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How-To Guide · SEO

5 Google settings that decide whether you show up in AI search

A single Search Console setting can decide whether you appear as a source in Google's AI answers. Check it in 30 seconds.

Short answer

Google's AI features (AI Overviews, AI Mode and the generative AI features in Discover) can cite what's on your site as a source, but there's a setting that turns this off. If "Exclude" is selected under Settings > Generative AI in Search in Search Console, your site won't appear in these features at all, and you can't get impressions or traffic from them. The default is "Include"; someone with access to Search Console may have changed it. This setting doesn't affect your regular search rankings, and it doesn't affect AI training either (that's governed by Google-Extended). The five places to check: this setting, the generative AI performance report, the live test in URL Inspection, the preview tags on the page (nosnippet, max-snippet, noindex) and your Google Business Profile details. The information comes from Google Search Console Help and the Google Search Central blog (checked on October 20, 2026).

5 steps · 3 min read · · Turan Yasin Salcı

Step by step · 5 steps

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  1. Check the "Generative AI in Search" setting.

    In Search Console, open Settings > Generative AI in Search. There are two options: "Include" (the default) and "Exclude"; if there's a parent property above yours, "Inherit" may also appear. If "Exclude" is selected, your site won't appear in AI Overviews, AI Mode or the generative AI features in Discover, and you won't get impressions or traffic from them. If "Include" isn't selected, change it; the change usually takes effect in 1-2 days. This setting has been available on all sites since August 31, 2026. It doesn't affect your rankings or AI training.

  2. Open the generative AI performance report.

    This report in Search Console shows how many times you appeared in AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover's AI features, broken down by page, country and date. There's no click data yet, only impressions. Look at which pages appear; update the pages that matter to you but never appear. On sites with few impressions, the report may not show up at all; that's not an error.

  3. Run "Test live URL" in URL Inspection.

    Paste the address of an important page into the URL Inspection box at the top of Search Console and click "Test live URL." Google's basic technical requirements are three: Googlebot (Google's crawler) must not be blocked, the page must return HTTP 200 (meaning "the page exists and loads") and it must have indexable content.

  4. Check preview tags and noindex.

    nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet are tags that determine how much of your page Google can quote; noindex removes the page from search entirely. According to Google, the more restrictive these settings are, the more limited your content's visibility in AI experiences. They're often added automatically by an SEO plugin or the theme. Look for these words in the crawled page's HTML in URL Inspection or in the page source in your browser (Ctrl + U). A common misconception: a Google-Extended block in robots.txt doesn't remove you from AI Overviews; it only covers AI training.

  5. Update your Google Business Profile details.

    Google explicitly recommends keeping business details up to date for AI experiences: address, opening hours, services and photos. If you sell products, do the same check for your product information in Merchant Center.

How to measure it

If you changed the setting, wait 1-2 days, then check the generative AI performance report to see whether impressions have started or increased. Note the pages you updated and compare their impressions in the report a few weeks later. Since there's no click data yet, the metric for now is the number of impressions.

Sources

[A] primary source · [B] industry research · [C] practitioner · [D] our own data

Frequently asked questions

If I select "Exclude," will my Google rankings drop?

No. According to Google, this setting doesn't affect rankings; it only determines whether you appear in AI Overviews, AI Mode and the generative AI features in Discover.

If I block Google-Extended, will I be removed from AI Overviews?

No. Google-Extended only determines whether your content is used for AI training. Appearing in AI Overviews and AI Mode is governed by the "Generative AI in Search" setting in Search Console and by preview tags.

Does structured data (schema) help?

It does, but it must match the content visible on the page exactly; don't provide information only in the code that isn't written on the page. You can check whether it's read correctly with Google's Rich Results Test.

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