Track AI Traffic in Google Search Console (June 2026)

If your Google Search Console impressions are rising but clicks keep falling, you are not doing anything wrong. Google’s AI features are answering questions directly on the search page, so fewer people need to click through to your site.

For a long time, there was no way to measure this clearly. That finally changed.

The Update: What Happened and When

Date: June 3, 2026.

Google officially launched Search Generative AI Performance Reports inside Google Search Console. This is the first time website owners have a separate, dedicated view of how their pages appear inside Google’s AI-powered search features.

The announcement was made on the Google Search Central Blog by Hillel Maoz, Search Ecosystem Engineering Manager, and Moshe Samet, Product Manager Lead for Search Console.

What You Can Now Track

According to Google’s official documentation, the new report covers these five data points:

The report covers two surfaces: AI Overviews and AI Mode in Google Search, plus generative AI features in Google Discover.

Note: Report data starts from May 18, 2026 only. No historical data before that date is available.

The Big Limitation: No Clicks, No CTR

Here is the honest part.

The report shows impressions only. There are no clicks, no click-through rate, no average position, and no query data in this version. Google has confirmed more metrics are coming, but right now you can only see how often your pages appeared inside AI results, not how many people clicked them.

This matters because the traffic impact of AI Overviews is already well-documented:

A February 2026 Ahrefs study of 300,000 keywords found a 58% lower CTR on top-ranking pages when an AI Overview was present. In April 2025 the same study showed 34.5%, meaning the impact is getting worse over time.

Source: Google AI Overviews CTR Research 2026, SEO-Kreativ

So impressions tell you your content is being cited. They do not tell you whether anyone visited your site as a result.

Who Has Access Right Now

The rollout is not yet global. Google is currently testing with a subset of website owners in the United Kingdom first.

This is directly connected to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which issued its first binding conduct requirement against Google on the same day, June 3, 2026, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

Sources:

• PPC Land, June 3, 2026
• SiliconAngle, June 3, 2026

A global rollout is planned. No confirmed date has been given yet.

The New Opt-Out Toggle: Block AI Without Losing Search Rankings

This is the other major announcement from June 3, 2026.

Google is now testing a toggle inside Search Console that lets publishers opt out of appearing in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative Discover features, without losing their standard organic search rankings.

Before this, the only way to block AI features was to block Googlebot entirely, which removed your site from all search results. That is no longer the case.

Google confirmed the opt-out takes effect June 17, 2026 for the first group of UK site owners.

The CMA also requires Google to:

• Attribute publisher content with clear links inside AI results
• Let publishers opt out of content being used to fine-tune Google’s AI models
• Apply controls at both domain and page level

Source: Search Engine Land, June 3, 2026

How to Find the Report in Search Console

If you have access, here is exactly where to find it:

1. Open Google Search Console
2. Click Performance in the left sidebar
3. Look for the Search Generative AI section, separate from the standard report
4. Check the Search and Discover tabs
5. Use Pages, Countries, Devices, and Dates to filter

If you do not see it yet, your property is not in the current rollout. You can still use the Search Appearance filter inside the standard Performance report for some AI segmentation in the meantime.

Source: TJ Digital, March 2026

What Is Still Missing

To be straight with you, here is what the report does NOT show yet:

• Which search queries triggered your AI appearances
• Clicks from AI features
• Click-through rate
• Average position inside AI results
• Any data before May 18, 2026

Google has said these will come. For now, you have visibility into exposure, but not traffic.

What This Means for Your SEO, In Plain Terms

If your AI impressions are high but clicks are low, your content is being used to answer questions. Google is citing you, but users are not visiting. Focus on building brand recognition and making your meta descriptions more compelling for the users who do see your link.

Cross-reference with Google Analytics to connect AI impressions to actual site visits and conversions. Google recommends this directly in its official documentation.

If you are a publisher losing traffic, the new opt-out toggle gives you a real choice for the first time. Weigh your AI visibility against your traffic needs before deciding.

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