Google confirms Search Console AI-report drop was a logging bug
Google Search Console's Generative AI and Discover performance reports broke from a logging bug starting August 13, 2026. Google confirmed the cause, but the numbers only appeared to recover on August 20, and Google has not officially closed the incident.
Guilherme Hortinha · 18 August 2026
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A logging bug broke two Google Search Console reports starting August 13, 2026, and Google confirmed the underlying AI-visibility numbers did not actually change.
What broke
The Generative AI performance report in Search Console showed impressions falling starting around August 12 and 13. That report has never tracked clicks, so click data was never part of this incident there.
A day after its first anomaly-page entry, Google logged a second one: the Discover performance report lost clicks and impressions for August 13 data, and for properties with Generative AI features in Discover, impressions dropped there too.
Site owners flagged the pattern independently on X, Bluesky, LinkedIn and Google's Webmaster forums before Google acknowledged it publicly.
Google's confirmation
John Mueller confirmed the cause on Bluesky: "we're aware of this issue and working on resolving it. This is just a logging issue and not representative of visibility changes in Search." Google's data-anomalies page recorded the same conclusion for both incidents: the drops were logging errors, and actual performance had not changed.
What's still open
Google's anomalies page listed the Generative AI in Search entry as ongoing and did not add a resolution note. The only sign the numbers recovered is an August 20 observation from Search Engine Roundtable's Barry Schwartz, who reported the Generative AI performance report "seems to have bounced back on impressions." That's an outside read. Google has not confirmed a fix on the record.
What to do with reports from this window
Treat AI Overview impressions or Discover-with-AI impressions logged between August 13 and August 20 as an artifact of the logging error. They don't show whether a site's real presence in Google's generative results changed. Don't benchmark against that window, and don't credit or blame a content change for a swing that falls inside it. Check the anomalies page for an official close before trusting new numbers again.
Frequently asked questions
Did this affect click data in the Generative AI performance report?+
No. The Generative AI performance report only tracks impressions. The click and impression drop in the regular Search performance report and the Discover performance report were separate, related incidents Google logged for August 13 data.
Is the issue officially resolved?+
Google's data-anomalies page listed the Generative AI in Search incident as ongoing, with no resolution note on record. The only report of recovery is Search Engine Roundtable's August 20 observation that impressions bounced back, made by Barry Schwartz, not by Google.
What date marks the start of the bad data?+
August 13, 2026, for both the Generative AI in Search anomaly and the Discover performance report anomaly, per Google's own data-anomalies page entries.
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Co-founder & Head of AI Innovation, Index Lab
Guilherme co-founded Index Lab, an AEO/GEO agency that makes brands the answer AI gives across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, taking clients from zero AI visibility to top recommendations.
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