Yes — since 3 June 2026 you can see it in Google Search Console. A Generative AI performance report shows how often your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode. It reports impressions only: no clicks, no queries, and no split between the two features, so treat it as a visibility gauge rather than a traffic number.
Where do I find AI search data in Search Console?
It sits inside the Performance section of Search Console, as a separate Generative AI view alongside the usual Search results report.
Google announced the report on its Search Central blog in June 2026, describing it as coverage of AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search plus generative AI features in Discover. You can slice the impressions by page, country, device and date, with the same date granularity you already use for organic performance. The page-level breakdown is the useful part for a small business: it tells you which of your pages Google is willing to pull into an AI answer, which is rarely the page you expected.
Two practical notes. The rollout has been gradual, so some properties still do not see the view; and if it is missing for your site, those impressions were already counted inside your overall Search results totals. Google built a lens on existing numbers, not a new traffic stream.
Why does the report show impressions but no clicks?
Because Google is reporting appearances, not visits, and it has said the query data is withheld for privacy reasons.
This is the part that frustrates owners, and it is worth being clear about. You get a count of how often a page surfaced in an AI answer. You do not get the click-through rate, you do not get the prompts people typed, and you do not get a position metric, because an AI answer has no blue-link position to occupy. You also cannot separate AI Overviews from AI Mode; they are pooled into one figure.
So the report answers "is Google citing us at all?" and cannot answer "what did that citation earn us?" You close that second gap yourself, by watching direct and branded traffic, and by asking new leads how they found you. A phone call that starts with "the AI said you handle appliance repair in the Lower Mainland" is data, and right now it is better data than anything in the interface.
What the AI report gives you, and what it does not
| Data point | Standard Search results report | Generative AI report |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | Yes | Yes |
| Clicks and CTR | Yes | No |
| Search queries | Yes | No |
| Average position | Yes | No |
| Page-level breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Country and device | Yes | Yes |
| AI Overviews vs AI Mode split | Not applicable | No — pooled |
What actually changed in AI search this September?
The short answer is that Google kept nudging ordinary searchers from the classic results page toward AI Mode.
Search Engine Roundtable’s September 2026 webmaster round-up documents AI Overviews pushing searchers into AI Mode, a test of an AI Mode button on the search bar results page, link carousel cards appearing for developing stories, and a brief test of AI-generated images inside AI Overviews that Google paused shortly after. Added together it is the same drift owners have felt all year: the answer arrives before the list of websites does.
On the measurement side, Search Engine Land spent the week of 15 September publishing frameworks for AI-search attribution rather than reporting a new Google feature — a fair signal that the industry is still arguing about how to count this, and that nobody has a clean number yet. Be sceptical of any agency quoting you a precise "AI search ROI" today.
Does this change what a small business should actually do?
Less than the noise suggests, because the pages that get cited are the pages that answer a real question plainly.
The behaviour of AI answers rewards content that states an answer outright, carries specific numbers with sources, and uses the correct technical vocabulary for your trade. That is also what a homeowner comparing quotes wants. If your service page says you are "the trusted leader in customer-focused solutions," there is nothing there for a model to lift. If it states what a standard furnace tune-up includes, how long it takes, what it costs and which towns you cover, there is.
The same goes for your Google Business Profile, your review replies and your FAQ pages. Those are the assets most often quoted back to local searchers, and most small businesses leave them half-finished. That is the unglamorous side of our SEO work: fewer clever tricks, more pages that answer the question a customer asked in the words they used.
What to do this week
- Open Search Console, go to Performance, and check whether the Generative AI view exists for your property. If it does, export the page-level impressions and note the top five pages — not the ones you assumed would be there.
- Take your single highest-value service page and rewrite the first paragraph so it answers the page’s headline question in two sentences, with a price range, a timeframe or a service area in it.
- Add three to five real customer questions as proper question-shaped headings on that page, each with a short, specific answer underneath. Use the questions people actually ask on the phone.
- Ask every lead this week how they found you, and write the answers down. Thirty responses will tell you more about AI referrals than any dashboard currently can.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Search Console AI report available for every website?
No. Google has rolled the Generative AI performance report out gradually since June 2026, and some properties still do not see it. If the view is missing from your Performance section, nothing is lost — those impressions were already included in your overall Search results totals, and Google simply has not exposed the separate lens on your property yet. Keep checking monthly rather than filing a support request.
Can I stop Google using my site in AI answers?
You can opt out of generative AI features in Search Console’s settings, and the choice can be inherited across a domain property. Think hard before you do it. Opting out removes you from the surface where a growing share of people now get their first answer, in exchange for protecting clicks that may already be going elsewhere. For most local service businesses, visibility inside the answer is worth more than the principle.
Do AI Overviews and AI Mode work the same way for a Canadian business?
Broadly yes, but be careful with the statistics you read. Most published data on AI search behaviour and zero-click rates is US-based, and Canadian query volumes, Maps behaviour and local competition differ. Use the country filter in the AI report to see your own Canadian impressions rather than assuming a US percentage applies to a Greater Toronto Area or Lower Mainland service area.
How long before AI search visibility shows up in leads?
Expect months, not weeks. Rewriting a page so it answers a question plainly can change what Google cites within a crawl cycle, but the lead volume behind it builds the way organic search always has. If someone promises AI citation results in thirty days, ask them exactly which number they intend to move, and what they will show you when it does not.
Want a second opinion on whether your pages are answerable? Book a free 48-hour audit — our ex-Googler founder’s team will tell you which pages are worth rewriting first.
Sources: Google Search Central, Search Generative AI performance reports (June 2026); Search Engine Roundtable, September 2026 Google Webmaster Report; Search Engine Land, SEO coverage, week of 15 September 2026.