New in SEO: Search Console will start showing AI metrics

Google Search Console is entering a new phase. With the advancement of AI-generated answers in Search, Google has announced new dedicated reports to show how websites appear in features such as AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative experiences in Discover.

For those who work with SEO, content marketing, or website management, this update represents an important change in the way organic visibility is analyzed. Until now, data related to presence in AI experiences was mixed into general performance reports. Now, the proposal is to offer a separate view, making it easier to understand when and where pages appear within these new search formats.

What will change in Google Search Console 2026?

The main novelty is the creation of specific performance reports for generative AI features in Search Console. These reports were announced by Google in June 2026 and started being released to a limited group of websites, as part of a testing phase before a broader expansion.

In practice, Search Console will begin showing visibility data in experiences such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, features in which Google uses artificial intelligence to synthesize answers, present supporting links, and help users explore topics in greater depth.

Before this update, appearances in AI features could already be included in general performance reports. The problem is that SEO professionals could not clearly separate what came from traditional search and what came from AI experiences. With the new reports, this distinction becomes more visible.

Which AI metrics will be displayed?

According to Google, the new reports should present information such as:

• Impressions, showing how many times URLs from the website appeared in generative features in Search and Discover.
• Pages, indicating which URLs appeared in these features.
• Countries, allowing analysis of the geographic distribution of visibility.
• Devices, available for Search results.
• Dates, with tracking by hour, day, week, and month.

This data helps answer a question that has become increasingly common in SEO strategies: is my content being used or displayed in Google’s AI experiences?

The new feature is still in the testing phase

At this first stage, the generative AI reports in Search Console are being released to a limited group of websites. According to Google, the idea is to test the feature, collect user feedback, and adjust the tool before making it more widely available.

So, if the report does not appear in your Search Console property in the coming months, that does not mean there is a configuration error. The rollout is expected to happen gradually.

Why is this update relevant for SEO?

The arrival of AI metrics in Search Console shows that SEO is adapting to the new reality of searches performed directly through artificial intelligence tools. Traditional search, based on blue links, snippets, and organic rankings, remains important. However, AI experiences already influence the way users discover, evaluate, and access information. And in marketing, there is already an optimization field for AI-generated searches, known as GEO: Generative Engine Optimization.

With AI Overviews and AI Mode, users can receive a more complete answer directly on the results page. In some cases, this may reduce the need to click on several links. In others, it may expand the discovery of new sources, since Google can display pages that help support the AI-generated answer.

That is why measuring only clicks, CTR, and average position may no longer be enough to understand a brand’s full presence in Search. Visibility in AI becomes an important layer of analysis.

Organic visibility gains a new dimension

For many years, one of the main goals of SEO was to achieve strong positions in organic results. This logic remains valid, but now there is a new layer: appearing as a source, reference, or supporting link in AI-generated answers.

This does not mean abandoning traditional SEO practices. On the contrary, Google itself reinforces that good SEO practices remain the foundation for appearing in features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. Useful, reliable, well-structured, crawlable, and people-first content remains the safest path.

User behavior also helps explain this change. In 2020, generative AI search was not yet part of the digital routine on a massive scale. By 2026, more than 1 billion people use independent AI tools every month, and ChatGPT has reached around 900 million weekly active users.

In other words, the way people search is changing quickly, and SEO needs to follow this new discovery journey. The difference is that now marketing and IT data professionals will have more metrics to evaluate whether this work is also generating presence in generative experiences.

AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Discover: what is included in the new reports?

The reports announced by Google cover visibility in generative Search features, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, as well as AI experiences in Discover.

AI Overviews

AI Overview is the feature that generates an AI-powered summary in search results. It appears when Google understands that a synthesized answer can help the user better understand a subject.

These answers may include links to supporting pages, allowing users to deepen their research. For websites, appearing in this context can represent a new form of visibility, even when click behavior changes.

AI Mode

AI Mode works in a more conversational way. It allows users to ask more complex questions, explore comparisons, request deeper explanations, and follow a research journey with AI-generated answers.

For SEO, this increases the importance of complete, clear content that is well connected to different search intents. A page can be relevant not only for a single keyword, but for a broader set of questions related to the topic.

Discover with generative features

Discover also enters this discussion because Google has been testing and integrating AI features into different areas of content discovery. As a result, visibility outside traditional search can also gain new indicators inside Search Console.

What do the new reports still not show?

Despite the progress, AI reports still have important limitations. The main one is the absence of click and query data at the initial stage of the feature.

This means it will be possible to understand whether a page appeared in AI features, in which countries, devices, and time periods, but it will not yet be possible to accurately measure how many visits that appearance generated or which searches triggered the display.

This limitation requires caution when interpreting the data. A page with many AI impressions may be gaining authority and visibility, but that alone does not guarantee an increase in traffic, leads, or conversions.

An impression is not the same as a click

In traditional SEO, impressions, clicks, CTR, and average position help build a more complete diagnosis. In AI reports, the initial reading will be more focused on presence and exposure.

That is why analysis should combine the new data with other tools, such as Google Analytics, conversion reports, user behavior on the website, and monitoring of pages that already perform well in organic search.

How does this change impact content strategy?

The update reinforces a clear trend: generic, shallow, and repetitive content tends to lose strength in an environment where AI can quickly synthesize common information.

To gain space, brands need to produce content with depth, real experience, clarity, and unique value. This includes examples, analyses, comparisons, data, technical opinions, case studies, useful images, videos, and complete answers to the audience’s questions.

More useful content tends to gain more space

Google states that there is no separate optimization or specific “trick” to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. The recommendation is to follow good SEO practices, focusing on useful, reliable, people-first content.

In practice, this means pages need to properly respond to search intent, present clear information, have a good heading structure, use objective language, and offer something that goes beyond a common summary of the subject.

The importance of authority and experience

In AI searches, source trust becomes even more relevant. Websites that demonstrate experience on the topic, keep information updated, and organize their content well tend to be better positioned to gain visibility.

For companies, this may mean strengthening institutional blogs, creating educational materials, publishing complete guides, developing service pages with more depth, and showing practical knowledge about the market in which they operate.

What should you do now to prepare your website?

The new feature is still in a gradual rollout phase, so not every website will immediately see the reports in Search Console. Even so, it is possible to start preparing now.

Review your most important content

The first step is to look at the pages that already generate organic traffic, leads, or conversions. These pieces of content should be updated, complete, and well structured.

Check whether they answer the audience’s main questions, whether they contain current information, and whether they offer a useful view of the topic. Old, superficial, or outdated pages may lose space in a search environment increasingly guided by context and quality.

Strengthen the technical structure of the website

To appear in Search AI features, the page needs to be crawlable, indexable, and eligible to appear on Google Search. This makes the technical foundation of SEO even more important.

It is worth reviewing points such as robots.txt, indexing, sitemap, internal links, speed, page experience, structured data that is consistent with the visible content, and availability of the main text in HTML.

Produce content with its own perspective

AI can easily gather common information. That is why content that only repeats what already exists tends to offer less value.

Include original analyses, market examples, internal data when possible, detailed answers, practical guidance, and well-founded viewpoints. This type of content helps differentiate the brand and may increase the chances of being recognized as a useful source.

Monitor the data carefully

When the reports become available, track the pages that appear in AI features and compare this data with traditional organic performance.

Observe which topics gain more impressions, which pages appear frequently, which countries concentrate visibility, and whether there is any relationship with an increase in qualified traffic, time on page, or conversions.

AI metrics in Search Console: a new stage for SEO

The arrival of AI reports in Search Console does not mean the end of traditional SEO. It shows that SEO is evolving alongside the way people search.

Now, in addition to seeking strong positions in organic results, brands also need to understand how their content appears in AI-generated answers, which pages are cited or displayed, and how this presence influences the user journey.

There are still limitations, mainly due to the initial absence of click and query data. Even so, the new feature represents an important step toward making AI search more measurable.

For companies that invest in content, the message is clear: SEO remains essential, but it needs to be analyzed with a broader perspective. Organic visibility now also depends on the ability to be useful, reliable, and relevant in increasingly intelligent search experiences.

Conclusion

Search Console will begin offering a more detailed view of websites’ presence in Google’s artificial intelligence features. This change helps SEO professionals, marketing managers, and companies better understand how their content appears in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative experiences in Discover.

To prepare, the path is not to look for shortcuts. The ideal approach is to strengthen the technical foundation, update strategic content, create more complete materials, and monitor the data carefully. In an AI-guided search scenario, those who produce truly useful content tend to get ahead.