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Google AI Mode now counts toward Search Console totals

Traffic from Google's interactive AI search mode officially tracked in performance reports starting June 17, 2025.

Luis Rijo

• 8 min read
Google Search Console dashboard showing AI Mode integration with performance metrics and traffic data
Google Search Console dashboard showing AI Mode integration with performance metrics and traffic data

Google officially confirmed on June 17, 2025, that AI Mode clicks, impressions, and position data now count toward totals in Search Console performance reports. The announcement came through updated documentation on the search giant's help pages, ending weeks of speculation about tracking gaps that had affected website analytics since AI Mode's broader rollout.

According to Google's Search Console help documentation, "AI Mode is now counting towards totals in Search Console." The update affects how website owners monitor traffic from Google's enhanced search experience, which allows users to engage in conversational queries and ask follow-up questions within an interactive interface.

The documentation update addressed two key Google support pages. First, Google modified the Search Console impressions/clicks help document to include a new section describing how AI Mode data integrates with existing metrics. Second, the company updated its AI features document by removing the previous disclaimer that stated "AI Mode reporting isn't live in Search Console yet, but we expect this soon as part of the AI Mode rollout."

Summary

Who: Google, under the direction of its Search team, implemented AI Mode tracking in Search Console, affecting website owners, SEO professionals, and digital marketers who rely on search performance data for optimization and strategy decisions.

What: Google Search Console now includes AI Mode clicks, impressions, and position data in its performance reports, treating each AI Mode element with individual position calculations while aggregating all data under the existing Web Search category without separate segmentation capabilities.

When: The change took effect on June 17, 2025, with Google updating its official documentation to confirm the integration, though some users began observing the data as early as June 12, 2025.

Where: The integration affects Google Search Console performance reports globally, though AI Mode itself remains limited to United States users over 18 years old who access the feature through Search Labs or the broader rollout.

Why: Google implemented the tracking to provide website owners with visibility into AI Mode traffic after industry professionals identified significant data gaps affecting traffic attribution and analytics accuracy, addressing concerns that up to 1% of search traffic was going untracked during AI Mode's initial rollout period.

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Technical methodology for tracking

Google's implementation treats AI Mode differently from AI Overviews in terms of position calculation. While AI Overviews typically group all contained links as position one, AI Mode assigns individual positions to each element within the response.

"Position in AI Mode follows the same methodology as a Google Search results page," according to the updated documentation. The system calculates positions for carousel and image blocks using standard position rules applied to those specific elements.

The tracking methodology includes specific rules for different interaction types. Clicking any link to an external page within AI Mode registers as a click in Search Console. Standard impression rules apply when content appears in AI Mode responses. Position calculations follow traditional search result methodology, with each component receiving its own ranking based on placement within the AI-generated response.

Follow-up questions within AI Mode create new query sessions. When users ask additional questions during their AI Mode session, Google treats each subsequent inquiry as a fresh search query. All impression, position, and click data from the new response attributes to this latest user query rather than the original search.

This approach differs significantly from traditional search sessions where multiple page views might connect to a single initial query. The documentation emphasizes that "all impression, position, and click data in the new response are counted as coming from this new user query."

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Data aggregation challenges

The integration creates significant complexity for Search Console reporting. Unlike previous search features that received separate categorization, AI Mode data merges with existing Web Search totals. This aggregation means website owners cannot isolate AI Mode performance from traditional search results.

Glenn Gabe, an industry analyst, highlighted the reporting challenges on social media: "We now have the 10-blue links, featured snippets, AIOs, and now AI Mode all grouped together in the performance reporting under Web Search. Yikes."

The consolidation affects multiple search result types within a single reporting category. Traditional blue links, featured snippets, AI Overviews, and AI Mode responses all contribute to unified Web Search metrics in Search Console. This grouping makes it difficult for website owners to understand which specific search features drive their traffic.

Industry expert Lily Ray noted the positional inconsistencies created by different AI features: "So if you're the number 5 link in an AIO sidebar, you're #1 in GSC. But if you're #5 in AI Mode, you're #5 in GSC."

The tracking discrepancies stem from how different AI features calculate position. AI Overviews typically assign position one to all contained links regardless of their placement within the overview. AI Mode maintains individual position assignments based on actual placement within the response structure.

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Early user observations

SEO professionals began noticing AI Mode data appearing in their Search Console accounts before Google's official announcement. Patrick Stox, a technical SEO expert, confirmed the tracking functionality through social media posts on June 12, 2025.

"Confirming that non-labs AI Mode clicks are recorded in GSC," Stox wrote. He noted that the feature required users to disable Search Labs to ensure proper tracking. "If I hadn't turned labs off, it still wouldn't be recorded."

Some estimates suggest AI Mode represents more than 1% of total searches, according to Stox's observations. This percentage indicates substantial traffic volume that previously went untracked in website analytics. The tracking gap affected nearly a month of data for websites appearing in AI Mode responses.

Brodie Clark, another SEO professional, conducted additional testing to verify AI Mode data integration with Search Console. These independent confirmations preceded Google's official documentation updates by several days.

The early observations revealed that AI Mode generates different query patterns compared to traditional search. Users typically compose longer, more complex questions when using AI Mode, requiring multiple information sources to generate comprehensive responses.

Industry reaction and concerns

Search marketing professionals expressed mixed reactions to the AI Mode tracking announcement. While the addition of tracking capabilities addresses previous data gaps, the aggregated reporting structure creates new analytical challenges.

John Mueller from Google attempted to address concerns about position tracking complexity on social media platforms. He acknowledged that "counting positions is hard" and suggested the methodology might evolve over time. Mueller also confirmed that topmost position rules apply when the same page or site appears multiple times in search results.

The lack of segmentation capabilities particularly frustrates marketing professionals who rely on detailed analytics for campaign optimization. Barry Schwartz from Search Engine Roundtable noted that professionals will struggle to extract insights from the combined reporting structure.

Several SEO professionals questioned the practical value of position data when multiple search features use different calculation methods. The inability to separate AI Mode performance from traditional search results limits strategic decision-making capabilities for website optimization efforts.

Search Console's comment section reflected broader industry concerns about traffic attribution accuracy. Some users reported losing significant organic traffic while others questioned the value of logging into Search Console when traffic volumes continue declining.

AI Mode expansion context

The Search Console integration coincides with Google's broader AI Mode expansion across the United States. Google initially launched AI Mode in March 2025 as an experimental feature for Google One AI Premium subscribers before expanding access to all US users in May 2025.

Recent developments have included testing an AI Mode button directly in Google's homepage search bar, representing the most significant interface change to the Google homepage in decades. The feature uses Google's "query fan-out technique" to break down complex questions into multiple subtopics and process hundreds of related searches simultaneously.

AI Mode's rollout has generated significant anxiety within the SEO community, with polls showing 45% of search professionals describing themselves as "scared out of their minds" about the technology's potential impact on organic traffic. The fear stems from concerns that AI-powered responses might reduce user motivation to visit source websites.

Publishers and content creators have begun developing new optimization strategies to maintain visibility in AI Mode responses. These approaches focus on comprehensive topic coverage rather than traditional keyword optimization, requiring fundamental shifts in content creation methodology.

Google has also addressed technical issues affecting AI Mode implementation, including referrer tracking problems that initially prevented accurate traffic attribution from AI Mode clicks.

Implications for digital marketing

The AI Mode tracking integration represents a significant shift in how search performance gets measured and analyzed. Marketing professionals must adapt their analytical approaches to account for aggregated reporting that combines multiple search features within unified metrics.

Website owners can no longer isolate performance from specific search features like AI Mode or AI Overviews. This limitation affects strategic decision-making for SEO campaigns, content optimization, and traffic attribution modeling. The inability to segment AI Mode data means professionals cannot determine which optimization efforts specifically improve AI search visibility.

The position calculation differences between AI features create additional complexity for ranking analysis. Websites might show different position values depending on which AI feature displays their content, making it difficult to establish consistent performance benchmarks.

Follow-up query tracking adds another layer of complexity to user journey analysis. Since AI Mode treats each follow-up question as a new search session, traditional funnel analysis becomes more difficult. Website owners must reconsider how they track and attribute conversions from AI-powered search interactions.

The Search Console documentation notes that experimental features in Search Labs do not contribute to reported metrics. This exclusion means that testing phases for new AI features will continue creating temporary data gaps until features receive full deployment.

Timeline

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