Search Console's Generative AI Report: How Hospitals and Clinics in India Should Read It (and Why Opting Out Is Usually a Mistake)

Your hospital's marketing head opens Google Search Console on a Monday morning. Impressions look fine. Clicks feel softer than last quarter. Somebody on the team says AI Overviews are "stealing" traffic, and another person asks whether you should flip the new Search generative AI control to Exclude.

That is the wrong first question.

Google has given site owners two related tools: a generative AI performance report that shows how often your pages appear inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, and a Search generative AI control that can pull your site out of those features. Both rolled out to all websites worldwide as of 31 August 2026. For hospitals and clinics in India, the useful work is learning how the numbers are counted, what the Web performance report already includes, and why opting out usually hands visibility to someone else's site.

Quick answer: Search Console's generative AI report counts impressions when links to your site appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. It breaks those impressions down by page, country, device and date. It does not currently show separate AI Overview vs AI Mode metrics, queries, clicks, CTR or average position. AI-related clicks still sit inside the normal Web performance report. Most hospitals should keep the default "Include" setting, improve the pages that already earn AI impressions, and use nosnippet or noindex only for pages that must stay out of previews.

What Google's generative AI report actually shows

Google's Search Central blog introduced dedicated Search Generative AI performance reports in June 2026, and confirmed a worldwide rollout by 31 August 2026. The Search report covers generative AI features on Google Search. A separate Discover report covers generative AI features in Discover.

For Search, Google says the report includes impressions from:

1. AI Overviews
2. AI Mode

It does not include Search Labs experiments. Discover generative AI has its own report.

An impression here means a link to your site was shown to a user inside one of those generative AI features. On the chart, if two results from your hospital appeared in the same generative AI experience, they still count as one property-level impression. In the Pages table, data is aggregated by page (usually the canonical URL).

You can slice the table by:

1. Pages – which URLs appear as supporting links
2. Countries – where the search came from (useful for India vs Gulf NRI traffic)
3. Devices – desktop, tablet or mobile
4. Dates – daily, weekly or monthly (Pacific Time, same as the main performance report)

You can also filter by search type: Web text-based vs Web multimodal (Lens, Circle to Search, uploaded images, Chrome image search).

Key takeaways

1. The generative AI report is an impressions report for AI Overviews and AI Mode combined.
2. It does not currently give clicks, CTR, queries or a split between AI Overviews and AI Mode.
3. Those AI appearances are also rolled into the overall Web performance report.

How AI impressions relate to the normal Web performance report

Google's AI features documentation is clear: sites appearing in AI Overviews and AI Mode are included in overall search traffic in Search Console, inside the Performance report under the Web search type.

That means:

1. If a patient sees your cardiology page cited inside an AI Overview and taps the link, that click is counted in the standard Web performance report.
2. The generative AI report is a dedicated view of visibility inside those AI surfaces, mainly as impressions.
3. You should not expect the generative AI report to reconcile one-for-one with a "missing clicks" story. It was not built as a full AI funnel dashboard.

Industry coverage (for example Search Engine Journal's explainers on how to read AI impressions) has been consistent that this first generation of reporting is about presence, not a complete conversion path. Treat the generative AI chart as a visibility radar. Treat GA4 and call tracking as the place where appointments, form fills and phone calls live.

For a hospital in Hyderabad, Vizag or Vijayawada, a practical weekly routine looks like this:

1. Open the generative AI report, last 28 days, Countries = India.
2. Note the top 20 pages by AI impressions.
3. Compare those URLs in the Web performance report (clicks, CTR, queries if available) and in GA4 (engaged sessions, key events).
4. Ask clinical and front-desk teams which of those pages already drive OPD or enquiry calls.

You will usually find that service pages, doctor profile hubs, condition explainers and location pages dominate AI impressions — not thin "best hospital in [area]" posts.

Why most hospitals should not opt out of generative AI features

Under Settings → Search generative AI, Search Console now offers:

1. Include my site's links and content in Search generative AI features (default)
2. Exclude my site's links and content from Search generative AI features
3. Inherit from a parent property (when relevant)

Exclude means your pages will not appear as links in AI Overviews, AI Mode or generative AI features in Discover, and your content will not help ground those responses. Google says you will not receive traffic or impressions from those features. Importantly, Google also says this control is not used as a ranking signal for the rest of Search, does not replace Google-Extended (which is about AI training), and does not replace noindex.

So why do so many hospital marketers feel tempted to exclude?

Because AI Overviews sit above classic results on many health queries, and organic CTR on informational questions has felt weaker. That pain is real. Opting out does not remove the AI answer. It only removes your hospital from the set of sites that can be cited. Another hospital, aggregator or health publisher will still be eligible. Patients still see a summary. You simply stop being part of it.

Google's AI features guidance also reminds site owners that the SEO fundamentals have not changed: helpful content, crawlability, good page experience, text that is actually on the page, accurate structured data, and up-to-date Business Profile details. There is no special schema required to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.

For YMYL healthcare sites, staying included is usually the better default because:

1. Patients still click supporting links when they want a doctor, a location, a price range or a booking path.
2. Being cited builds brand trust even when the first click does not convert.
3. Your medically reviewed pages can displace weaker sources if they are clear, current and attributable.
4. Exclude is a blunt, property-level switch. Page-level generative controls are still limited; industry reporting has noted further page-level options under longer regulatory timelines. Do not burn the whole site because one FAQ page feels over-exposed.

Use finer tools when you need them:

1. nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex for specific pages that must not be previewed
2. Google-Extended if your concern is model training rather than Search AI features
3. Strong medical review and honest bylines so AI systems and patients meet accurate content (see our related guide on Google's AI content rules for healthcare websites)

A practical checklist for hospital and clinic SEO teams

1. Confirm you can see the report

If the generative AI report is empty, Google usually says the site has not received enough generative AI impressions yet — or that the site has been excluded. Check Settings → Search generative AI before you panic.

2. Benchmark India mobile first

Filter Countries = India and Devices = Mobile. That is how most patients search for symptoms, doctors and OPD timings.

3. Build an "AI-visible pages" list

Export the Pages table. Tag each URL: service, condition, doctor, location, blog, transactional (appointment / contact). Prioritise medical accuracy reviews on the top impression URLs.

4. Align content with how AI features work

Google notes that AI Overviews and AI Mode may use query fan-out — multiple related searches — and that AI Overviews only show when the system thinks they add value. Write pages that answer a clear question, name the speciality, list what patients should bring, and link to booking. Avoid vague marketing copy with no clinical specificity.

5. Keep classic technical SEO healthy

robots.txt must allow Googlebot. Important content must be in text, not trapped in images or PDFs alone. Internal links should make service and doctor pages easy to find. Structured data must match visible text.

6. Do not confuse Exclude with Google-Extended

Exclude removes you from Search generative AI features. Google-Extended is a separate crawler control aimed at training and grounding in some other Google systems. Read both docs before anyone toggles either.

7. Measure outcomes beyond impressions

Connect Search Console with GA4, call tracking and your hospital CRM or HIS enquiry log. An AI impression that leads to a high-quality session and a booked slot is a win, even if overall informational CTR is down.

8. Revisit Exclude only with evidence

If after 60–90 days you see AI impressions with no associated quality traffic, and legal or brand risk is high for specific content types, consider page-level preview controls first. Full-site Exclude should be a last resort, documented, with a review date.

How Pengwin helps hospitals read AI search properly

Pengwin Solutions is an AI-based performance marketing, SEO, website and app development company founded in 2019, with teams in Hyderabad and Vizag (and work across Vijayawada and coastal Andhra). For hospitals and clinics we combine Search Console and GA4 reviews with healthcare content audits, medical-review workflows and landing pages that lead to real appointments — not vanity rankings.

If your team is staring at the new generative AI report and arguing about the Exclude toggle, we can set up the weekly reading rhythm, fix the pages that already appear in AI features, and connect that work to SEO services and healthcare digital solutions. Related reading on our site: how to optimise content for AI Overviews and LLMs, Google's AI content guidelines for healthcare websites, and personal branding and proof of experience in SEO.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Search Console generative AI report?

It is a Search Console report that shows how often links to your site appear in generative AI features on Google Search, currently AI Overviews and AI Mode. It includes impressions by page, country, device and date.

Does the report show clicks from AI Overviews?

Not as a separate AI click metric in the generative AI report. Google includes AI-feature traffic in the overall Web performance report. The dedicated generative AI view is focused on impressions and where those appearances come from.

When did the report roll out worldwide?

Google's documentation notes that as of 31 August 2026 the generative AI performance insights and the Search generative AI control rolled out to all websites worldwide, after a phased start in June 2026.

Should hospitals opt out of Search generative AI features?

Usually no. Opting out removes your site from AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover generative AI features, but does not remove the AI answer itself. Another source can still be cited. Most hospitals are better served by improving citable pages and keeping the default Include setting.

Will opting out hurt my normal Google rankings?

Google states that the Search generative AI control is not used as a ranking or inclusion signal for other parts of Search. It also does not replace noindex or Google-Extended.

How should a clinic in India use the report each month?

Filter to India and mobile, export top pages by AI impressions, have a clinician review the medical claims on those URLs, improve booking paths, and compare sessions and enquiries in GA4. Review the Exclude setting only if you have a documented risk reason.

Need help reading your hospital's Search Console AI report?

Call +91 90326 18332, email hello@pengwinsolutions.com, or contact Pengwin Solutions for a free Search Console generative AI and healthcare SEO review.