/gsc-ai-performance

name: gsc-ai-performance
description: "Query and interpret the new Google Search Console AI Performance Report (AI Overviews + AI Mode impressions/pages/countries/devices/dates). Use when: baselining AI search visibility, reading the new GSC AI report, or configuring the in-Search-Console AI opt-out toggle."
argument-hint: "[brand-name or site URL]"

/digital-marketing-pro:gsc-ai-performance

Purpose

Google rolled out a new **GSC AI Performance Report** on **3 June 2026** ([Search Engine Land announcement](https://searchengineland.com/google-search-console-ai-performance-reports-and-controls-to-block-your-content-in-ai-responses-479298)) covering both AI Overviews and AI Mode in a single combined surface. This skill helps you (a) baseline a brand's visibility in the new report, (b) understand the metric trade-offs, and (c) decide whether to use the new in-SC opt-out toggle.

What is genuinely new (3 June 2026)

| Metric / surface | Status | |---|---| | Combined AI Overviews + AI Mode impressions | NEW — one report for both surfaces | | Pages cited (per query group) | NEW | | Country breakdown | NEW | | Device breakdown | NEW | | Date range filtering | NEW | | **Click data** | **NOT INCLUDED** (Google explicitly excluded — important caveat for attribution) | | Opt-out toggle in Search Console | NEW (replaces having to ship robots.txt / meta tags for AI-specific exclusion) | | API surface | **NOT YET PUBLISHED** — UI only (still true as of July 2026) | | **Discover generative surfaces** | **NEW (June–July 2026)** — the report family now also covers generative AI features in Discover ([Google announcement](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports)) | | Data availability | Backfilled from **18 May 2026**; access expanded broadly in July 2026, with a companion deep-dive help doc on AI controls | | Geographic rollout | UK first, then global ([source](https://searchengineland.com/google-search-console-ai-performance-reports-and-controls-to-block-your-content-in-ai-responses-479298)) |

**Critical interpretation guidance:** The report shows when your pages were SHOWN in AI Overviews / AI Mode, not when users clicked through to them. Because click data is absent, all downstream attribution to AI traffic must come from your analytics (GA4's new `AI Assistant` channel — added 13 May 2026 — is the matching analytics-side surface; see `/digital-marketing-pro:analytics-insights`).

When to use this skill

• Setting baseline AI visibility for a new brand (first 30-day capture of AI Overview + AI Mode impressions)
• Comparing brand AI visibility against `aeo-audit` synthetic results — the GSC report shows ACTUAL impressions vs `aeo-audit`'s probe queries
• Deciding whether to flip the in-SC AI opt-out toggle for a brand (regulated industry, brand-safety concern, or paywall/login content)
• Quarterly business review evidence — "AI search impressions grew X%" using authoritative Google data

Brand context (auto-applied)

1. Read `~/.claude-marketing/brands/_active-brand.json` for the active slug, then load `~/.claude-marketing/brands/{slug}/profile.json` 2. If no brand exists: ask "Set up a brand first (/digital-marketing-pro:brand-setup)?" — or proceed with defaults 3. Apply industry-specific guidance from `skills/context-engine/industry-profiles.md` (YMYL industries may want opt-out toggled ON until E-E-A-T audit is clean) 4. Reference `skills/context-engine/compliance-rules.md` for jurisdiction-specific rules (EU markets — see `skills/context-engine/eu-code-of-practice.md` for Article 50 transparency context)

Numbered output convention

All outputs go to `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/{brand}/seo/gsc-ai-performance/{YYYY-MM-DD}/`:

00-input.md                  brand domain, GSC access status, UK-cohort flag, date range
01-access-check.md           verification result; if no access, instructions for adding the user
02-export.csv                raw CSV export from GSC (preserved for reproducibility)
03-script-output.json        gsc-ai-performance.py parsed output (impressions, pages, countries, devices)
04-reconciliation.md         vs aeo-audit synthetic probe results — gap analysis
05-opt-out-decision.md       y/n on the in-SC opt-out toggle, with rationale
06-quality-scorecard.md      the gates below
PLAN.md                      single-page summary with tracking cadence

Quality scorecard

| Gate | What it checks | |---|---| | **gsc_access_verified** | User has confirmed Search Console verified ownership for the brand domain | | **export_completeness** | CSV has ≥ 1 day of data + at minimum the impressions column | | **cohort_documented** | `00-input.md` notes whether the brand is in the UK rollout (data live) or pending global rollout (no data yet — wait) | | **reconciliation_done** | `04-reconciliation.md` cross-references against the brand's most recent aeo-audit |

If the brand isn't in the UK rollout yet, the gate framework still applies but `export_completeness` will be `fail` until Google rolls out globally — that's expected, not a regression.

Chain handoffs

• **Upstream:** `/digital-marketing-pro:brand-setup` for property verification
• **Downstream:**
• `/digital-marketing-pro:aeo-geo` — optimization based on what's surfacing (or not)
• `/digital-marketing-pro:seo-drift` — month-over-month tracking using the exported CSVs
• `/digital-marketing-pro:analytics-insights` — GA4 AI Assistant channel attribution closes the click-side gap

Process

1. **Access check** — confirm the user has Google Search Console verified access for the brand's domain. If the brand is in the UK rollout cohort, the report is live; otherwise it will appear when global rollout reaches them. 2. **Locate the report** — Search Console → left nav → **Performance** → switch tab to **Search results** → look for the new **AI Overviews & AI Mode** tab (the tab title may vary slightly during rollout; Google's working name during testing was "Search Gen