Google Search Console’s Performance report just became significantly easier to use. As of February 2026, an AI-powered configuration feature is now available to all Search Console users — moving out of its limited beta and rolling out globally.
The feature lets you describe what you want to analyse in plain English, and the AI handles the filter setup, date range configuration, and metric selection automatically. If you’ve ever spent five minutes clicking through menus to answer a simple question about your organic traffic, this is a meaningful change.
Here’s everything you need to know: what the Google Search Console AI feature does, how to use it effectively, and where its current limitations sit.
What Is the Google Search Console AI Configuration Feature?
The AI configuration feature is built into the Performance report in Google Search Console. Instead of manually setting filters — by query, page, country, device, search appearance, or date range — you can now type a natural language query into the feature’s input field, and the AI interprets your request and applies the appropriate configuration automatically.
The feature handles three main actions:
- Applying filters — by query keyword, page URL pattern, country, device type, or search appearance
- Configuring comparisons — including custom date ranges and period-over-period comparisons without manual setup
- Selecting metrics — from the four available options: Clicks, Impressions, Average CTR, and Average Position
The result is a faster path from question to data, particularly for multi-dimensional queries that would previously require layering several filters simultaneously.
How to Use It: Natural Language Query Examples
The best way to understand the feature’s capability is through examples. Google has confirmed the following types of queries work with the AI configuration:
Device-specific keyword analysis
“Show me queries on phone searches that contain the word ‘sports’ in the last 6 months”
What the AI does: applies a mobile device filter, a query keyword contains filter, and a 6-month date range automatically.
Page-level year-over-year comparison
“Compare traffic for my pages that contain ‘/blog’ in this quarter to the same quarter last year”
What the AI does: sets a URL pattern filter, configures a current-quarter date range, and adds an automatic year-over-year comparison — a configuration that previously required navigating a separate comparison setup flow.
Geographic performance by specific metrics
“Show me the Average CTR and Average Position of my queries in Spain in the last 28 days”
What the AI does: selects only the CTR and Position metrics (rather than the default all-metrics view), applies a Spain country filter, and sets a 28-day date range.
Simple URL-based click filtering
“Show clicks for pages that include the word ‘google'”
What the AI does: sets a URL contains filter and displays only the Clicks metric.
These examples illustrate the feature’s sweet spot: queries that combine two or more filter dimensions that would normally require multiple manual steps to configure.
Current Limitations You Need to Know
The AI configuration feature is useful, but it has real constraints that affect how much you can rely on it in a professional workflow.
Search results only — not Discover or News
The feature currently works only within the Search results tab of the Performance report. If your site receives significant traffic from Google Discover or Google News, those reports are not yet supported. This is a meaningful gap for publishers and content-heavy sites.
AI can misinterpret queries
Google explicitly notes that the AI may misinterpret requests. Ambiguous phrasing, overlapping filter conditions, or edge-case queries can result in incorrect filters being applied. Always review the filter configuration the AI generates before treating the data as reliable — especially before sharing it in reports or using it for decisions.
No sorting or data export
The feature configures what you see in the Performance report, but it cannot sort the data table by column or export results to a spreadsheet. These actions still require manual steps after the AI applies its configuration.
Gradual rollout
While the full rollout was announced in February 2026, gradual rollouts mean some accounts may see the feature before others. If it’s not yet visible in your account, check back over the following weeks.
How to Get the Most Out of It
- Be specific in your queries — include the metric, filter dimension, and date range explicitly. Vague queries produce vague configurations.
- Always verify filters after the AI applies them — check the filter bar to confirm the configuration matches your intent before reading the data.
- Use it for exploratory analysis — it’s particularly valuable when a quick question comes up mid-discussion and you need a fast answer without building filters from scratch.
- Combine it with manual analysis for reporting — use the AI to configure the view, then sort and export data manually for client-facing reports.
- Stick to Search results queries for now — don’t try to apply it to Discover or News traffic until support is confirmed.
Key Takeaways
- Google Search Console’s AI configuration feature is now available to all users as of February 2026.
- It accepts natural language queries and automatically applies filters, date comparisons, and metric selection in the Performance report.
- It supports Search results data only — Discover and News are not yet included.
- Always verify the AI’s filter output before relying on the data.
- Sorting and data export still require manual steps after AI configuration.
FAQs
- Is the AI configuration feature free to use?
Yes. It’s part of Google Search Console, which is a free tool. No paid plan or Google Ads account is required to access it. - Can the AI feature access all of my Search Console data?
It currently accesses data only within the Performance report’s Search results tab. Discover, News, and other report types are not yet supported by the AI configuration feature. - What should I do if the AI applies the wrong filters?
Google recommends verifying the filter configuration manually after each AI-generated query. If the filters are incorrect, you can adjust them manually in the filter bar — the AI configuration is a starting point, not a locked output. - Can I use this for client reporting?
The AI is useful for configuring the view quickly, but since it doesn’t support data export, you’ll still need to download data manually for client reports. Use it to speed up the data-finding step, then export and format the results through the standard export function.