"Google has clearly documented how it tracks link clicks, impressions and positions for AI Overviews in this help document. But if you ever saw an AI Overview and interacted with them, you'd know that (1) when you click on a link icon, the citation cards on the right change and (2) running the same query a minute later may return different citation cards."
"Click: Clicking a link to an external page in the AI Overview counts as a click. Impression: Standard impression rules apply. To be counted as an impression, the link must be scrolled or expanded into view. Position: An AI Overview occupies a single position in search results, and all links in the AI Overview are assigned that same position."
Google documents that clicks on AI Overview links count as clicks, impressions follow standard rules requiring scroll or expansion into view, and an AI Overview occupies a single position with all its links sharing that position. Interacting with an AI Overview changes the citation cards shown; clicking a link icon can reorder citation cards, and running the same query later can return different citation cards. Examples show sites swapping positions when expanded. Because Search Console lumps AI Overview data with standard web data and assigns a single position to the Overview, isolating AI Overview-specific metrics is difficult, though a dedicated filter is desired.
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