I can finally check how many times my site appears in AI Overviews via Search Console
How many times has my site appeared in the AI Overviews that populate Google search results? Until now, I had to rely on estimates from third-party tools. In June 2026, Google Search Console added a Search Generative AI Performance report, allowing us to check those numbers directly. At the same time, a setting to turn off inclusion in AI features has also been introduced. These two changes are worth understanding for anyone working in SEO.
What can you learn from the AI performance report?
On June 3, 2026, Google began providing the Search Generative AI Performance report in Search Console. The rollout was triggered by compliance with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), initially targeting UK properties. The scope was expanded on June 23.
The metric visible in the report is "impressions." It counts the number of times your site's URL appeared in AI Overviews, AI Mode, or AI Discover. You can filter by page, country, device, and date.
At this time, clicks are not included. Because the AI feature UI is designed to "complete the answer on the spot," Google has opted not to measure clicks. However, there are situations where even just the impression count can be useful.
When I tested it, the difference between pages where technical explanation articles were frequently cited in AI Overviews and pages that were rarely cited was clearly visible. It is more useful than I imagined as material for comparing structural differences.
Details of the setting to turn off inclusion in AI features
Around the same time, settings for AI content management were also added. You can access them from "Settings" > "Search generative AI" in Search Console. There are three options for the setting.
Include: Allow inclusion in AI features
Exclude: Exclude from inclusion in AI features
Inherit from parent: Inherit settings from the parent domain
This setting is applied collectively to AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Discover. The important point is that Google has explicitly stated that "setting it to Exclude will not affect regular search rankings."
The background to this lies in the demands of UK media and publishers. As calls for opt-out methods regarding AI summarizing and citing content grew, the CMA requested that Google take action. While the global rollout date has not been announced, now that the UK version has been released, it is safe to assume it will spread to other regions.
Even if application to Japanese sites is still in the future, it is worth understanding the "location and meaning of the settings."
How will SEO measurement and KPIs change?
The main players in SEO metrics until now have been "clicks" and "organic traffic." From now on, "impressions in AI search" will be added to that.
The day is approaching when numbers like "AI Overviews impressions: 8,200" will appear in monthly reports. Even if the numbers don't lead directly to clicks, they can be explained to clients from the perspective of brand and expertise exposure.
From a production standpoint, trends in content that is easily cited by AI features have also become apparent. Text written clearly in short paragraphs, specific descriptions including numbers and proper nouns, and structures where steps are organized in bullet points—these are easily picked up by AI. I have the impression that the clarity of the writing affects citation accuracy more than the HTML structure.
I myself have started adding a sentence at the beginning of my articles since last month that says, "The question this article answers is..." This is because when AI Overviews selects a page, it tends to prioritize pages where "what this article answers" is clear. It is still being verified, but it is worth a try.
Summary—3 things to check this month
First, please check if the AI performance report is displayed in Search Console. Although it is being rolled out first for UK sites, there are cases where it is already displayed for Japanese properties in some accounts.
Next, if the "Search generative AI" settings screen is already there, just check the current status. Whether or not to change the settings depends on the purpose of the site. If you want to leverage exposure to AI features for brand awareness, choose Include; if there is content you do not want cited, choose Exclude.
The third is to keep up with the July AI Overviews update. In July, new display formats for live news carousels, AI-generated images, and citation sources were added to AI Overviews. I feel that the most practical approach is to search and visually confirm how your site's content is being displayed.