---
title: "Search Console generative AI reports: read impressions correctly"
description: "Read the dedicated Search Console AI reports. Follow a real impressions chart and understand how Search and Discover count visibility differently."
canonical_url: "https://gscdump.com/learn-google-search-console/performance/generative-ai-performance-reports"
last_updated: "2026-09-11"
---

Google Search Console's dedicated **generative AI performance reports** show impressions from AI features. Start with the Search report to see visibility in **AI Overviews** and **AI Mode**, then inspect which pages appeared.

These reports give you a view of visibility. An impression count alone doesn't tell you how many visits or conversions those appearances produced.

## Open the report and choose a period

In the Search results Performance report captured here, a link below the chart opens **Generative AI features**. Choose a date range, then use **Pages** to inspect the URLs contributing impressions.

<figure>
<img src="/learn-google-search-console/new-features/generative-ai-chart.png" alt="Search generative AI report showing 1.59K total impressions, a daily chart, and Pages, Countries, Devices, and Days tabs." width="765" height="455" />

<figcaption>
Search report captured on 11 September 2026, covering 9 June through 8 September 2026. Account identifiers and page rows are cropped out.<br /><a href="/learn-google-search-console/new-features/generative-ai-chart.png">Open the AI impressions chart at full size</a>.
</figcaption>
</figure>

Marker **1** identifies **Total impressions**, shown as **1.59K** in this capture. Marker **2** identifies **Pages**. The chart contains one impressions line, so don't read its peaks as click or conversion spikes.

In this example, daily impressions vary considerably. To investigate a high period, inspect the pages for that period and compare their visibility with a matching period. Keep the date range and filters in your notes so another person can reproduce the view.

Google says the dedicated data [remains included in the overall Performance report](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports). Don't add the dedicated impression total to the overall total as though it were an extra source of visibility.

## Understand what Search and Discover count

The reports have different aggregation rules. Google's [Search report documentation](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139?hl=en) describes property-level chart totals, while its [Discover documentation](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16983858?hl=en) describes page-level counting.

| Question                                             | Search AI report                                                                          | Discover AI report                                 |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| What does the report measure?                        | Impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode.                                                  | Impressions in generative AI features in Discover. |
| Which table breakdowns are documented?               | Pages, countries, devices, dates.                                                         | Pages, countries, dates.                           |
| How does the unfiltered chart count several results? | Results from the same property in one AI search feature count as one property impression. | Each result's impression is counted separately.    |

As a hypothetical counting example, two results from one site can contribute one property impression in the Search chart. Their page rows can each receive an impression. Summing those rows can therefore exceed the chart total without proving lost data.

A URL filter changes the Search chart to URL aggregation. Record that filter before comparing it with an unfiltered chart.

For Discover, a link must enter the user's view to count. Scrolling past the same result again in one session doesn't add another impression. Read each report using its own definition before putting their totals side by side.

## Check recent data and downloads

The Search report can show [preliminary data](/learn-google-search-console/limits/data-delay#check-the-report-before-your-site) with a dotted line. In Discover, some daily values can be omitted below a threshold while remaining included in the total. Neither behaviour makes a missing point a reliable zero.

Both reports offer **Export** for chart and table data. Google documents that unavailable values displayed as `~` or `-` become zeros in downloads. Keep that distinction in mind before using a spreadsheet to count days with no visibility. No export was downloaded for this example.

For broader trends, follow the same [weekly and monthly checks](/learn-google-search-console/weekly-monthly-views), including incomplete periods at the edges of your date range.

## If the report is missing

Google's [launch update](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports) records worldwide rollout on **31 August 2026**. Its Help pages still list insufficient impressions as a reason a property may not show the report. Global rollout doesn't guarantee a visible chart for every site.

For programmatic access, the [public API reference](https://developers.google.com/webmaster-tools/v1/searchanalytics/query) checked on 11 September 2026 didn't document a dedicated generative AI report type. The visible Export button doesn't establish equivalent API access. Don't invent an AI-specific request filter from the UI label.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.
