: text-based** and **Web: multimodal** to see whether image-led searches matter for you.
5. Check the **Discover** generative AI report if your site gets Discover traffic.
6. Open the standard Performance report, filter to your top 5 AI-surfaced pages and compare clicks and CTR over the same period.
7. Annotate any date you changed the generative AI control or published major updates.

## Try it yourself

Build an AI-feature exposure sheet:

1. Export the top 50 pages by generative AI impressions for the last 3 months.
2. Add each page's Performance clicks and CTR for the same period.
3. Label each page with one reading from the table above.
4. Choose two pages to watch monthly and one to improve.

## Quick quiz

**1. Does the generative AI report show clicks?**

*Answer:* No. It reports impressions only.

**2. Which date timezone does it use?**

*Answer:* Pacific Time, like other Search Console reports.

**3. Are Search Labs experiments included?**

*Answer:* No. They are excluded.

**4. Are AI Overview clicks counted anywhere?**

*Answer:* Yes, inside the Web search type of the Performance report, but not labelled separately.

## What should you check before the next lesson?

- You found the generative AI report in your property.
- You exported your top AI-surfaced pages.
- You compared them with Performance clicks for the same period.
- Read [What the Search Console AI Overviews data shows](https://mentionx.ai/learn/measurement/search-console-ai-overviews-data-shows) for an earlier analysis and [forecasting traffic loss from AI Overviews](https://mentionx.ai/learn/measurement/forecasting-traffic-loss-from-ai-overviews).

Next: [The Search generative AI control](https://mentionx.ai/learn/search-console/search-console-generative-ai-control). Or return to the [Search Console for Marketers track](https://mentionx.ai/learn/search-console/search-console-for-marketers).

## Common questions

**Can I see which queries triggered an AI Overview citation?** No. The generative AI report has no query dimension.

**Does AI Mode count in the normal Performance report too?** Yes. Google counts AI features within the Web search type of the Performance report.

**Why do my generative AI impressions differ from Performance impressions?** The reports count differently and the generative AI report aggregates by canonical page, so compare trends rather than totals.

## Sources

- Search Console Help, [Generative AI performance report (Search)](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139)
- Search Console Help, [Generative AI performance report (Discover)](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16983858)
- Google Search Central, [Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports)
- Google Search Central, [AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)
- Google Search Central, [Announcing web multimodal Search performance reporting in Search Console](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/09/web-multimodal-in-sc)
- All accessed 4 Nov 2026.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I see which queries triggered an AI Overview citation?

No. The generative AI report has no query dimension.

### Does AI Mode count in the normal Performance report too?

Yes. Google counts AI features within the Web search type of the Performance report.

### Why do my generative AI impressions differ from Performance impressions?

The reports count differently and the generative AI report aggregates by canonical page, so compare trends rather than totals.

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Written and reviewed by Dipuck Jones for MentionX Learn. The HTML version of this page: https://mentionx.ai/learn/search-console/search-console-generative-ai-performance-report