Answers / How AI Search Works
Can Google Search Console Show Whether I Appear in AI Features?
Yes, for Google's own AI features. Search Console counts AI Overview and AI Mode appearances in your normal Web search data, and its generative AI performance report shows those impressions by page, country and device.
Updated Oct 9, 2026 · by CitedLocal
The generative AI performance report
Google's Search Console help says the generative AI performance report shows how your site performs in AI Overviews and AI Mode: impressions over time, which pages get them, and where they come from by device or country. Google says it rolled these insights out to all websites worldwide as of August 31, 2026.
How appearances are counted
- AI Overviews: the whole Overview occupies one position, and every link inside it gets that same position.
- AI Mode: clicking a link out counts as a click, and a follow-up question counts as a new search.
How to read it
- Open the report and switch to the Pages tab.
- Note which pages get AI impressions. Those topics are working.
- Write more answers like them.
- Check monthly rather than daily. Small sites see small, noisy numbers.
What it won't show
- ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude or the Gemini app. Search Console covers Google Search only.
- The exact question someone asked inside AI Mode.
- Whether you were named but not linked.
For those, ask the assistants directly, or run a check that asks them on your behalf.
Our own example
When we opened this report for answers.citedlocal.ai in late September 2026, the home page of this answers hub had more AI-feature impressions than any other page on our site. That's why we keep writing these answers.
What ours shows
We checked our own Search Console property for citedlocal.ai on October 9, 2026. The Generative AI performance report showed 23 impressions in total, and our Search generative AI control was set to Include. That is a small number from a young site, and the report counts impressions only: it does not show which questions triggered them or whether anyone clicked. It does tell you whether Google is surfacing your pages in AI features at all, which is the first thing to know.
FAQ
I don't see the report. Why?
Google says your site may not have enough impressions in AI features yet, or you may have excluded your site from them.
Do AI Overview clicks show in my normal reports?
Yes. They're included in the Web search type of the Performance report.
Can I export the data?
Yes. The report has an export button for both the chart and table data.
Sources
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