AI Mode, Google’s new search interface powered by artificial intelligence, is beginning to transform the SEO landscape. While this new feature will become an essential gateway in search results, professionals are waiting for clear access to performance data in Search Console. Google confirms that this tracking is currently being rolled out… but with serious limitations. Here’s what we know so far!
Key points:
- AI Mode data will soon be visible in Search Console, but integrated into the “Web” type, without a dedicated filter.
- No specific API or separate report is planned at this time.
- Performance tracking (SEO and advertising) remains unclear and very limited.
- Professionals are demanding more transparency and suitable tools.
Google Confirms AI Mode Coming to Search Console
It’s now official: Google has announced that performance related to AI Mode, its new search mode based on generative AI, will soon be integrated into Search Console reports. The information was confirmed by John Mueller, a well-known Google spokesperson, on LinkedIn and then on Bluesky.
However, this highly anticipated advancement comes with a major disappointment in terms of data visibility: no specific filter will allow for the isolation of impressions or clicks from AI Mode. The data will simply be aggregated in the “Web” search type, alongside traditional results, images, videos or news. A decision that is sure to make more than one professional grind their teeth!
Fuzzy and non-granular tracking
Google already rolled out AI Overviews earlier this year, and their integration into Search Console followed the same pattern: no ability to filter performance related solely to this feature.
With the arrival of AI Mode in the US, which now appears in a separate tab in search results, one might have hoped for an improvement in this regard. But for now, no separate report is planned, and Google is not planning any changes to the Search Console API either. In other words: no specific queries, no additional granularity, and therefore few ways to measure the real impact of this new environment on organic visibility.
A gradual rollout and bugs being resolved
Initially launched in Google Labs, AI Mode wasn’t tracked in Search Console. Since its U.S. production release in late May, Google has begun updating its help documentation, stating that the performance of pages displayed in AI Mode will be tracked—but still within the overall “Web” category.
Just like the rest of the search results page, sites appearing in AI features (such as AI Previews and AI Mode) are included in overall search traffic in Search Console. (Note: AI Mode reporting is not yet available in Search Console, but it should be soon as part of the AI Mode rollout.) Specifically, they are shown in the Performance report, under the “Web” search type. Learn more about how different search features are reflected in overall Search Console data, how to analyze traffic changes in general, and how to combine Search Console and Analytics data.
A bug preventing AI Mode performance tracking has also been reported, and Google says it fixed it on May 28. However, it remains impossible for publishers to know whether their pages are displayed in this mode, or how they perform in it.
And on the advertising side, the same observation
Another sore point: advertising. Google recently began testing the display of ads in AI Mode, as well as in AI Overviews. However, no tools exist to measure the specific performance of ads served through these AI interfaces. For advertisers, this means a glaring lack of visibility, contradicting the promises of “transparency and control” displayed by Google during the last Google Marketing Live.
Growing frustration among SEO professionals
Faced with these limitations, the SEO community is increasingly expressing concern. The need for specific monitoring for AI environments, whether AI Overviews or AI Mode, is becoming critical. Some experts are calling on Google to add an “AI” filter to Search Console, just like other types of searches. To date, Google has not provided any timeline or commitment to this.
John Mueller simply states that ” there is no plan to separate the reports at this time .” This is an unsatisfying response for professionals at a time when AI is profoundly redefining the online research ecosystem.
