Google has officially announced that Google Search Console is now counting AI Mode data. This change was implemented last week when AI Mode was fully launched in the US, as previously announced at I/O. Google confirmed that AI Mode data is being included in the overall totals in Search Console, although it cannot be segmented out separately.

Two documents were updated by Google to reflect this change, specifically the Search Console impressions/clicks help document. A new section was added to describe how the data from AI Mode is combined with the main data. Here is an overview of what Google stated:

• AI Mode provides an interactive AI-powered response with links to relevant web resources.
• Clicking a link in AI Mode counts as a click.
• Standard impression rules apply.
• Position in AI Mode is calculated similarly to a regular Google Search results page.
• Follow-up questions within AI Mode are treated as new queries.

Google also updated the AI features document, removing a line that suggested AI Mode reporting was not live in Search Console yet. They clarified how AI Overviews and AI Mode data are counted in the documentation.

Some users reported seeing AI Mode data in Search Console since last week, confirming that non-labs AI Mode clicks are being recorded. This change has been officially acknowledged by Google, despite the challenges it poses for interpreting performance reporting data.

John Mueller from Google addressed the complexity of tracking positions in AI Mode, noting that there is no straightforward way to map positions in a 1D format. He acknowledged that this tracking system may evolve over time.

Overall, the inclusion of AI Mode data in Google Search Console marks a significant development in search analytics, presenting new challenges and opportunities for users to navigate and understand the data effectively.