Google Delays AI Click Reporting Ahead Of UK Deadline
Google has not announced plans to provide more Search Console data, despite UK requirements. The company must comply with UK rules by December 3.
Original reporting · searchenginejournal.com
Original: “Google Says No AI Click Reporting News Yet, Ahead Of UK Deadline via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern”
Read “Google Says No AI Click Reporting News Yet, Ahead Of UK Deadline via @sejournal,…” at Search Engine Journal →
How this was written. Clicktag wrote this article with a language model from Search Engine Journal’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Search Engine Journal’s report
- Google has not announced plans to provide more Search Console data for AI search features.
- The UK's Competition and Markets Authority requires Google to provide detailed metrics on user engagement by December 3.
- The current Search Console report only counts impressions for AI Mode and AI Overviews collectively.
- Google will have to submit a compliance report to the Competition and Markets Authority by January 3, 2027.
- The company may be required to publish a summary of the report.
Google's Gary Illyes stated that the company is interested in providing more data to users, but has nothing to announce yet about additional Search Console metrics. This statement was made in a comment on a social media post. The post discussed potential new data for AI Mode and AI Overviews.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority requires Google to provide certain metrics, including clicks and click-through rates, for AI search features. Google must comply with these rules by December 3. The company will have to provide publishers with detailed metrics on user engagement with their content.
Currently, the Search Console Generative AI Performance Report only counts impressions for AI Mode and AI Overviews collectively. Clicks from these features are included in the standard Performance report, but cannot be separated from other web results. This makes it difficult for users to track the performance of their pages in AI search features.
Google announced the roll-out of the Generative AI Report to all sites globally on August 31. The report provides a breakdown of impressions by page, country, device, and date. However, it does not include clicks, click-through rates, or queries.
The Competition and Markets Authority expects Google to provide a breakdown of data by individual publisher, as well as the ability to distinguish between AI features and organic search results. This information should be provided through a commonly accessible platform, such as Google Search Console.
Google's compliance with the UK rules will be monitored, and the company will have to submit a report to the Competition and Markets Authority by January 3, 2027. The report will cover the period from June 3 to December 3. The authority may also require Google to publish a summary of the report.
The lack of detailed metrics for AI search features makes it challenging for users to understand the performance of their pages. Google's Illyes did not provide a timeline for when this data would be available, so users will have to continue using impressions as a key metric. This article is based on reporting by Search Engine Journal.
Questions and answers
What metrics does the UK's Competition and Markets Authority require Google to provide?
The authority requires Google to provide metrics such as impressions, clicks, and click-through rates, aggregated across features like AI Overviews and AI Mode.
When does Google have to comply with the UK rules?
Google must comply with the rules by December 3.
How will Google's compliance with the UK rules be monitored?
Google will have to submit a report to the Competition and Markets Authority by January 3, 2027, and the authority may require the company to publish a summary of the report.
