Search Console: AI reports & opt-out for AI search
Google is rolling out two major updates in Search Console: a performance report for generative AI search and a toggle that lets website owners exclude their content from AI Mode, AI Overviews, and similar AI features. Both functions are launching first for a subset of UK Search Console users and are expected to expand globally later. For SEO teams, publishers, and technical owners, this marks a turning point: AI visibility can be measured for the first time, and the use of your content in Google's generative search surfaces can be actively controlled.
Search Generative AI Performance Report
The new "Search Generative AI Performance" report provides structured data for the first time on how URLs from a domain appear in Google's generative AI features in Search—including AI responses, AI Mode, and AI Overviews. The launch had been widely anticipated and follows Google's announcement that it would give website owners more transparency about how their pages are used in AI-powered search answers.
Google stresses that the insights are meant to help site owners plan strategies for generative search features. At the same time, the data scope is deliberately limited: click metrics are completely absent. Google says it continues to work with owners on which metrics will be most helpful over time and will expand reporting gradually. For many SEO stakeholders, that is no surprise, but it intensifies the debate around measurable GEO and AI search performance.
Available metrics at a glance
According to Google and official developer documentation, the report includes the following dimensions. They enable initial monitoring of presence in AI surfaces, even though conversion paths cannot be derived from the data.
- Impressions: How often URLs from your site appeared in generative AI features in Search and Discover
- Pages: Which specific URLs were used within AI features
- Countries: Visibility by country for regional analysis
- Devices: Device categories of users who see your site in AI contexts (for Search results)
- Dates: Time series with hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly granularity
When asked about click data, a Google spokesperson pointed to the same outlook: additional metrics will follow once it is clear which figures are most relevant for strategy. Until then, impressions remain the central metric—comparable to early phases of other Search Console reports before Google released further signals.
Rollout and availability
The performance report is reaching only a subset of website owners in the United Kingdom at first. Google says access will expand over time but does not name a date for a worldwide rollout. If you do not see data today, monitor Search Console and official Google channels rather than assuming a lack of AI visibility.
Detailed help on report structure, filters, and interpretation is available in the Google Help Center. Teams should align that documentation with internal reporting standards so AI impressions are evaluated in context with classic Search Console data and other analytics sources.
AI blocking: opt-out via toggle
In parallel, Google is testing a new toggle in Search Console that lets owners decide whether their site should appear in generative AI search features and help ground responses. Google frames it as giving website owners control over whether their content is used in AI Overviews, AI Mode, or AI Overviews in Discover.
Sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from generative AI features, according to Google. Crucial for SEO strategy: Google states this control is not a ranking signal for classic web search outside generative AI features. Disabling AI use should not automatically harm positioning in traditional Google search—a point publishers weigh heavily when balancing visibility and control.
Background: EU pressure and industry surveys
The controls were promised after criticism in the EU around AI Overviews and related features grew louder. Google is now starting tests on a smaller scale in the United Kingdom and plans to expand them after sufficient testing. Earlier surveys suggested roughly one third of SEOs and publishers would block Google from showing their content in generative AI search features—an indicator of how contested the balance between reach and data sovereignty remains.
Comparison with Bing Webmaster Tools
Google's updates follow shortly after Bing Webmaster Tools' AI performance report. Neither platform currently provides click data for AI search surfaces, and experts do not expect that to change anytime soon. What differs is reach: Bing offers its report globally today, while Google's solution remains limited to UK accounts for now. For international SEO and GEO strategies, that means an asymmetric data landscape until Google's rollout is complete.
Practical recommendations for SEO teams
Site owners and publishers have demanded transparency and control since AI search features launched. With impression reporting and an opt-out toggle, Google is responding in a structured way—for some users only. It remains unclear how quickly all accounts will get access; broader availability is expected eventually.
Teams with report access should map AI impressions to affected URLs and markets, identify content clusters frequently cited in AI Overviews, and decide whether opt-out makes strategic sense. Publishers with strong branding and licensing models may want less visibility in AI answers; informational and lead-generation sites may prefer presence. In every case, align with legal, editorial, and monetization stakeholders before flipping the toggle.
Classic SEO remains relevant in parallel: core search, technical quality, and E-E-A-T still influence whether content is eligible for AI contexts at all. The new report does not replace a comprehensive GEO strategy; it adds first measurable signals in Google's own tool—a step the industry has demanded since generative search surfaces launched.
