In 2026, Google Search Console (GSC) — the essential tool for monitoring website performance in Google Search — expanded its capabilities and introduced notable updates focused on AI integration, performance insights, data simplification, and structured data evolution. These changes reflect Google’s broader shift toward AI-powered search, more intuitive analytics, and streamlined reporting workflows. Whether you’re an SEO professional, a webmaster, or a content creator, understanding these updates is key to staying competitive in organic search.
This article breaks down everything you need to know about the latest 2026 Search Console updates — from the new AI-powered configuration tools to the structured data changes rolling out this year.
1. AI-Powered Configuration: The Big Leap in Search Console
What It Is
One of the most impactful updates in late 2025 and early 2026 is the introduction of AI-powered configuration in Search Console’s Performance reports. Rather than manually adjusting filters and settings, users can now type natural language queries — such as:
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“Show clicks from mobile in the last 30 days”
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“Compare impressions for blog vs product pages”
… and Google’s AI interprets the instruction, automatically setting appropriate filters, date ranges, and metrics.
How AI Configuration Works
This feature was designed to cut down the time and effort required to build a custom Performance report. Rather than clicking through toggles or dropdowns, users simply describe what they want to analyze — the AI interprets these instructions and returns a ready-to-use report configuration.
It works across three main elements:
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Filters — Narrow data by query, country, device, page or search type.
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Comparisons — Set up date comparisons or segment distinctions automatically.
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Metrics — Select relevant metrics like clicks, impressions, CTR, and position without manual setup.
Benefits for SEO Professionals
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Speeds up deep analysis without manual configuration.
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Makes advanced reporting accessible to less technical users.
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Helps uncover trends and opportunities quickly.
Limitations (Early Stage)
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Currently limited to the Performance (Search results) report.
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May occasionally misinterpret a request, requiring manual verification.
This marks one of the biggest user-experience improvements in Search Console in years, effectively bringing an AI-assisted workflow directly into core analytics.
2. Search Console Insights Fully Integrated
Previously beta and separate, Search Console Insights was fully integrated into the main GSC dashboard in 2025, with continued emphasis into 2026. This report designed for bloggers, small site owners, and publishers makes performance data easier to access.
What’s Included in Insights
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Performance summaries — Total clicks, impressions, and trends.
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Top pages — Pages trending up and down.
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Trending queries — Queries gaining traction.
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User-friendly visualization — Designed for non-technical users.
Why It Matters
This unified report makes it easier for creators to understand which pages and queries are driving traffic without digging through complex datasets. The goal is to improve content optimization and editorial decision-making by highlighting opportunities and performance patterns more naturally.
3. Structured Data Changes in 2026
Google has also revised its support for certain structured data types. As part of a broader effort to simplify the search results page and improve search speed, some lower-value structured data types are being phased out in 2026 from both Google Search and Search Console reporting.
What’s Being Phased Out
Starting January 2026, support for specific structured data — particularly practice problem markup and a few lesser-used schemas — was removed from Search Console and its API. This means:
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These structured data types will no longer show in Search Console reports.
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Rich result generation for these schema types can stop appearing in search results.
Areas Still Supported
Core schema types that drive rich results — like:
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Article
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Product
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Breadcrumb
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FAQ
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VideoObject
… continue to be supported and remain important for enhanced SERP features.
What Webmasters Should Do
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Audit your structured data with Google’s Rich Results Test.
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Keep up-to-date with Search Console documentation on supported schema.
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Phase out deprecated markups and focus on supported formats.
This change helps streamline Search Console reporting and aligns structured data usage with widespread adoption and SEO value.
4. Performance Reporting Enhancements
Beyond AI configuration, Google also expanded Performance reporting capabilities. These include:
1. Weekly & Monthly Views
Previously limited to daily 24-hour views, Performance reports now allow weekly and monthly aggregation — making longer-term performance trends easier to analyze.
This reduces reliance on external tools for longitudinal analysis and provides better context for SEO planning.
2. Branded Queries Filter
A new filter identifies and separates traffic from branded vs. non-branded queries, powered by AI. This helps site owners see how much organic traffic comes from brand recognition versus discovery.
3. Query Groups
Expanding on previous rollout, Query Groups clusters similar user intent — grouping related question formats, semantically similar queries, and aligned themes. This simplifies intent analysis and helps SEO teams prioritize content that serves broader user needs.
5. API & Tooling Changes Affecting Search Console Users
While the GSC interface evolves, supporting tools and APIs are also seeing changes:
1. Removal of Structured Data API Support
Support for some structured data types in the Search Console API has been removed. This primarily affects reporting and automated workflows relying on deprecated schema types.
2. Third-Party Tool Enhancements
Developer tools like search-console-mcp (Multi-Connector Pipeline) have seen upgrades that improve performance and integration:
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Supports both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools in unified workflows.
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Now integrates Google Analytics 4 data alongside GSC in a single pipeline, enabling richer SEO + user engagement analysis.
These enhancements show the ecosystem evolving alongside Search Console, enabling advanced reporting and automation for SEO workflows.
6. AI Search & Impact on Search Console Metrics
While not strictly a Search Console update, the broader evolution of Google Search toward AI-centered search experiences is beginning to affect how Search Console collects and reports data.
AI Overviews & AI Mode
Google Search’s AI Overviews and AI Mode — driven by models like Gemini 3 — are being shown more frequently in search results. These experiences are now integrated into search behavior analytics and therefore impact Search Console metrics.
Key Impacts
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AI Mode interactions are folded into Search Console’s Performance data, sometimes making it challenging to isolate traditional vs AI-associated impressions.
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Users may see a shift in clicks and impressions patterns due to how AI responses are presented alongside links.
For SEOs, this means adjusting expectations around traditional ranking performance and embracing the value of AI-related user behavior signals.
7. What These 2026 Changes Mean for You
The 2026 updates to Google Search Console bring several important trends:
a. Reporting Becomes More Intelligent
AI-powered features reduce manual effort and open the door to natural language-driven analytics.
b. Data Becomes More Actionable
New filters, query groups, and branded insights make analysis more precise and strategically useful.
c. Search Experiences Are Evolving
With AI Overviews shaping user interactions and potentially reducing clicks to sites, SEO strategies must adapt — focusing more on intent, context, and deeper engagement.
d. Schema Strategy Needs Refresh
The structured data phase-out highlights the importance of focusing on high-value schema types and ensuring markup aligns with current SEO best practices.
Conclusion
In 2026, Google Search Console continues to evolve rapidly, integrating AI, unifying insights, and phasing out lower-value features. Whether you’re optimizing for better performance, improving content visibility, or navigating the impact of AI-driven search experiences, these updates significantly influence how website owners track and measure search success.
Mastery of these new capabilities — especially AI-powered configuration and enhanced reporting — can give SEO professionals a competitive edge in understanding user behavior and refining organic search strategy.