In July 2026, Google began testing an AI Performance Insights reporting feature with select Merchant Center accounts within the US.
| INFO: For now, Google AI Performance Insights reporting is limited to the US, but expansion to Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand is expected in the coming months. |
This new reporting feauture will enable users of Google’s Merchant Center to track product discoverability within AI Overviews and Google AI Mode.
According to Google, AI Performance reporting will support marketers in understanding “how your brands show up in conversational results, evaluate your visibility across different phases of the shopping journey, and view trends to help optimize your product data.”
The official AI Performance Insights page can be found here.
What does AI Performance Insights really mean for marketers?
This move represents increasing transparency from Google about how brands show up within their generative AI ecosystem.
Resultingly, this presents a great opportunity for brands to fully evaluate shopping journey visibility, while optimising product data in response.
Franziska Dau, Expert Lead SEO at Peak Ace, emphasised the potential change this marks for advertisters:
“Google just turned AI visibility into something you can actually manage. With AI performance insights in Merchant Center, brands get a transparent view of how they surface in AI Overviews and AI Mode and crucially, which conversational shopping terms and product attributes drive that exposure”
How does Google AI Performance Insights Work?
Google’s new AI Performance Insights reporting works by comparing your brand’s share of voice against competitors.
The new reporting feature focuses on conversational search queries with shopping intent, while providing additional metrics such as and competitors’ average share, and query frequency and query type.
Reports also include actionable trends and recommendations to enhance product visibility.
FAQ: Google AI Performance Insights Reporting in Merchant Center
What are AI Performance Insights in Google Merchant Center?
AI Performance Insights is a new reporting feature within Google Merchant Center that provides a transparent view of how a brand is discovered across Google’s generative AI ecosystem – specifically in AI Mode and AI Overviews.
Who currently has access to AI Performance Insights?
The feature is currently in a limited pilot with a select number of Merchant Center accounts in the US. Google plans to expand access more broadly, with rollouts to Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand expected in the coming months.
How can users access the AI Performance Insights report?
To access the dashboard, users need to log into Google Merchant Center, navigate to the Analytics tab in the left-hand navigation panel, select Products, and then choose the AI performance tab at the top of the page. The report will only be visible to accounts that have been granted access during the pilot phase.
What metrics does the AI Performance Insights report include?
The report includes several key metrics:
- Share of voice: The percentage of AI impressions captured by a brand compared to competitors.
- Competitors’ average share: The share of voice captured by a defined competitor set, helping brands evaluate whether their visibility is above or below the market standard.
- Query frequency: A representation of how popular specific query types, product terms, or product attributes have been – highlighting overall consumer demand.
- Query type: Indicates the type of query used by customers (e.g. search by category, research product specs, looking for reviews).
What types of queries does the report cover?
The insights focus exclusively on conversational search queries with shopping intent and brand-related queries. Anything outside of this scope isn’t factored into the report.
Does the report include paid ads traffic?
No. The current data is strictly limited to Organic AI traffic (e.g. free listings) on AI experiences. Paid Ads traffic isn’t included in this report.
What filters are available in the report?
Users can filter data by product category, time period, country (where eligible for AI Performance Insights), and traffic type. It’s worth noting there isn’t a single report that encompasses all product categories – users need to filter by individual category.
What are the shopping journey phases covered in the report?
The report classifies conversational queries into three core shopping journey phases:
- Discovery: Early-stage intents where users explore general product options.
- Evaluation: Middle-stage intents where users compare options or seek specifications.
- Purchase: Late-stage intents close to a transaction.
Does the AI Performance Insights report provide optimisation recommendations?
Yes. The report includes actionable trends and recommendations, such as frequently used AI shopping terms (e.g. “maximum cushioning” or “arch support”) and popular product attributes (e.g. size, colour, material) that may be missing from product data sources. These insights intend to help brands identify where to enhance their product titles, descriptions, and structured data.
Can users change their competitors in the AI Performance Insights report?
No. Competitors can’t be manually changed. They are defined by the existing competitor set available in Merchant Center.
What happens if there’s insufficient data?
If a brand lacks sufficient impressions, the share of voice metric will display as 0. If an account doesn’t have defined competitors in Merchant Center, the share of voice will show as 100%, indicating there are no competitors for AI Performance Insights.
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