Google has finished rolling out two Search Console features it first announced in June: a performance report for its generative AI features and a control over how a site’s content is used in them. In an update to its announcement, Google wrote: “As of August 31, 2026, we’ve rolled out these features to all websites worldwide.” For Arabic and bilingual sites that did not see the report during the gradual rollout, it should now be there.
What happened
Google introduced the features in a blog post on 3 June 2026 by Mrinalini Loew, alongside a Search Central blog post about generative AI performance reports the same month. The rollout was gradual. On 31 August 2026 Google updated the original post to confirm that both features had reached all websites worldwide.
What caught my attention is the pairing. Site owners get a way to see their presence in AI features and, in the same release, a way to limit it. That makes it easier to decide based on your own data rather than on guesses.
What the report measures
According to Google’s Search Console help page, “The generative AI performance report includes impressions for the following generative AI capabilities on Google Search: AI Overviews, AI Mode.”
Google defines the metric this way: “Impressions are how many times links to your site were shown to a user in a generative AI feature on Google Search.”
There is one counting rule worth understanding before you read the chart: “if two results from the same site appeared in a generative AI search results feature, they count as a single impression in the chart total.” So if an AI Overview shows your Arabic guide and your English guide together, the chart total records one impression for your site, not two.
In my view, that rule matters most for bilingual sites. If your Arabic and English pages often appear together, the total may look lower than the number of links you might expect, and it is worth keeping that in mind when you compare periods or sections.
The generative AI control
The second feature lets a site limit the use of its content in Google Search’s generative AI features. Two points from Google’s help page are important for anyone considering it.
First, Google says the control “isn’t used as a ranking or inclusion signal affecting other parts of Search.” Choosing it is not described as affecting how your pages appear in classic results.
Second, it is not instant: “it generally takes a few days for your site’s content to be excluded from the applicable Search generative AI features.”
For a publisher weighing the control, I think the useful question is practical rather than philosophical: which of your pages benefit from being shown as links in these features, and which would you rather keep out? The report now gives you data to answer that before you touch the setting, and the few days it takes to apply mean you should not expect an immediate change after you switch it.
What it means for Arabic sites
- Open the report before deciding anything. You now have Google’s own impression data for AI Overviews and AI Mode for your property.
- Compare sections. If your Arabic content lives under /ar/ and your English content under /en/, look at each section separately where the report allows it, and remember the single impression rule when both appear together.
- Treat the control as a considered decision. Google says it does not affect other parts of Search, and it takes a few days to apply. Decide based on your goals, not on fear of AI features or excitement about them.
- Record a baseline. Note the current impression totals for your Arabic and English sections now. When you update content or change the control later, you will have something real to compare against.
- Read one period at a time. A single week says little. Compare like with like, month against month, and note any change you made to the site in between.
- Keep the basics in place. Google’s AI features documentation already says supporting links come from indexed pages eligible to show with a snippet. The new report shows the outcome; it does not change those requirements.
Key facts at a glance
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First announced | 3 June 2026 | Google blog post by Mrinalini Loew |
| Available to all sites | 31 August 2026, worldwide | Update to the same Google blog post |
| Features covered by the report | AI Overviews and AI Mode | Search Console Help |
| Metric | Impressions of links to your site in generative AI features | Search Console Help |
| Counting rule | Two results from one site in the same feature count as one impression in the chart total | Search Console Help |
| Control and ranking | Not used as a ranking or inclusion signal for other parts of Search | Search Console Help |
| Time for the control to apply | Generally a few days | Search Console Help |
Sources
- Google, The Keyword blog post by Mrinalini Loew on new controls and reporting for website owners, 3 June 2026, updated 31 August 2026, https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/new-controls-website-owners/
- Google Search Central blog, post on generative AI performance reports, June 2026, https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports
- Google Search Console Help, generative AI performance report, help page consulted 2 September 2026, https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139
- Google Search Console Help, generative AI control, help page consulted 2 September 2026, https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16908024
- Google Search Central, AI features and your website, documentation page consulted 2 September 2026, https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features