Google Rolls Out AI Performance Reports and Generative Search Controls Globally

Google has expanded its generative AI reporting and website controls in Search Console to website owners worldwide. The rollout gives publishers, SEO professionals, and website administrators more information about how their content appears across Google’s AI-powered Search experiences.

As of August 31, 2026, Google confirmed that its generative AI performance insights and Search generative AI control have been rolled out globally. The tools were initially introduced to a limited group of website owners before being expanded more broadly.

For SEO teams following Google Search Console AI performance reports and Search generative AI control rolling out globally, the update provides two important capabilities: measuring visibility within generative AI Search experiences and controlling whether website content can appear within those experiences.

What Are Google Search Console AI Performance Reports?

The Generative AI Performance report is a dedicated Search Console report that provides information about how a website appears in Google's generative AI Search features.

For Google Search, the report currently includes impressions generated through:

• AI Overviews

• AI Mode

Google has also introduced a separate generative AI performance report for Google Discover.

The report allows website owners to identify how often their URLs appear within supported generative AI experiences. This makes it easier to understand whether individual pages are gaining visibility as Google increasingly incorporates AI-generated responses into Search.

What Metrics Are Available?

The Search generative AI performance report currently provides impression-based information across several dimensions.

Website owners can analyse:

• Impressions

• Pages

• Countries

• Devices

• Dates

The page dimension can help identify which URLs are appearing most frequently in AI-generated Search experiences, while country and device reporting can provide additional context about where that visibility originates.

However, the dedicated generative AI report does not currently provide click data. This means SEO teams can evaluate AI visibility but have more limited information about how those appearances translate into website visits.

Why the New AI Performance Reporting Matters for SEO

Generative AI features have changed how information is displayed in Google Search. Instead of relying only on traditional organic listings, users can receive AI-generated answers supported by information and links from websites.

For SEO teams, this creates an additional visibility layer to monitor.

Previously, it could be difficult to separate a website's exposure in generative AI experiences from its broader Search performance. Dedicated reporting provides greater visibility into which pages Google is surfacing within AI Overviews and AI Mode.

This information can help teams identify content that already performs well in generative AI experiences and compare visibility across countries, devices, and time periods.

It may also support content audits by revealing pages that receive traditional organic visibility but relatively little generative AI exposure.

Google Introduces Search Generative AI Controls

Alongside performance reporting, Google has expanded its Search generative AI control worldwide.

The setting is available within Search Console and allows eligible website owners to determine whether their content can participate in supported generative AI features.

Google currently lists the applicable experiences as:

• AI Overviews

• AI Mode

• Generative AI features in Google Discover

The default setting allows a site's content and links to appear in supported generative AI experiences and to help ground AI-generated responses.

What Happens When a Website Opts Out?

Website owners can choose to exclude their content from Search generative AI features.

When exclusion is selected, the website's content will not be shown as links or used to ground responses in the affected generative AI experiences. As a result, the website will no longer receive traffic or impressions from those features.

Importantly, Google states that the generative AI control is not used as a ranking signal for Search results outside these generative AI features. Therefore, opting out is not intended to negatively affect a website's rankings within regular Google Search results.

Google says changes to the control generally require a few days to fully take effect, although some content can be excluded within one to two days. Caching and propagation across Google's systems may cause certain URLs to take longer.

Where to Find the Generative AI Control

Website owners can manage the setting from their Search Console property.

Within Search Console, the option is located under:

Settings → Search generative AI

Properties can generally be configured to include content, exclude content, or inherit the preference from a parent property.

The inheritance system can be particularly relevant for organisations managing multiple URL-prefix properties beneath one domain. Child properties may inherit the configuration applied to their nearest configured parent property unless the setting is overridden.

Why Some Websites May Not See AI Performance Data

Although Google announced worldwide availability on August 31, website owners may not immediately see meaningful information in every Search Console property.

Google explains that a generative AI report may not appear when a website has not received enough impressions within the supported AI Search features. Properties excluded from generative AI Search may also have no applicable performance data.

This distinction is important when reviewing accounts. An empty or unavailable report does not automatically indicate a Search Console configuration problem.

How SEO Teams Can Use the New Reports

The reports can be incorporated into regular SEO monitoring alongside traditional Search Console performance data.

Teams can review which pages receive the strongest generative AI visibility and identify patterns across content types, topics, countries, and devices.

Rather than treating AI impressions as an isolated KPI, they should be compared with organic traffic, rankings, conversions, and broader content performance.

Website owners should also carefully evaluate the implications before excluding their content from AI Search. Opting out removes the possibility of receiving links, impressions, and traffic through the affected generative AI features.

Conclusion

The global expansion of Google's generative AI performance reporting provides website owners with clearer insight into how their content appears across AI Overviews, AI Mode, and supported Discover experiences.

At the same time, the Search generative AI control gives publishers a more direct choice over whether their content participates in those experiences.

For SEO professionals, the most practical approach is to begin monitoring AI impressions alongside existing Search Console metrics. As Google expands its generative AI Search features and adds further reporting capabilities, these reports are likely to become an increasingly useful part of organic search performance analysis.