Google Search Console Is Giving Us Better Insight Into AI Search Visibility
- Matthew Dorrington
- 8 hours ago
- 4 min read
Search is changing quickly.
For years, SEO reporting has largely revolved around familiar metrics: rankings, organic clicks, impressions, conversions and traffic from traditional Google search results.
But as Google increasingly incorporates generative AI into the search experience, businesses need to understand a much wider question:
Is our brand actually appearing when people use AI-powered search?
Recent developments in Google Search Console are starting to give marketers greater visibility into impressions generated through these newer search experiences.
For us at Tootle Works, that is particularly exciting because AI search visibility has already been part of our SEO strategy for clients for the past year or so.
Want to understand how visible your business is in AI search? Our AI SEO services are designed to improve how your business is understood, referenced and surfaced across AI-powered search experiences alongside traditional Google search.
SEO Is No Longer Just About Traditional Google Rankings
Ranking on page one of Google still matters enormously.
But the way people search is evolving.
Users are increasingly receiving answers directly within AI-generated search experiences rather than simply being presented with a list of websites to visit.
That means SEO strategies need to consider more than where a website ranks for a particular keyword.
We also need to ask:
Is Google able to clearly understand the business?
Does the website demonstrate genuine expertise and authority?
Is its content structured in a way that search engines and AI systems can easily interpret?
Is the brand being mentioned and referenced across authoritative websites?
Does the website properly answer the questions customers are actually asking?
These are areas we've increasingly incorporated into the SEO campaigns we manage.
We've Been Optimising for AI Search Visibility for Over a Year
AI optimisation isn't necessarily about abandoning traditional SEO and starting again.
In many cases, the fundamentals overlap.
Over the past year, we've been helping clients improve their likelihood of appearing within AI-driven search results by focusing on areas including high-quality content, topical authority, structured data, internal linking, relevant backlinks and stronger brand signals.
We've also increasingly looked beyond individual keywords.
Instead, we build content around complete topics.
For example, rather than creating one page targeting a single commercial keyword, we might develop supporting articles answering related questions, link those resources together and strengthen the overall authority of the main service page.
This helps traditional SEO, but it can also make it easier for search engines and AI systems to understand what a business does and where its expertise sits.
Could Your Business Be Appearing More Often in AI Results?
If you're already investing in SEO, there may be opportunities to adapt your existing website and content strategy for AI search without starting from scratch.
Our AI SEO services combine traditional SEO with content, technical optimisation, authority building and AI-search-focused strategies designed to increase your visibility across the changing search landscape.
The Reporting Has Been the Difficult Part
One of the biggest challenges with AI search optimisation has been demonstrating its impact.
Traditional SEO is relatively straightforward to report.
We can show a client that their keyword has moved from position 15 to position four. We can demonstrate increases in Search Console impressions, organic traffic and enquiries.
AI visibility has historically been much harder to measure.
We've been able to identify examples of clients appearing within AI-generated answers and track referral traffic from platforms such as ChatGPT, but obtaining consistent reporting across the wider AI search ecosystem has remained difficult.
That's why increased visibility within Google Search Console is so important.
It begins to give SEO professionals another layer of data when evaluating how brands perform within modern search.
What Does This Mean for Businesses?
Businesses shouldn't suddenly stop caring about traditional Google rankings.
Quite the opposite.
Strong technical SEO, useful content, authoritative backlinks and a well-structured website remain extremely important.
But businesses should begin looking at their organic visibility more broadly.
Someone researching your services might discover you through:
Google search.
An AI-generated Google result.
ChatGPT.
Another AI assistant.
A comparison article.
A Reddit discussion.
An industry publication.
The goal should increasingly be to make sure your business is visible wherever your potential customers are researching their problem.
AI Search Optimisation Is Becoming Part of SEO
We don't see AI optimisation as an entirely separate marketing discipline.
Increasingly, it's simply becoming another part of good SEO.
The websites most likely to succeed are those providing genuinely useful information, demonstrating clear expertise and giving search engines enough context to confidently understand who they are, what they offer and which subjects they have authority around.
The exciting part is that reporting tools are beginning to catch up with that change.
For businesses investing in SEO, that should mean greater transparency around where their visibility is coming from and a better understanding of how search behaviour is evolving.
At Tootle Works, we'll continue developing AI search visibility alongside traditional SEO and incorporating this additional data into the way we analyse and report client performance.
Search isn't disappearing.
It's becoming broader and SEO needs to evolve with it.
Want to Improve Your Visibility in AI Search?
If you want your business to have a better chance of appearing when potential customers use Google AI results, ChatGPT and other AI-powered search platforms, we can help.
Our AI SEO services focus on building the content, authority, technical foundations and brand signals needed to compete in both traditional and AI-driven search.
Or get in touch with Tootle Works and we'll take a look at where your business currently stands and the opportunities available to improve your AI search visibility.
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