Google Search Console is generating a lot of buzz in mid-2026. And for good reason: Google is introducing two major updates that impact how brands measure their digital presence.
On one hand, Platform Properties now allow you to track the performance of content published on Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube directly within Search Console. On the other hand, a new performance report dedicated to generative AI now measures the visibility of your pages in AI Overviews and AI Mode. These two new features reinforce a fundamental trend: a brand’s visibility on Google is no longer limited to traditional search results pages. Now, social media content and AI-generated responses also play a role in how your business is discovered. Our digital experts explain what this means in practical terms for your digital strategy.
Your Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube content can now be tracked in Google
One of the main new features is the introduction of Platform Properties. Until now, Google Search Console primarily analyzed your website’s performance. Going forward, the tool can track performance metrics for content published on certain social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube), providing a much more comprehensive view of your digital visibility.
In practical terms, this means you can now see which Google searches display your social content, how many impressions and clicks they generate, and how these metrics have changed over time. Until now, businesses primarily analyzed their posts using the platforms’ native metrics: reach, engagement, views, or watch time. Now, a new perspective is possible: how does your social content actually contribute to your business’s visibility on Google?
For marketing managers and business leaders alike, this data helps identify the content that aligns with search intent, the formats that generate qualified visibility on Google, and the platforms that contribute most to brand discovery. The challenge is no longer just to measure the performance of a post on social media, but to understand which content generates genuine visibility on Google.
For a company, this information helps better guide marketing investments: strengthening formats that support brand awareness, repurposing content that addresses search queries, or, conversely, reevaluating content that generates engagement on social media without contributing to customer acquisition. For example, a TikTok video, an Instagram Reel, or a YouTube video that performs well on Google can be repurposed as a blog post, FAQ, or landing page to boost its organic visibility.
One thing to keep in mind: this new data does not replace the platforms’ native metrics. It complements them by offering a more comprehensive view of how your content contributes to your digital visibility.
Your results in Google’s generative AI are now available
Another major update to Search Console is the introduction of a performance report dedicated to results generated by artificial intelligence, particularly through AI Overviews and AI Mode. Until now, it was difficult to reliably measure whether content was included in Google’s AI-generated responses. Some third-party tools, such as Semrush or Google Analytics, already provided some clues, but only indirectly. This new report finally allows you to measure, using native signals, the impressions of your pages in these new search surfaces. In other words, you can now measure how many times your business has been mentioned in responses generated by Google’s artificial intelligence.
For marketing teams, this data is highly valuable because it helps identify the content that Google considers relevant, reliable, and well-structured enough to power its generative responses. Conversely, it also highlights content that needs to be strengthened or updated. A page that already ranks well in traditional SEO can thus gain additional visibility by being better structured to meet the criteria of AI-powered search engines: clear answers, logical structure, comprehensive coverage of a topic, strong expertise, and so on.
This trend aligns with a topic that’s been widely discussed in digital marketing: SEO reinforces GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Google is clear on this point: optimizing for generative AI search is equivalent to optimizing the search experience—and therefore to doing SEO. For years, SEO was primarily about improving rankings in search results. Now, the challenge is to become a reference source that Google chooses to use to build its generative responses. By 2026, SEO should therefore no longer be measured solely by rankings and traffic: AI visibility is becoming an important complementary metric. The new Search Console report makes this a bit more measurable by showing which pages are gaining exposure in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
A quick note: this report is being rolled out gradually and is not yet available for all sites. It should therefore be viewed as a new strategic metric that complements—rather than replaces—traditional SEO KPIs.
These two new features in Search Console show that a brand’s visibility is no longer limited to traditional search results pages. It is now built through a broader ecosystem, where SEO, social media, and artificial intelligence interact more and more closely.
At DJM digital, this holistic approach is at the heart of our support. We help companies build a cohesive digital strategy, where every digital lever—SEO, SEA, social media, UX/UI, and technical performance—contributes to sustainably enhancing your company’s visibility and growth.
Would you like to adapt your SEO strategy for the age of AI?
At DJM digital, we help businesses create high-value content tailored to both their audiences and new search engines. From defining your editorial strategy to writing SEO- and GEO-optimized content, we help you build lasting visibility and strengthen your market position.
Curious and creative, she loves to dive deep into brands to uncover their true essence — through words, visuals, and bold ideas. For her, great content is the one that makes people react, think, or smile.
