Short answer
Google's search advocate has confirmed that Search Console records AI-generated overviews as a single block and gives every link inside the same top position. This makes the classic average position metric misleading for AI search. Experts now recommend looking at real outcomes such as visits and conversions rather than rankings.
Highlights
- Search Console counts an AI Overview box as a single block; every link inside the box is given the same top position (position 1).
- According to Seer Interactive research, click-through rate on AI Overviews fell by 61%.
- According to a field study, an AI Overview at the top of the page reduces clicks on standard results by around 38%.
- AI Overviews appear in 21% of searches.
2 min read
Google Search Advocate John Mueller acknowledged in a Reddit discussion that Search Console cannot accurately report AI-powered search results. According to Search Engine Journal, Mueller said traditional rank tracking for AI features is 'hard to do in a way that is useful'.
What does 'block flattening' mean?
Instead of looking at the position of each individual link inside an AI Overview box, Search Console treats the whole box as a single block. Because AI Overviews usually appear above the organic results, the entire box counts as position 1: the most visible link in the box and a link hidden behind the 'Show more' menu both appear in reports with the same top position. According to Seer Interactive research, this distortion coincides with a 61% drop in click-through rate on AI Overviews; a field study found that an AI Overview at the top of the page reduces clicks on standard organic results by around 38%, and that AI Overviews appear in 21% of searches.
What should SEO teams look at now?
Mueller's advice is to stop trying to fit results onto the old 1-to-10 ranking scale. The analysis in Search Engine Journal suggests focusing, instead of a ranking number, on whether the brand is mentioned in the AI answer (yes/no) and on outcomes such as actual site visits, form submissions and conversions, which are not affected by the distortion in impression-counting rules.
What does it mean in practice?
An optimistic picture in the rankings table can give clients or management a false sense of confidence.
- Do not treat the 'average position' report in Search Console as a standalone measure of success for queries that include an AI Overview; cross-check it against visit and conversion data.
- Track traffic from AI Overviews in a separate segment in your analytics tool; do not mix it with classic organic traffic.
- In monthly reporting to clients or management, replace 'rankings' with 'is the brand mentioned in AI answers' and 'visits/conversions from this channel'.
Frequently asked
- Is the AI Overview position in Search Console completely useless now?
- Not entirely; it can be used to confirm that a page appears in an AI Overview. But equating the position number with real visibility or click potential is misleading, because all links inside the box are recorded with the same top position.
Sources
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