John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, clarified on Bluesky that the generative AI report in Google’s new Search Console records impressions when a website is featured in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
When examining the new report, it is important to consider why the impression count may be lower than expected when compared to the number of AI answers an individual believes they are featured in. Mueller clarifies that an impression is registered when a link to your page is displayed, but only one impression is counted if a user needs to open the link to view the content.
Mueller answered four questions from Nicola Agius, who is the Director of SEO and Discover at Reach PLC, about the recent testing conducted by Google on a few UK websites.
Impressions are generated when your site’s links appear in AI Overviews/AI Mode. Whether a favicon or a page link is displayed, it will be counted as an impression. If users need to take an action to view the link, it will only be counted if they do so.
Mueller explained that the key factor is a link to a page, rather than the presence of the brand icon alone. The question of whether a favicon by itself would be linked remains unanswered.
The Documentation’s Content
Google’s support page explains that an impression is the count of times a user sees a link to your website in a machine-learning AI feature on Google Search. It does not provide further details on the specific scenarios mentioned by Agius, such as combined cards, clusters, or links that need activation. Agius’s explanation fills this gap until the official documentation is revised.
Why This is Important
The activation point could clarify why the AI visibility seems reduced in the report compared to real-time outcomes. Some page views are not counted as impressions because a link is only counted once when a user expands it.
The report currently lacks click data and Mueller has mentioned that all links in an AI Overview have the same position. Impressions are the only metric available for now and this is how they are measured.
Looking to the future
Mueller did not answer Agius’s question about whether total impressions include X posts. The favicon problem is still not resolved.
Google plans to include more metrics in the report as it undergoes further testing before a wider release. Mueller’s explanation currently offers the best insight into the count until these cases are addressed in the documentation.
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